CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head><script type="text/javascript" src="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/js/bundle-playback.js?v=7YQSqjSh" charset="utf-8"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/js/wombat.js?v=txqj7nKC" charset="utf-8"></script> <script>window.RufflePlayer=window.RufflePlayer||{};window.RufflePlayer.config={"autoplay":"on","unmuteOverlay":"hidden"};</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/js/ruffle/ruffle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> __wm.init("https://web.archive.org/web"); __wm.wombat("http://www.khrp.org/latest-news/2008-news/410-khrp-deputy-director-speaks-at-parliamentary-event-on-the-kurds-in-syria.html","20210425190544","https://web.archive.org/","web","https://web-static.archive.org/_static/", "1619377544"); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/css/banner-styles.css?v=p7PEIJWi" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/css/iconochive.css?v=3PDvdIFv" />  <base href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/latest-news/2008-news/410-khrp-deputy-director-speaks-at-parliamentary-event-on-the-kurds-in-syria.html"/> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/> <meta name="robots" content="index, follow"/> <meta name="keywords" content="Kurdish Human Rights Project, KHRP, Human Rights, Kurdish, Kurds, European Court, ECtHR, European Convention on Human Rights, Kerim Yildiz, Human Rights Law, Human Rights Lawyers, Human Rights Charity"/> <meta name="title" content="KHRP Deputy Director Speaks at Parliamentary Event on the Kurds in Syria"/> <meta name="author" content="Michael Farquhar"/> <meta name="description" content="On 21 October 2008, KHRP Deputy Director Rachel Bernu delivered a speech at the Houses of Parliament as part of a meeting entitled &lsquo;Human Rights and the Kurds in Syria: Discrimination and"/> <meta name="generator" content="Joomla! 1.5 - Open Source Content Management"/> <title>KHRP Deputy Director Speaks at Parliamentary Event on the Kurds in Syria | KHRP | Kurdish Human Rights Project</title> <script type="text/javascript" src="/web/20210425190544js_/http://www.khrp.org/media/system/js/mootools.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/web/20210425190544js_/http://www.khrp.org/media/system/js/caption.js"></script> <link href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544cs_/http://www.khrp.org/templates/khrp2010/ja_menus/ja_cssmenu/ja.cssmenu.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"/> <script src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544js_/http://www.khrp.org/templates/khrp2010/ja_menus/ja_cssmenu/ja.cssmenu.js" language="javascript" type="text/javascript"></script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544cs_/http://www.khrp.org/templates/system/css/system.css" type="text/css"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544cs_/http://www.khrp.org/templates/system/css/general.css" type="text/css"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544cs_/http://www.khrp.org/templates/khrp2010/css/editor_content.css" type="text/css"/> <link href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544cs_/http://www.khrp.org/templates/khrp2010/css/template_css.minified.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"/> <link href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544cs_/http://www.khrp.org/templates/khrp2010/css/colors/default.css" rel="alternate stylesheet" type="text/css" title="default"/> <link href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544cs_/http://www.khrp.org/templates/khrp2010/css/colors/brown.css" rel="alternate stylesheet" type="text/css" title="brown"/> <link href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544cs_/http://www.khrp.org/templates/khrp2010/css/colors/green.css" rel="alternate stylesheet" type="text/css" title="green"/> <link href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544cs_/http://www.khrp.org/templates/khrp2010/css/colors/red.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" title="red"/> <link href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544cs_/http://www.khrp.org/templates/khrp2010/css/colors/blue.css" rel="alternate stylesheet" type="text/css" title="blue"/>     </head> <body id="bd" class="wide fs3"> <div id="ja-container-outer"> <div id="ja-container"> <a name="Top" id="Top"></a> <a title="Skip to content" href="#Content" style="display: none;">Skip to content</a>  <div id="ja-header"> <h1> <a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/index.php"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544im_/http://www.khrp.org/templates/khrp2010/images/logo.gif" alt="KHRP | Kurdish Human Rights Project"/></a> </h1> <div id="ja-subheader"> <div id="ja-usertools"> <span class="ja-usertools"> <a><img style="cursor: pointer;" title="narrow screen" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544im_/http://www.khrp.org/templates/khrp2010/images/user-screen1.gif" alt="narrow screen resolution" id="ja-tool-narrow" onclick="switchTool('khrp2010_ja_screen','narrow');return false;"/></a> <a><img style="cursor: pointer;" title="wide screen" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544im_/http://www.khrp.org/templates/khrp2010/images/user-screen2-hilite.gif" alt="wide