DocumentsDate added

Development in Syria - A Gender and Minority Perspective

This report presents the findings of a two-year research analysis into the impact of Syria's development policies on the most disadvantaged groups including women, minorities and internally displaced persons (IDPs), complemented by a fact-finding mission to the Kurdish regions of northeastern Syria in February 2005. It investigates the daily lives of the most vulnerable groups living in the Euphrates Basin and finds many of the development policies implemented by the Syrian government have had discriminatory effects. Thousands of Kurds, for example, were displaced by development of the Attawra dam and the removal of their citizenship rights, the effects of which continue to be felt to this day. The report demonstrates that women, especially in rural areas and those that are Kurds, face discriminatory hardships in the areas of citizenship, poverty and labour.

ISBN 1 900175886 Copies of this report are available from the KHRP for £10.00 (+ P&P)

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Human Rights Violations Against Kurds in Turkey: Report Presented to the OSCE

Human Rights Violations Against Kurds in Turkey: Report Presented to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)

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'Thirteen Bullets': Extra-judicial killings in southeast Turkey - Fact-finding mission report

Kurdish Human Rights Project sent a fact finding mission to the Kurdish region of Turkey in December 2004 to investigate extra-judicial killings in Hakkari and Kiziltepe and to gauge human rights reform in the region.

The report of the mission details the killings of Ahmet and Ugur Kaymaz by plainclothes policemen. Witnesses express grave doubts over the two official explanations put forward for the killings: firstly that Ahmet and Ugur were shot in a clash and secondly that they did not listen to calls to stop. In a separate potential instance of an extra-judicial killing, the report investigates the shooting of 19 year old shepherd Fevzi Can at close range by the military. There is no evidence to support the military's assertion that Can was a live stock smuggler, and concerns are raised that the Public Prosecutor has not conducted a satisfactory investigation of the incident.

The broader context of EU-inspired human rights reform in Turkey is also considered. The mission, having interviewed representatives of local human rights groups, concludes that in relation to the general treatment of Kurdish people Turkey has a long way to go before it meets the Copenhagen Criteria. Particular concerns focus on an increase in the use of psychological torture which counteracts the decrease in physical torture, unofficial detention of Kurds suspected of 'terrorist' links, failure to implement compensation schemes for IDPs, continuation of the village guard system and high levels of abuses against women. The authors recommend that Turkey's reforms must be assessed on the basis of implementation as well as formal, legislative changes, and that Turkey's accession to the EU must be founded on an accurate appraisal of Turkey's fulfilment of the relevant criteria rather than upon external political considerations.

ISBN 1 900175 827

Copies of this report are available from the KHRP for £10.00 (+ P&P)

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The Cultural and Environmental Impact of Large Dams in Southeast Turkey: Fact-Finding Mission Report

Fundamental flaws in plans for the proposed Ilisu dam in Turkey provoked international attention from 2000 to 2002. Following an exemplary international campaign, the consortium of companies planning to build the dams collapsed, safeguarding the ancient sites of archaeological significance in the area as well as the welfare of up to 78,000 people, mostly Kurds, who stood to be displaced by the project.

Almost three years on, a joint fact-finding mission by KHRP and the National University of Ireland, Galway, provides new evidence that the Turkish state has not learned the lessons of Ilisu. The mission gathered evidence of a new consortium of companies coming together to build the discredited dam and others. The basis for the projects remains essentially the same, and there is no evidence that affected communities have been consulted. Of those consulted by the mission, the overwhelming response was one of absolute opposition to the dams.

The report details the damage that would be caused to architecture and heritage, and highlights the impact of the dams on cultural rights. Numerous international and EU standards have not been met. Public consultation has not taken place; even were it to occur, it must be viewed in the context of the ongoing marginalisation of Kurds in Turkey.

Three years on, it is clear that international attention should once more be drawn to this issue.

ISBN 1900175851

Copies of this report are available from the KHRP for £ 6.00 (+ P&P)

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Trial Observation - Relatives of HR defenders at risk: the extra-judicial killing of Siyar Perinçek

This report presents the findings of a joint mission by KHRP and the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales to observe the trial of three security officers for an alleged extra-judicial killing and the torture or ill-treatment of a key witness.

Siyar Perinçek was the son of a member of the Insan Haklari Dernegi (Human Rights Association) board of directors. IHD is the largest human rights organisation in Turkey and a partner organisation of KHRP. Siyar was on a motorbike opposite the Adana branch of IHD on 28 May 2004. According to witnesses, he fell to the ground when approached by security officers whereupon an officer shot him in the back. He died later at hospital. A key witness Nurettin Basçi was arrested and is currently on remand in Adana Kurkculer F-type prison, where he alleges being subjected to torture or ill-treatment.

The trial of three security officers took place on 21 December 2004. The case has not yet reached judgment. The mission expressed concern over failures to comply with domestic legislation as well as a breach of several international legal standards. Among other breaches, the delegation noted the lack of co-operation from authorities on issues including the disappearance of key evidence; the non-attendance of the officers on trial; and the failure to provide a fair and impartial hearing for the complainants. One judge was observed to sleep through most of the hearing.

Interviewees expressed concern over continuing violations of the prohibition of torture or ill-treatment, and the implications of this on Turkey's EU accession. Appended to the report is a presentation given by KHRP, 'CoE's Committee of Ministers supervises Turkey's execution of ECHR judgements', presented at its European Parliament conference in Brussels in November 2004.

ISBN 1 900175819

Copies of this report are available from the KHRP for £ 10.00 (+ P&P)

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