World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association (W.H.I.A.) Holds 15th General Assembly in Athens, Greece

July 28, 2025

World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association (W.H.I.A.) Holds 15th General Assembly in Athens, Greece

Athens, Greece – The World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association (PADEE-WHIA) convened its 15th General Assembly from July 20 to 25, 2025, in Athens, Greece, bringing together elected legislators of Hellenic descent from across the globe. The PADEE-WHIA’s members comprise over 90 parliamentarians and legislators of Greek origin from countries including the United States, Albania, Australia, Canada, France, Hungary, Sweden, Ukraine and other nations, united by a shared commitment to strengthening bonds among Greece, Cyprus, and the global diaspora.

The General Assembly opened on July 21 at the Hellenic Parliament, where participants were welcomed by senior officials including the President of the Hellenic Parliament, Mr. Nikitas Kaklamanis and received greetings from the Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Legislators and other dignitaries also attended a welcome dinner hosted by PADEE-WHIA at Domus Asteria in Glyfada. Throughout the week, attendees met in the Hellenic Parliament and also participated in meetings and discussions with Cabinet ministers, Ambassadors, and other dignitaries.

The General Assembly which convenes every two years in Athens also included the election of a new Board of Governors for the 2025–2027 term. The newly elected leadership will guide PADEE-WHIA’s mission to promote cooperation across parliaments, support Hellenic initiatives by expanding cultural, educational, and investment ties between Greece, Cyprus and the diaspora communities worldwide.

Key program highlights included:

• Meeting with the newly elected PADEE-WHIA board of governors and the President of the Hellenic Parliament.
• Joint session with Members of the Hellenic Parliament serving on the Special Permanent Committee on Greeks Abroad.
• Presentation on the Ecumenical Patriarchate by Emmanuel E. Velivasakis, Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, New York, USA.
• Address by Dr. M. Charakopoulos, Secretary General of the Inter-parliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy.

Key Panel discussions including:

– “Public Diplomacy and Greeks Abroad,” with participation from Maira Myrogianni, Secretary General for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

– “Greece, Cyprus, and the Geopolitical Role in the Regional Energy Sector,” with participation from the Minister of Environment and Energy, Stavros N. Papastavrou.

– “The Education System and the Greek Language Within Greece and Abroad,” featured contributions from Deputy Minister of Education Konstantinos Vlassis; Professor Spiros N. Pollalis, President of Athens College; Edward Wingenbach, President of the American College of Greece; Dr. Peggy Pelonis, President of the American Community Schools; Louis Kokkinakos, Chairman of Plato Academy Schools in Florida, USA; and Members of PADEE-WHIA.

A meeting with Athanasios Davakis, Deputy Minister of National Defense as well as a tour of Souda Bay, Crete, which included briefings at NSA Souda, the Hellenic Navy Facilities (HNDGS), and the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operations Training Centre (NMIOTC).

Legislators at the General Assembly also passed important Resolutions on:

1. Resolution on the Greek and Pontic Genocide:

• Proclaiming May 19 each year as Greek and Pontic Genocide Remembrance, Recognition, Condemnation, and Education Day and called on the Republic of Turkey to recognize and atone for the genocide, urging international recognition and inclusion in education curricula.

2. Human Rights and Religious Freedom:

• Calling on PADEE-WHIA Member States to prioritize human rights and religious freedom, with emphasis on persecuted Christian communities in the Middle East and Asia Minor.
• Urging Turkey, Syria, and Egypt to protect the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Patriarchate of Antioch, and the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai.

3. Empowering women of the Hellenic diaspora in leadership, innovation and governance.
4. Consultations on Issues affecting Greeks Abroad

• Greek legislators should seek the opinion of PADEE-WHIA and its members during the policymaking process and on matters affecting Greeks abroad.

The PADEE-WHIA Board of Governors will now embark on a new term focused on translating these commitments into tangible actions—both through legislative diplomacy and community partnerships.

