By Jamal Ekhtiar: Another issue covered by the Special Rapporteur and the UN rights system is civil society, but the UN has been unable to address some vital problems of Iran’s severely deprived regions. Yet again the UN focusses on issues facing central Iran and overlooks other problems that need care and attention. Civil society…
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Category Archives: Human rights
Shaheed, the UN and ignored historical grievances of Balochestan, Ahwaz and Kurdistan
By Jamal Ekhtiar: The term ‘minority’ has been wrongly used in UN literature to define sizable nationalities in Iran and minority rights has been a pillar of the UN rights system, but retrograde developments have prevented the realization of even recognized minority rights for several nationalities in Iran. Bookmark on Delicious Recommend on Facebook Share…
Iran: Shaheed’s UN reports and a few dark spots on rights to education
By Jamal Ekhtiar: The United Nations rights bodies carelessly mishandle the issues of social and cultural rights, education and students problems with their ‘selfish uproar’ rhetoric, but their long history of so-called human rights safeguarding in Iran has produced no tangible results. The UN rights system seems to respect and advocate rights to safety and…
Shaheed’s UN reports; realization and violations of socioeconomic rights in Iran
By Jamal Ekhtiar: United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, focuses on some minor socioeconomic issues, while overlooking more vital concerns affecting the lives of millions in the country. One area he often covers in his reports is gender inequality and limitations placed on women’s employment. He also refers…
Shaheed and the need for a deeper look into rights to information in Iran
By Jamal Ekhtiar: Freedom of expression and the safety of journalists captures special attention in the reports of United Nations Special Rapporteur for human rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed; these are mutually important and, along with this, rights to information for citizens is another vital issue. The Special Rapporteur is generally concerned about freedom for…
Kill for the Religion or Kill the Religion?
By Ahmet Abidin Ozbek: ‘Give them the hope or occasion of a massacre, they will follow you blindly’.E. M. Cioran Whilst the ISIS name is everywhere, most people have already forgotten the deeper crisis in Islam and Muslim society. Unfortunately, if we look closely at history, we can see that every religion (particularly Islam) creates more…
Iran: Shaheed’s UN fact-finding mission versus repeating bygone flaws
By Jamal Ekhtiar: The human rights situation in Iran will be considered by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly and UN Human Rights Council during a series of meetings in September, but the UN’s old fashioned human rights rhetoric on Iran has not been fruitful so far. The UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights…
Amnesty: 4 Kurds on Iran death row go on hunger strike
By Amnesty International: :Four Sunni men from Iran’s Kurdish minority have again been on hunger strike since 13 June in fear of their imminent execution. They have reportedly been subjected to mock executions at Ghezal Hesar Prison, where they were transferred on 14 June. Jamshid Dehghani, his younger brother Jahangir Dehghani, Hamed Ahmadi and Kamal…
Kurdish independence dream might turn against free press and democracy
By Kamal Chomani: This is the text of a speech today by independent journalist Kamal Chomani to a meeting held at the Swedish Parliament about human rights and press freedom, organised by Swedish MP Amine Kakabaveh, the 17th February Group and the NINA center: Thank you so much for this honor. I feel terribly humbled to address…
South Kurdistan journalist and a women’s activist to address rights meeting at Swedish parliament
KT News: Independent journalist Kamal Chomani and Kurdish women’s activist Halal Rafe are to address a meeting at the Swedish parliament next week to discuss freedom of expression and women’s rights in the Kurdistan Region. Officials from the Swedish foreign ministry and the foreign relations departments of five political parties are expected to attend the session. Bookmark…
Greek tragedy – the plight of the migrants
By Ramyar Hassani: Being an undocumented migrant in Greece involves the risk of any kind of violent attack, arbitrary imprisonment in detention centers for an indefinite period without access to basic needs – or even worse situations before reaching the country, such as being stripped naked at sea and pushed back towards Turkey. Bookmark on…
‘By God, I will not vote’: blind Kurd’s response to everyday discrimination
By Jegr Nathim: Yesternight, my friend Ismail called me and in a broken tone told me that he is seriously thinking of committing suicide. Hearing this from my musician and fun-loving friend sent a shockwave through my entire body and moved me to tears of a bitter defeat. Like most of his fellow humans, he…
Ismail Beşikci, champion of Kurds’ rights, barred from the USA
KT Report: Ismail Beşikci – the renowned Turkish sociologist who spent 17 years in jail for writing about Turkey’s Kurds – has been barred from travelling to the USA to address two conferences. Dr. Beşikci was about to fly from Istanbul airport on Sunday with Ibrahim Gunduz, head of the Ismail Beşikci Foundation, when the pair…
ECHR finds Turkey guilty over 1993 disappearances
KT Report: The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) this week found Turkey guilty of breaching the European Convention on Human Rights by violating the ‘right to life’. The case concerns the disappearance of six villagers who were detained by security forces in 1993 and never seen again. This ruling follows a 20-year campaign by…
Erdoğan accused of ‘threatening Turkey with autocracy’
KT Report: The Turkish government faced new international criticism this week over claims that it is becoming increasingly undemocratic. A bipartisan group of 84 former US law makers, officials and policy experts has written to President Obama, urging him “to make it clear, privately and publicly, that Prime Minister Erdoğan’s autocratic actions and demagoguery are…