screen resolution" id="ja-tool-wide" onclick="switchTool('khrp2010_ja_screen','wide');return false;"/></a> <a><img style="cursor: pointer;" title="Increase font size" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544im_/http://www.khrp.org/templates/khrp2010/images/user-increase.gif" alt="Increase font size" id="ja-tool-increase" onclick="switchFontSize('khrp2010_ja_font','inc'); return false;"/></a> <a><img style="cursor: pointer;" title="Decrease font size" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544im_/http://www.khrp.org/templates/khrp2010/images/user-decrease.gif" alt="Decrease font size" id="ja-tool-decrease" onclick="switchFontSize('khrp2010_ja_font','dec'); return false;"/></a> <a><img style="cursor: pointer;" title="Default font size" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544im_/http://www.khrp.org/templates/khrp2010/images/user-reset.gif" alt="Default font size" id="ja-tool-reset" onclick="switchFontSize('khrp2010_ja_font',3); return false;"/></a> </span> <script type="text/javascript">var CurrentFontSize=parseInt('3');</script> <span class="ja-usertools"> <a><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544im_/http://www.khrp.org/templates/khrp2010/images/default.gif" title="default color" alt="default color" id="ja-tool-defaultcolor" onclick="switchTool('khrp2010_ja_color','default');return false;"/></a> <a><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544im_/http://www.khrp.org/templates/khrp2010/images/brown.gif" title="brown color" alt="brown color" id="ja-tool-browncolor" onclick="switchTool('khrp2010_ja_color','brown');return false;"/></a> <a><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544im_/http://www.khrp.org/templates/khrp2010/images/green.gif" title="green color" alt="green color" id="ja-tool-greencolor" onclick="switchTool('khrp2010_ja_color','green');return false;"/></a> <a><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544im_/http://www.khrp.org/templates/khrp2010/images/red-hilite.gif" title="red color" alt="red color" id="ja-tool-redcolor" onclick="switchTool('khrp2010_ja_color','red');return false;"/></a> <a><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544im_/http://www.khrp.org/templates/khrp2010/images/blue.gif" title="blue color" alt="blue color" id="ja-tool-bluecolor" onclick="switchTool('khrp2010_ja_color','blue');return false;"/></a> </span> </div> <div id="ja-search"> <form action="index.php" method="post"> <div class="search"> <input name="searchword" id="mod_search_searchword" maxlength="20" alt="Search" class="inputbox" type="text" size="20" value="search..." onblur="if(this.value=='') this.value='search...';" onfocus="if(this.value=='search...') this.value='';"/> </div> <input type="hidden" name="task" value="search"/> <input type="hidden" name="option" value="com_search"/> <input type="hidden" name="Itemid" value="46"/> </form> </div> <div id="ja-newsflash" class="clearfix"> <div class="moduletable"> <table class="contentpaneopen"> <tr> <td valign="top"><div> <p><strong>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.</strong></p> </div></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> </td> </tr> </table> </div> </div> <div id="ja-pathway"> <strong>You are here:</strong>  </div> <div id="ja-skip-content"> <a title="Skip to content" href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/latest-news/2008-news/410-khrp-deputy-director-speaks-at-parliamentary-event-on-the-kurds-in-syria.html#Content"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544im_/http://www.khrp.org/templates/khrp2010/images/user-skipintro.gif" border="0" alt="Skip to content"/></a> </div> </div> </div>   <div id="ja-topnav-outer"> <div id="ja-topnav"> <ul id="ja-cssmenu" class="clearfix"> <li class="havechild"><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp.html" class="first-item" id="menu1" title="Home"><span>Home</span></a><ul><li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp/turkey.html" class="first-item" id="menu33" title="T眉rk莽e"><span>T眉rk莽e</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp/search.html" id="menu5" title="Search"><span>Search</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/index.php?Itemid=334&option=" class="last-item" id="menu334" title="User Profile"><span>User Profile</span></a></li> </ul></li> <li class="havechild"><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/kurds.html" id="menu138" title="The Kurds"><span>The Kurds</span></a><ul><li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/kurds/the-kurds-today.html" class="first-item" id="menu128" title="The Kurds Today"><span>The Kurds Today</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/kurds/history.html" id="menu126" title="History"><span>History</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/kurds/kurdish-region-map.html" class="last-item" id="menu125" title="Kurdish Region Map"><span>Kurdish Region Map</span></a></li> </ul></li> <li class="havechild"><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/about-khrp.html" id="menu29" title="About KHRP"><span>About KHRP</span></a><ul><li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/about-khrp/faq.html" class="first-item" id="menu67" title="FAQ"><span>FAQ</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/about-khrp/what-we-do.html" id="menu72" title="What