The newly elected PADEE-WHIA Board of Governors are as follows:

For more information contact:

Zefi Kargidou, Director of Communications, [email protected]

PADEE-WHIA

22-24 Amalias Avenue, 105 57 Athens, Greece

Tel +30-6947-325242

e-mail: [email protected]

website: https://padeewhia.org/

2025 – R- 03

WORLD HELLENIC INTER-PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION

WHIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JULY SESSION, A.D. 2025

Introduced by:  Laokratisz Koranisz, Greek Minority Advocate in Hungarian Parliament

Consultation with the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association (WHIA) on Matters Affecting Greeks Abroad

Whereas, decisions taken by the Greek authorities may have significant impact on Greeks living abroad;

Whereas, the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association (WHIA) serves as a representative body of elected legislators of Greek descent from around the world and acts as a vital link between the Hellenic Republic and the Greek Diaspora;

Resolved, that we respectfully request the competent Greek authorities to seek the opinion of the WHIA, and through the WHIA, the opinions of its members, prior to making decisions that affect Greeks abroad;

Resolved further, that this consultation should be conducted in a timely and substantive manner and ensuring that the perspectives and interests of the global Hellenic community are duly considered in the policy-making process.

2025 – R- 02

WORLD HELLENIC INTER-PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION

WHIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JULY SESSION, A.D. 2025

Introduced by:  Aris Babikian, Member of Provincial Parliament of Ontario (MPP), Canada

Proclaiming May 19th, 2025

As

“Greek And Pontic Genocide Remembrance, Recognition, Condemnation, And Education Day”

Whereas, between 1914 and 1923, there was a systematic and Ottoman Empire government sanctioned attempt to exterminate the entire Greek population of Pontus, Smyrna, all of Asia Minor, and Eastern Thrace; and

Whereas, the Ottoman Turks directed the killing of 353,000 Pontian and more than one million Anatolian and Asia Minor Greeks and over a million Armenians and Assyrians living in Pontos, and an equal number were forced to flee their homeland in one of the most heinous crimes in history; and

Whereas, The Ottoman and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk Neo Turks engaged in forced relocation, death marches, starvation, slaughter, rape, forced conversion to Islam, conscription into labor battalions, arbitrary executions, and destruction of Christian Orthodox cultural, historical and religious monuments to ethnically cleanse the Greek population and perpetrate the worst mass genocide of the 20th century. Furthermore, the Armenian Genocide was conceived and carried out by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923, and resulted in the deportation of nearly 2,000,000 Armenians, of whom 1,500,000 men, women, and children were killed, and the remaining 500,000 survived but were expelled from their homes; and

Whereas, it is vital and proper to remember those who lost their lives in the Greek Genocide, and it is paramount that people of all nations became aware of this horrific event in the not-so-distant history as a way to learn a valuable lesson so that such atrocities are never committed again; and

Whereas, it is likewise important to pay tribute to the survivors of this horrible period, as well as their descendants who have made countless contributions to the enrichment of our culture and our way of life around the world and who stand as an inspiration for oppressed people around the world; and

Whereas, in 1994 the Hellenic Parliament, and

Whereas, in 1994 Cyprus House of Representatives Recognized the genocide, and

Whereas, on December 16, 2007, the International Genocide Scholars Association officially recognized Greek and Assyrian Genocides, and

Whereas, on 11 March 2010, Sweden’s Parliament passed a motion recognizing “as an act of genocide the killing of Armenians, Assyrians, Syriacs, Chaldeans and Pontic Greeks in 1915”, and

Whereas, in March 2015, the National Assembly of Armenia unanimously adopted a resolution recognizing both the Greek and Assyrian genocides, and

Whereas, in April 2015, the States General of the Netherlands and the Austrian Parliament passed resolutions recognizing the Greek and Assyrian genocides, and

Whereas, on May 18, 2022, the European Parliament recognized the Greek Genocide and declared “19 May as Pontian Greek Genocide Remembrance Day in the EU and elsewhere,” and

Whereas, the States of Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and South Dakota recognized the Genocide, and

Whereas, the governments of New South Wales and South Australia Lower House recognized the genocide, and

Whereas, the denial of genocide is widely recognized as the final stage of genocide, enshrining impunity for the perpetrators of genocide, and demonstrably paving the way for future genocides; and

Whereas, 2025 will be memorialized throughout the world as the symbolic 106^th Anniversary of the Genocide of the Pontian Greeks. May we never forget the brutality the Pontian Greeks experienced at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, and may we learn the hard lessons of the past so that the history of the Greek Genocide, and all genocides, never happen again; now, therefore be it

Resolved, that the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association PADEE-WHIA and its elected members within the Greek global community commemorate every May 19 of each year the Greek and Pontic Genocide of 1914-1923; and be it further

Resolved, that the current Turkish Republic, the successor to the Ottoman Empire, atones for its crime of genocide against the Greek, Armenian, Assyrian, Syriac, and Chaldean people, and be it further

Resolved,  that the international community recognize the above genocides and include them in their school curriculums; and be it further

Resolved, the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association PADEE-WHIA members to work with their respective legislative assemblies to adopt laws to condemn and expose the Turkish government’s denial policy and sanction the recognition of the genocides.

