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March 18, 2008
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Kerim Yildiz, Kerim Yildiz, CUNY- City University of New York - Graduate Center
Executive Director and co-founder of the Kurdish Human Rights Project, London, U.K.
"The Kurds in Turkey and Iraq: human rights, conflict, and the international community"
Kurdishaspect.com - Public Announcement
This talk moderated by Meline Toumani*
Monday, March 24, 2008 at 4:30pm
*Lecture followed by a cocktail party
Abstract:
A history of human rights violations of Kurds in Iraq and Turkey has sadly yet to see its final chapter. Conflict in the southeast of Turkey, cross-border incursions into northern Iraq by the Turkish military, and a pervasive system of cultural, linguistic and political discrimination faces millions of Kurds today. This talk will highlight some of these issues, whilst drawing to our attention that the international community has an opportunity and an obligation to bring about change. Europe had a key role, as Turkey's EU accession process is looking to shape Turkey's future, and in particular, its potential to become a pluralist, democratic state with respect for international human rights. However the current conflict, which not only constitutes a gross violation of the Geneva conventions, but establishes a worrying precedent which may be pursued by other countries which display a disregard for territorial sovereignty and the human rights of civilian populations, should be of grave concern to the entire international community.
Biography:
Kerim Yildiz is an expert in international human rights law and the Kurdish regions; assisting with many cases to the European Court of Human Rights, conducting legal training seminars in Europe and the Kurdish regions, and regularly contributing to seminars and conferences. Yildiz has written extensively on human rights and is published in English, Turkish, Finnish and Russian. His most recent publications include 'The Kurds in Iraq: Past, Present and Future' (Pluto Press, 2007), 'The Kurds in Iran: Past Present and Future' (Pluto Press, 2007, with Tanyel Taysi), 'An Ongoing Practice: Torture in Turkey' (KHRP, 2007, with Frederick Piggott) and 'The European Union and Turkish Accession: Human Rights and the Kurds' (Pluto Press, 2008). He is also a Board member of other human rights and environmental organizations, serving as the Board Chair of the Gateway trust, advisor to the Delfina Foundation and member of Kurdish Pen.
About the Kurdish Human Rights Project:
Established in 1992, KHRP is an independent UK-based NGO that is committed to working cross-regionally on human rights, within an international framework. Working in the Kurdish regions of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria as well as the Caucuses and Europe, our multi-disciplinary programme combines litigation; capacity-building trainings/ tools; expert fact-finding missions and trial observations, with public awareness raising and engagement. KHRP's work has contributed to important reforms in Turkey, including the lifting of the State of Emergency and abolition of state security courts.
* Meline Toumani is a freelance journalist specializing in topics related to nationalism, cultural identity, and music. She has written for The New York Times, The Nation, The Boston Globe, n+1, Salon.com, and other publications. After spending a year living in Turkey, she recently published a long feature article in The New York Times Sunday Magazine about the Kurdish issue, focusing on the legal challenges facing Kurdish politicians, and the possibility of multiculturalism as a strategy to diffuse the cycle of oppression and radicalization. She is also at work on a book about Turkey and Armenia, which will be published by Random House in 2009.
Please RSVP to
Memo Amedi, duderya2003@hotmail.com by March 23
*This talk sponsored by American Kurdish Association (AKA)
Location: The Robert E. Gilleece Student Lounge, 5414 (fifth floor)
The Graduate Center, the City University of New York
365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016
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