The International Circassian Council (ICC) is a political organization that represents Circassian peoples across the world, and seeks an independent

Circassia Circassia ( ), also known as Zichia, was a country and a historical region in . It spanned the western coastal portions of the North Caucasus, along the northeastern shore of the Black Sea. Circassia was conquered by the Russian Empire during ...

from

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

History

The ICC is based in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

which has the highest concentration of Circassian diaspora in the United States. The council promotes good relations with the governments of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

for their support of Circassian organizations, and the taking in of Circassian refugees. The ICC heavily protested the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

due to its skiing event being held on

Krasnaya Polyana Krasnaya Polyana () meaning "Red Meadow" is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia: Modern localities Amur Oblast As of 2012, one rural locality in Amur Oblast bears this name: * Krasnaya Polyana, Amur Oblast, a '' selo'' in Tomsky R ...

, the site of a massacre of Circassians during the

Circassian genocide The Circassian genocide, or Tsitsekun, was the systematic mass killing, ethnic cleansing, and forced displacement of between 95% and 97% of the Circassian people during the final stages of the Russian invasion of Circassia in the 19th centur ...

Iyad Youghar Iyad may refer to: *Iyad (tribe), Arab tribe, 3rd–7th centuries *Iyad Jamal Al-Din (born 1961), prominent Iraqi intellectual, politician and religious cleric *Iyad Al-Khatib, Jordanian football player * Abdallah Iyad Barghouti (born 1979), Palesti ...

has served as the chairman of the ICC, speaking at the

Estonian parliament The Riigikogu (, from Estonian ''riigi-'', "of the state", and ''kogu'', "assembly") is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the prime minister and chief ...

in 2015 that the cause of

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

independence is the same as Circassian independence. Russian authorities have been hostile to the ICC and the idea of a Circassian rebirth, claiming that a unified Circassian community does not exist in a political sense. The ICC is a member of the

Congress of the Peoples of the North Caucasus The Congress of the Peoples of the North Caucasus is the governing body of the Committee for the Restoration of the Statehood of the Peoples of the North Caucasus, an organization consisting of Separatism in Russia, separatist movements in Chechny ...

with Iyad Youghar being elected the congress' chairman. As a participant in the Congress, the council was a member of a meeting with the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

about the future of the North Caucuses on 8 November 2023. The congress advocates secession from Russia, with the ICC acting as their Circassian delegation to lead a prospective Independent Circassia.

References

{{Separatists in Russia Opposition to Vladimir Putin Separatism in Russia Indigenous rights organizations Circassian nationalism Circassian diaspora Organizations based in New Jersey