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KHRP Legal Review 14

Legal Review 14 covers the period from July to December 2008 and features news and updates from the Kurdish regions, as well as summaries and analysis of relevant decisions of international, UK and US Courts. To mark KHRP’s 15th anniversary, this edition includes a special feature looking back on the organisation’s litigation throughout that time and the many important precedents that have been set as a result. Other articles in this edition tackle the legal status of minorities in Turkey, the human rights impact of proscription regimes, and approaches to the issue of hate speech within the framework of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Legal Review is essential reading for anyone interested in legal developments in Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria and the Caucuses.

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The Role of Women in Civil society, Conflict Prevention, Resolution and Reconstruction

Speech delivered by KHRP Deputy Director Rachel Bernu at the OSCE Civil Society Forum, 2-3 December 2008, Helsinki.

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Response to the European Commission's 2008 Turkey Progress Report

Response of the Kurdish Human Rights Project to the 2008 Turkey Progress Report, Published by the European Commission on 5 November 2008.

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Freedom of Association and Labour Rights Under Threat: The Situation of Trade Unions in Turkey

This briefing paper assesses the extent to which the situation of trade unions in Turkey has changed in recent years, in the context of the country’s bid to accede to the European Union. The evidence suggests that the Turkish state is yet to recognise the valuable role that trade unions have to play as necessary social partners within the democratic system. Several pieces of Turkish legislation remain at odds with its commitments to respect trade union rights under various international agreements. In practice, too, the Turkish authorities continue to violate the rights of employees – particularly those working in the public sector – to associate freely, to bargain collectively and to go on strike. The situation is particularly bad in the Kurdish regions of south-east Turkey, where violations of trade union rights are exacerbated by a de facto state of emergency, restrictions on expressions of Kurdish culture, and factors such as poverty, discrimination and displacement.

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A Children’s Choir Face Terrorism Charges : Juveniles in the Turkish Justice System

In June 2008 a KHRP mission travelled to Diyarbakır in south-eastern Turkey to observe trial proceedings against members of a local children’s choir who had been charged under anti-terror laws for singing a Kurdish song at a world music festival in the United States the previous October. Prosecutors argued that the song was associated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and that singing it amounted to disseminating propaganda on behalf of a terrorist organisation. Of nine children who went to trial, three faced proceedings in an adult court. Although all were eventually acquitted, the episode illustrated the threats posed to human rights by Turkey’s recently-amended anti-terror legislation, as well as the failure of the country’s criminal justice system to afford adequate protection to children. Contrasting the treatment of the children with standards set out in international human rights agreements, this trial observation report also places the case in the context of broader patterns of restrictions on freedom of expression and cultural and language rights in Turkey.

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The Situation of Kurdish Children in Turkey: DRAFT VERSION

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KHRP Responds to Committee of Ministers Resolution on Human Rights and the Turkish Security Forces

KHRP public statement in response to the resolution passed by the Council of Europe (CoE) Committee of Ministers on 18 September 2008, relating to its examination of human rights issues stemming from the actions of Turkey’s security forces.

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Turkey’s Anti-Terror Laws: Threatening the Protection of Human Rights

This briefing paper explores Turkish anti-terror legislation in the wake of amendments in 2006 that brought into effect a series of draconian provisions which fail to meet the country’s human rights obligations under international law and which have in practice been used to violate the human rights of it citizens. In particular, the new law fails to respect international human rights obligations by containing a definition of terrorism which is too wide and vague, by increasing the range of crimes that can count as terrorist offences, and by posing a serious threat to the freedoms of expression and association, the right to a fair trial, and the prohibition of torture. Such legislation only serves to further the deterioration seen in the human rights situation in Turkey since 2005 and should therefore be amended.

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A Fact-Finding Mission in Kurdistan, Iraq: Gaps in the Human Rights Infrastructure

A Fact-Finding Mission in Kurdistan, Iraq: Gaps in the Human Rights Infrastructure is based on a series of visits to the region in the course of 2007 and early 2008, during which mission members detected an enormous desire amongst civil society representatives and government officials for proper implementation of human rights norms, accountability and the rule of law. The reality, however, is a region where there remains a lack of awareness amongst members of the public about their human rights and a dearth of effective systems in place to ensure that these rights are protected. While the mission noted that all countries in transition need time to develop their infrastructure, such weaknesses are also partly due to a lack of strategic planning for long-term strengthening of mechanisms for human rights protection, and in particular to a disappointing absence of investment by the international community in support of this end.
 
The report explains the historical and political context of the current human rights situation in Kurdistan, Iraq, and goes on to explore this situation with special reference to women’s rights, minority rights, freedom of expression, and the rights of prisoners and other detainees. Further sections are dedicated to the human rights situation in Kirkuk and other ‘disputed areas’, and the impact of the military incursions into Kurdistan, Iraq, by neighbouring countries. It concludes with a set of recommendations for the Government of Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government, local civil society organisations, the international community and international NGOs working in the region.

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Taking Cases to the European Court of Human Rights: A Manual (Armenian Language 2nd Edition)

This manual is intended to inform practitioners and interested individuals on the practical usage of the Strasbourg mechanisms. Written by KHRP Executive Director Kerim Yildiz and former Legal Officer Lucy Claridge, it provides commentaries on the practice and procedure of the European Court, in addition to key texts such as the European Convention, the Court's application form and details of the legal aid available from the Court. The second edition includes updated sections on admissibility rules, just satisfaction claims and enforcing judgments, together with information regarding the changes introduced by Protocol 14.

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