Resolved, that the Secretary of the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association PADEE-WHIA is hereby authorized and directed to transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to all Greek-Pontian organizations in the countries of the elected members.

2025 – R- 01

WORLD HELLENIC INTER-PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION

WHIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JULY SESSION, A.D. 2025

Introduced by:  Effie Triantafilopoulos, Member of Provincial Parliament of Ontario (MPP), Canada

Human Rights and Religious Freedom

Whereas, everyone has fundamental freedoms and human rights including the protection of and respect for religious, cultural, and linguistic diversity as codified by the United Nations Charter, Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, as well as other national and international agreements; and

Whereas, the Ancient Patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, hold a special honour of primacy and service in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church; and

Whereas, the aforementioned Ancient Patriarchates have historically and continue to preserve and promote Hellenic history and traditions, the Greek language, and the Orthodox Christian Faith; and

Whereas, the Ancient Patriarchates, located in the Middle East and in Asia Minor, together with their respective Patriarchs and Synod of Bishops, continue to face systematic discrimination contrary to internationally recognized fundamental freedoms and human rights; and

Whereas, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the First Throne of Orthodoxy, continues to face discrimination by Turkish authorities including the denial of a legal identity and the historic confiscation of properties; and

Whereas, the Patriarchate of Alexandria continues to experience illegal ecclesiastical incursions into its canonical territories by Moscow motivated by the “Russian World” ideology contrary to the Canons of the Orthodox Church; and

Whereas, the Patriarchate of Antioch, together with its faithful, face violence and discrimination as a result of religious sectarianism during and following the Syrian civil war; and

Whereas, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Christians in the Holy Lands encounter ongoing religious persecution, including the dangerous and unjustified assaults against worshippers documented during Holy Fire Saturday (April 19); and

Whereas, the status of the historic Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine at the God-trodden Mount Sinai, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Centre, has recently been called into question by Egyptian authorities; now, therefore be it

Resolved, that this World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association General Assembly calls on Member States of the European Union, together with the Governments of the United States, Canada, and Australia, to prioritize and promote human rights and religious freedoms for all people, regardless of faith, with a particular emphasis on the persecuted Christian communities in the Middle East and Asia Minor; and be it further

Resolved, that the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association urges the Government of Turkey, and the new administration in Syria, to protect and respect human rights and religious diversity, including for the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Patriarchate of Antioch, respectively; and be it further

Resolved, that the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association appeals to the Government of Egypt to honour its international obligations and preserve the historic Greek Orthodox status of the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine, and surrounding areas, in order to secure its long-term freedom and autonomy; and be it further

Resolved, that the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association General Assembly hereby is authorized and directed to transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to all members.

2025 – R- 04

WORLD HELLENIC INTER-PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION

WHIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JULY SESSION, A.D. 2025

Introduced by:  Esther Muthoni Passaris, OGW, MP Kenya

Empowering Women of the Hellenic Diaspora in Leadership, Innovation, and Governance

Whereas, Women of Hellenic descent living in diaspora communities globally continue to contribute significantly to leadership, public service, innovation, and civil society, yet face systemic barriers to representation and advancement;

Whereas, Gender equality is central to democracy and sustainable development, in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 5 on Gender Equality;

Whereas, The World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association (WHIA) has the opportunity and responsibility to lead by example in advocating for the inclusion and elevation of women within its networks and across the parliaments its members represent;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the 15th General Assembly of the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association:

1. Affirms its commitment to advancing gender equality in all sectors represented within the global Hellenic diaspora;
2. Calls upon national parliaments of WHIA members to adopt and promote inclusive policies that empower women of Hellenic descent to pursue leadership roles;
3. Supports the creation of a WHIA Women’s Leadership Forum to spotlight, mentor, and connect emerging and established female leaders from across the Hellenic diaspora;
4. Encourages member parliaments and diaspora communities to invest in educational programs, digital access, and innovation-driven opportunities for young Hellenic women and girls;
5. Invites civic, business, and religious leaders to collaborate with WHIA in eliminating cultural and institutional barriers to women’s participation and leadership;
6. Recommends the documentation and promotion of stories of resilience, impact, and leadership by women of Hellenic descent, to inspire future generations;
7. Requests that this resolution be circulated to all parliaments and legislatures represented by WHIA members and submitted to relevant international organizations that promote gender equity.