Skip to content

KHRP | Kurdish Human Rights Project

narrow screen resolution wide screen resolution Increase font size Decrease font size Default font size default color brown color green color red color blue color

Kurdish Human Rights Project: This is the legacy website of the Kurdish Human Rights Project, containing reports and news pertaining to human rights issues in the Kurdish Regions for 20 years.

You are here: 
Skip to content

Charity Awards

Charity Awards

Gruber Prize

Gruber

Gruber Justice Prize

2010 News
KHRP Submits Report on Discrimination and Intolerance to UN
Tuesday, 22 June 2010 13:57

On 21 June, KHRP submitted a report to the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, who works under the remit of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR). The report detailed KHRP’s concerns relating to ongoing discriminatory practices in contemporary Turkey, Iran and Syria. KHRP’s submission followed an invitation for such reports from the UN after the adoption of a resolution by the General Assembly in March 2010 entitled ‘Inadmissibility of certain practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance’.

Discrimination against minority cultural, social and political groups remains alarmingly commonplace in the Kurdish regions, with Kurds at particular risk of harassment, assault, arbitrary arrest and detention, and even execution as a result of their cultural identity. Women too continue to suffer systemic discriminatory practices compared to their male peers, with Kurdish women facing a double bind. KHRP’s report highlighted major ongoing concerns in the regions, notably: the perpetuation of ethno-nationalism as the constitutional basis for Turkish citizenship; the improper use of Anti-Terror Laws to harass Turkey’s Kurdish population; the unequal treatment of Kurdish children; the ongoing persecution – often involving executions - of opposition cultural, political and social groups in Iran; disappearances and apparent ‘suicides’ of Kurdish and other minority military conscripts in Syria; the continuing prevalence of hate crimes and gender-based violence throughout the regions.

‘Despite persistent international pressure, Kurdish and other minority groups in Turkey, Iran and Syria continue to experience significant forms of discrimination as a result of their identity or social, cultural and political beliefs and practices,’ said KHRP Managing Director, Rachel Bernu. ‘Against this backdrop, KHRP welcomes the UNHCHR’s recent focus on tackling the persistence and resurgence of such practices which we firmly believe have no place in any modern, democratic society.’

A copy of the report may be downloaded from the KHRP website here.
 

 

 

 

 
KHRP Publishes Annual Impact Report 2009
Monday, 21 June 2010 16:07

KHRP is pleased to announce the publication of its Impact Report 2009.

In addition to providing an overview of the human rights situation in the Kurdish regions of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria and the Caucasus, this annual publication details KHRP’s activities throughout the year, including our human rights litigation and advocacy, training and fellowship programmes, fact-finding missions and trial observations, research and publications, and public awareness campaigns and communication strategies.

The report also reviews the impact of KHRP’s work in 2009 in promoting greater protection of human rights in the Kurdish regions, with a particular focus on political and judicial systems, torture and ill-treatment, freedom of expression and association, cultural and linguistic rights, environmental justice, gender equality, the right to life, and war and instability.

’As the only international human rights NGO that is committed to working consistently and without any political affiliation or agenda across the Kurdish regions of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and the Caucasus, KHRP has an invaluable and nuanced understanding of the most pressing human rights issues and developments in this part of the world,’ said KHRP Chief Executive Kerim Yıldız. ‘For this reason, our Impact Report should be viewed as a primary resource for anyone interested in human rights and in the methods by which organisations like KHRP can influence justice, equality and the rule of law in this region and elsewhere.’

Impact Report 2009 can be downloaded free of charge from our website.

 

 

 
The Kurdish Conflict: International Humanitarian Law and Post-Conflict Mechanisms Available Now
Monday, 21 June 2010 11:11

KHRP is pleased to announce today’s release of ‘The Kurdish Conflict: International Humanitarian Law and Post-Conflict Mechanisms’ by Routledge.

This book is written by KHRP Chief Executive Kerim Yıldız and Dr Susan Breau, Professor of International Law at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, who specialises in the law of armed conflict and international human rights law.

It is highly topical considering the ongoing conflict in the Kurdish region of Turkey, and the continued incursions into northern Iraq by the Turkish and Iranian armies and security forces, and Turkey's EU accession negotiations. Turkey has become an increasingly important player in Middle Eastern geopolitics. More than two decades of serious conflict in Turkey are proving to be a barrier to improved relations between Turkey and the EU. This book presents the first study to fully address the legal and political dimensions of the conflict, and their impact on mechanisms for conflict resolution in the region, offering a scholarly exploration of a debate that is often politically and emotionally highly charged.

Yıldız and Breau look at the practical application of the law of armed conflicts to the ongoing situation in Turkey and northern Iraq. The application of the law in this region also means addressing larger questions in international law, global politics and conflict resolution. Examples include belligerency in international law, whether the ‘war on terror’ has resulted in changes to the law of armed conflict and terrorism and conflict resolution.