We Do"><span>What We Do</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/about-khrp/who-we-help.html" class="last-item" id="menu122" title="Who We Help"><span>Who We Help</span></a></li> </ul></li> <li class="havechild"><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news.html" class="last-item" id="menu41" title="Stay Informed"><span>Stay Informed</span></a><ul><li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/latest-news.html" class="first-item" id="menu52" title="Latest News"><span>Latest News</span></a></li> <li class="havesubchild"><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/news-archive.html" id="menu2" title="News Archive"><span>News Archive</span></a><ul><li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/news-archive/2011-news.html" class="first-item" id="menu405" title="2011 News"><span>2011 News</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/news-archive/2010-news.html" id="menu348" title="2010 News"><span>2010 News</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/news-archive/2009-news.html" id="menu343" title="2009 News"><span>2009 News</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/news-archive/2008-news.html" id="menu337" title="2008 News"><span>2008 News</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/news-archive/2007-news.html" id="menu100" title="2007 News"><span>2007 News</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/news-archive/2006-news.html" id="menu54" title="2006 News"><span>2006 News</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/news-archive/2005-news.html" id="menu55" title="2005 News"><span>2005 News</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/news-archive/2004-news.html" id="menu56" title="2004 News"><span>2004 News</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/news-archive/2003-news.html" id="menu57" title="2003 News"><span>2003 News</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/news-archive/2002-news.html" id="menu82" title="2002 News"><span>2002 News</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/news-archive/2001-news.html" id="menu83" title="2001 News"><span>2001 News</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/news-archive/2000-news.html" id="menu84" title="2000 News"><span>2000 News</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/news-archive/feature-articles.html" class="last-item" id="menu136" title="Feature Articles"><span>Feature Articles</span></a></li> </ul></li> <li class="havesubchild"><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/human-rights-documents.html" class="last-item" id="menu47" title="Download Library"><span>Download Library</span></a><ul><li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/human-rights-documents/newsline.html" class="first-item" id="menu353" title="Newsline"><span>Newsline</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/human-rights-documents/legal-review.html" id="menu372" title="Legal Review"><span>Legal Review</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/human-rights-documents/audited-accounts.html" id="menu370" title="Audited Accounts"><span>Audited Accounts</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/human-rights-documents/impact-reports.html" id="menu355" title="Impact Reports"><span>Impact Reports</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/human-rights-documents/briefing-papers.html" id="menu356" title="Briefing Papers"><span>Briefing Papers</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/human-rights-documents/2011-publications.html" id="menu409" title="2011 Publications"><span>2011 Publications</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/human-rights-documents/2010-publications.html" id="menu354" title="2010 Publications"><span>2010 Publications</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/human-rights-documents/2009-publications.html" id="menu357" title="2009 Publications"><span>2009 Publications</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/human-rights-documents/2008-publications.html" id="menu358" title="2008 Publications"><span>2008 Publications</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/human-rights-documents/2007-publications.html" id="menu359" title="2007 Publications"><span>2007 Publications</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/human-rights-documents/2006-publications.html" id="menu360" title="2006 Publications"><span>2006 Publications</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/human-rights-documents/2005-publications.html" id="menu361" title="2005 Publications"><span>2005 Publications</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/human-rights-documents/2004-publications.html" id="menu362" title="2004 Publications"><span>2004 Publications</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/human-rights-documents/2003-publications.html" id="menu363" title="2003 Publications"><span>2003 Publications</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/human-rights-documents/2002-publications.html" id="menu364" title="2002 Publications"><span>2002 Publications</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/human-rights-documents/2001-publications.html" id="menu365" title="2001 