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Turkish Attacks on Kurdistan, Iraq 2007/8: Background, Motives and Human Rights Impact
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Since late October 2007, Turkey has been carrying out cross-border military operations, bombardments and air-raids in Kurdistan, Iraq. Turkey has attempted to justify these operations under the pretext of its ongoing fight against the PKK.
This latest KHRP Briefing Paper discusses these developments, demonstrating how the attacks should be understood in the broader context of Turkey’s long-standing strategic goals in countering regional Kurdish autonomy, goals it shares with Iran and Syria. The paper refers to recent KHRP research in the region showing that Turkey’s operations have been in gross violation of the Geneva conventions, causing extensive harm to civilian life and property in parts of northern Iraq with little actual impact on the capabilities of the PKK. The paper also discusses the international reaction to the attacks, and calls upon the US, EU and all other parties with an interest in maintaining stability in the region to condemn the attacks and urge Turkey to pursue constructive and non-military measures to secure peace in the region.
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Turkeys Anti-Terror Laws: Threatening the Protection of Human Rights
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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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The Situation of Kurdish Children in Turkey: DRAFT VERSION
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The Role of Women in Civil society, Conflict Prevention, Resolution and Reconstruction
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Speech delivered by KHRP Deputy Director Rachel Bernu at the OSCE Civil Society Forum, 2-3 December 2008, Helsinki.
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The Human Rights Impact of Mass Displacement Caused by the Construction of the Ilisu Dam
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Speech delivered by Anna Irvin, Development and Outreach Officer, Kurdish Human Rights Project, at El Faro civil society pavilion at the “Water and Sustainability”-themed Zaragoza Expo, 3 July 2008, and at the Foro Mundial de las Luchas del Agua side event, 4 July 2008
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Taking Cases to the European Court of Human Rights: A Manual (Armenian Language 2nd Edition)
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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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Submissions to the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting 2008
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Submissions made by KHRP to the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting held in Warsaw from 29 September to 10 October 2008.
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Speech; The Role of Kurdish Women in Dialogue, Conflict Resolution and the Struggle for Human Rights
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Speech delivered by KHRP Deputy Director Rachel Bernu at a seminar entitled 'the role of Kurdish women in dialogue, conflict resolution and reconstruction' at Garden Court Chambers, 24/05/2008
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Return to a State of Emergency? Protecting Human Rights in South-East Turkey
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This report is based on the findings of a KHRP mission to south-east Turkey in March 2008 to gather information on the situation there following recent military operations – including cross-border incursions and aerial bombardments – against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Amid the increased unrest, the provinces of Şırnak, Hakkari and Siirt had been declared high-security zones and checkpoints had been set up in neighbouring regions. There were reports of the use of chemical weapons and the mutilation of the bodies of PKK members by state security forces, as well as killings of civilians during PKK attacks. Civil society groups were also said to be facing difficulties carrying out their work.
Mission members met with representatives of political parties, state officials and civil society groups, as well as people living in the high security zones and local administrators. They noted a general consensus that the situation in these regions had deteriorated over the last two years, although it had not reached the same levels of oppression and human rights violations seen in the 1990s. The mission found that the human rights most affected by the conflict were freedom of expression, thought and association, though torture, ill-treatment and extra-judicial killings were also occurring.
The report includes an overview of the political background in Turkey, as well as domestic, regional and international legislative provisions relevant to the conflict. It also deals with the economic, social and political consequences of the fighting in the south-east and places all of this in the context of Turkey’s accession to the European Union.
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Response to the European Commission's 2008 Turkey Progress Report
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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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Protecting Politicians or Protecting Democracy? Parliamentary Immunity and Party Closure in Turkey
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The formation of a Democratic Society Party (DTP) group in parliament following the July 2007 general elections in Turkey gave a pro-Kurdish party representation in the country’s parliament for the first time in 14 years. Since then, prosecutors have filed a number of requests to have the parliamentary immunity of DTP MPs lifted in order to pave the way for legal proceedings against them, and have instigated proceedings to have the party shut down. In March this year, a closure case was also opened against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). KHRP’s latest briefing paper explores the mechanisms available in Turkey for the lifting of parliamentary immunity and the shutting down of political parties, and the ways in which these mechanisms have been employed in the relentless pursuit of parties and politicians by unelected agents.
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Persecuting Publishers, Stifling Debate: Freedom of Expression in Turkey
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This Trial Observation Report details the processes KHRP observed during the final stages of the trial of Ahmet Önal, the Kurdish publisher, on 13 February 2008 in Istanbul. Mr. Önal’s trial concerned a paragraph in a book he published, Diaspora Kürtleri (Diaspora Kurds), which discussed the role and influence of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) amongst Kurds in the former Soviet Union. This led to charges of his showing demonstrable support of an ‘armed terror organisation’.
The Report also places KHRP’s procedural observations in the context of Turkey’s obligations to ensure a fair trial for all its citizens, as well as the ongoing challenges to freedom of expression in Turkey and its bid to accede to the European Union. Although Mr. Önal was acquitted of his charges, the report reflects concerns that spurious charges and trials are being used in Turkey to obstruct the operation of publishing and journalism, and more broadly to inhibit public discussion of fundamental political, social or historical issues. As the Report details, several similar prosecutions of individuals who have exercised their right to freedom of speech are ongoing in Turkey, indicating the extent of the problem.
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Paper; The Role of Kurdish Women in Dialogue, Conflict Resolution and the Struggle for Human Rights
- Paper prepared by KHRP Deputy Director Rachel Bernu
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Legal Review 14
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Legal Review 14 covers the period from July to December 2008 and features news and updates relevant to the Kurdish regions, as well as summaries and analysis of pertinent 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 Caucasus.
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Legal Review 13
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KHRP’s Legal Review is the only existing legal journal covering significant legislative and policy developments in the Kurdish regions of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria and the Caucasus and is essential reading for anyone interested in monitoring legal developments in these countries.
Covering the period from December 2007 to June 2008, the Review features news and updates from the Kurdish regions, and summaries and analysis of the most significant decisions of the ECtHR, ECJ and UK Courts. Uniquely, the journal covers new cases that have not yet reached any judicial decision, but nonetheless provide invaluable updates of the most recent allegations of human rights violations to be submitted to international courts and mechanisms. Articles in this issue address the implications of oil contracts in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, women and religious freedom, internally displaced women in Western Turkey and extra territorial acts in Iraq.
