Iraqi Turkmen: Living in Fear
Below is an extract from a written statement submitted to the Fourth Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) by the International Federation for the Protection of the Rights of Ethnic, Religious, Linguistic and Other Minorities (IFPRERLOM) in March 2007. It underlines the difficulties that northern
With reference to the mandates and mechanisms of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), this written statement wishes to bring to the attention of the HRC current cases of grave human rights violations committed against indigenous peoples, minorities and other marginalised groups in Africa, Asia and the
The relative peace that has characterised northern
IFPRERLOM calls upon the relevant mandates of the Council to support a reconstruction process and ‘determination of the future of Kerkuk’ that proceed in a manner consistent with the principles of democracy, human rights, and for the genuine inclusion of all affected minorities, including protection of their particular language, culture, and religion, with an open and inclusive dialogue which includes Turkmen and Arab communities, as well as other minorities in the region. In conclusion, IFPRERLOM urges the Council to acknowledge the efforts and achievements, including the value of country-visits, of the mandates and mechanisms assumed by the HRC by their maintenance and to allocate due resources to facilitate the effective continuation of their mission to promote and protect the rights of inter alia ethnic, religious, linguistic and other minorities and vulnerable and suppressed groups whose human rights violations would otherwise have gone largely unaddressed.