Publications"><span>2001 Publications</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/human-rights-documents/turkish-documents.html" id="menu366" title="T眉rk莽e"><span>T眉rk莽e</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/human-rights-documents/other-documents.html" class="last-item" id="menu367" title="Other Useful Documents"><span>Other Useful Documents</span></a></li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul> </div> </div>  <div id="ja-contentwrap" class="clearfix">  <div id="ja-leftcol"> <div class="moduletable"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr><td><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/litigation-advocacy.html" class="mainlevel">Litigation & Advocacy</a></td></tr> <tr><td><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/training-fellowship.html" class="mainlevel">Training & Fellowship</a></td></tr> <tr><td><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/missions.html" class="mainlevel">Missions</a></td></tr> <tr><td><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/public-awareness.html" class="mainlevel">Public Awareness</a></td></tr> <tr><td><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/publications.html" class="mainlevel">Publications</a></td></tr> </table> </div> </div>  <div id="ja-mainbody">  <div id="ja-topstory" style="background: url(https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544im_/http://www.khrp.org/templates/khrp2010/images/header/header_image5.jpg) top left; height: 200px;"> </div>   <div id="ja-rightcol"> <div class="moduletable"> <h3>Charity Awards</h3> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/570-khrp-honoured-at-the-charity-awards-2010.html"><img src="/web/20210425190544im_/http://www.khrp.org/images/stories/charityawards.gif" border="0" alt="Charity Awards"/></a></p> </div> <div class="moduletable"> <h3>Gruber Prize</h3> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210425190544/http://www.gruberprizes.org/GruberPrizes/Justice_LaureateOverview.php?awardid=66" target="_blank"><img src="/web/20210425190544im_/http://www.khrp.org/images/stories/2011pics/gruber.jpg" border="0" alt="Gruber"/></a></p> <p style="text-align: center;">Gruber Justice Prize</p> </div> <div class="moduletable"> <h3>Impact Report 2009</h3> <div style="text-align: center"><img src="/web/20210425190544im_/http://www.khrp.org/images/stories/2009ir_95.jpg" border="0" alt="2009-impact-report" title="2008-impact-report" hspace="0" vspace="5" width="95" height="67" style="border: 0; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px;"/></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center" align="center"><a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/human-rights-documents/impact-reports/doc_download/263-impact-report-2009.html"><span>Download the latest KHRP Impact Report</span></a></p> </div> </div>   <div id="ja-content"> <a name="Content" id="Content"></a> <table class="contentpaneopen"> <tr> <td class="contentheading" width="100%"> KHRP Deputy Director Speaks at Parliamentary Event on the Kurds in Syria </td> </tr> </table> <table class="contentpaneopen"> <tr> <td valign="top"> On 21 October 2008, KHRP Deputy Director Rachel Bernu delivered a speech at the Houses of Parliament as part of a meeting entitled ‘Human Rights and the Kurds in Syria: Discrimination and Repression’.<br/> <br/> Hosted by Jeremy Corbyn MP, the event also featured Abdelmajid Mellek, a member of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), and Dr Rebwah Fatah, Director of the UK-based organisation Kurdish Media.<br/> <br/> KHRP gave an overview of the systematic discrimination and human rights abuses faced by Kurds in Syria. This includes a long history of denial of citizenship, targeting of Kurdish political groups and activists, restrictions on freedom of expression, and suppression of Kurdish culture.<br/> <br/> Kurdish Media argued that repression of minority groups by the Syrian authorities is not simply an internal matter, but creates a situation of instability that has repercussions for regional security. The PYD spoke about a new campaign being launched by the party to gather data on human rights violations against Kurds in Syria and to disseminate that information internationally.<br/> <br/> A question-and-answer session at the end of the meeting focused on issues such as the need for human rights activism to bridge divisions between Kurds from different countries and with different political affiliations, and the most effective ways of highlighting the situation of Kurds in Syria to the international community.<br/> <br/> The KHRP speech can be downloaded from our website <a href="/web/20210425190544/http://www.khrp.org/component/docman/cat_view/40-briefing-papers-and-speeches.html">here</a>.<br/> <br/> <strong>Please note: to download or purchase documents from KHRP’s website you must be registered to our site. Registration is easy and free: sign up today on the right-hand side of this page.</strong><br/> </td> </tr> </table> <span class="article_separator"> </span> </div>  </div> </div>  <div id="ja-footer"> <p id="ja-bottomline"> Copyright © 2005 - 2021 KHRP | Kurdish Human Rights Project. <br/> </p> </div>  </div> </div> </body> </html>