The Kurdish Conflict explores the practical possibilities of conflict resolution in the region, examining the political dynamics of the region, and suggesting where lessons can be drawn from other peace processes, such as in Northern Ireland.

This book will be of great value to policy-makers, regional experts, and others interested in international humanitarian law and conflict resolution.

Hardback and Paperback copies of the book are available to order from the KHRP website shop for £85.00 and £29.99 per copy respectively.

 

 
KHRP Honoured at The Charity Awards 2010
Thursday, 17 June 2010 14:45

From left to right: KHRP Chair, Michael Ivers, Development & Outreach Officer, Anna Irvin, Managing Director, Rachel Bernu & Resources & Communications Manager, Pranjali Acharya

On the evening of 10 June, KHRP attended a star-studded ceremony hosted by comedienne Jo Brand at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel for The Charity Awards 2010, the UK’s most prestigious non-profit sector awards event. KHRP was one of three organisations short-listed in the International Aid and Development category in recognition of the tireless work it does in helping to bring perpetrators of human rights abuse in the Kurdish regions to justice.
 
All nominees were shortlisted for ‘specific initiatives which have improved the delivery of their charitable objectives and which demonstrate outstanding examples of best practice from which other charities can learn.’ The annual awards, sponsored by the Charities Aid Foundation, The Leadership Trust and The Times, were organised this year by Charity Finance. KHRP’s nomination was based on our successful ‘procurement of the abolition of torture by all lawful means’ initiative in which we urged the Charity Commission to accept work aimed towards this end as a legitimate charitable activity. This has since enabled other UK charities to include this in their mandate, bringing justice to countless torture survivors in the Kurdish regions and globally. The initiative has also resulted in some noteworthy precedents as a result of KHRP strategic litigation at the European Court of Human Rights. Of particular importance here is the precedent set in the case of Aydin v Turkey which established rape, when used in times of conflict, as a recognised form of torture across all member states of the Council of Europe.

“It is both a great privilege and a source of great pride for KHRP to have been recognised and so highly-commended by The Charity Award judges,” said KHRP Chief Executive, Kerim Yildiz. “As expressed by the Award’s organiser, Daniel Phelan, by being short-listed KHRP ‘demonstrated that it is amongst the best-managed charities in the UK’. Accordingly, KHRP would like to thank everyone whose efforts over the years have made its successes possible.”

The distinguished panel of judges at this years event included John Low CBE, Chief Executive of the Charities Aid Foundation, Maeve Sherlock OBE, former Chief Executive of the Refugee Council, Dame Jo Williams, former Chief Executive of Mencap, Paul Winter, Chief Executive of The Leadership Trust, and Dame Mary Marsh, founding Director of the Clore Social Leadership Programme and former Chief Executive of the NSPCC. Celebrities in attendance at the event included Greta Scacchi, Lynda Bellingham, Jon Snow and Peter Bowles.

 

 

 
The Kurdish Conflict: International Humanitarian Law and Post-Conflict Mechanisms to be published 21 June 2010
Monday, 14 June 2010 14:08

KHRP is pleased to announce the forthcoming publication of ‘The Kurdish Conflict: International Humanitarian Law and Post-Conflict Mechanisms’ by Routledge next Monday 21 June 2010.

This book is written by KHRP Chief Executive Kerim Yıldız and Dr Susan Breau, Professor of International Law at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, who specialises in the law of armed conflict and international human rights law.

It is highly topical considering the ongoing conflict in the Kurdish region of Turkey, and the continued incursions into northern Iraq by the Turkish and Iranian armies and security forces, and Turkey's EU accession negotiations. Turkey has become an increasingly important player in Middle Eastern geopolitics. More than two decades of serious conflict in Turkey are proving to be a barrier to improved relations between Turkey and the EU. This book presents the first study to fully address the legal and political dimensions of the conflict, and their impact on mechanisms for conflict resolution in the region, offering a scholarly exploration of a debate that is often politically and emotionally highly charged.

Yıldız and Breau look at the practical application of the law of armed conflicts to the ongoing situation in Turkey and northern Iraq. The application of the law in this region also means addressing larger questions in international law, global politics and conflict resolution. Examples include belligerency in international law, whether the ‘war on terror’ has resulted in changes to the law of armed conflict and terrorism and conflict resolution.

The Kurdish Conflict explores the practical possibilities of conflict resolution in the region, examining the political dynamics of the region, and suggesting where lessons can be drawn from other peace processes, such as in Northern Ireland.

This book will be of great value to policy-makers, regional experts, and others interested in international humanitarian law and conflict resolution.

Hardback and Paperback copies of the book are available to pre-order from the KHRP website shop for £85.00 and £29.99 per copy respectively.

 
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next > End >>

Page 6 of 14