The human rights situation of the Kurdish people in the Islamic Republic of Iran

          
          United Nations A/HRC/14/NGO/7
          Distr.: General
          General Assembly 28 May 2010
          English only
          Human Rights Council
          Fourteenth session
          Agenda item 4
          Human rights situations that require the Council's attention
          Written statement submitted by International Educational
          Development, Inc., a non-governmental organization on the
          roster
          The Secretary-General has received the following written statement which is circulated in
          accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31.
          [ 14 May 2010]
          * This written statement is issued, i.medited, in the language(s) received from the submitting non-
          govemmental organization(s).
          GE .10- 137 13 P1encre cyc1e
        

          
          A/HRC/14/NGO/7
          The human rights situation of the Kurdish people in the
          Islamic Republic of Iran*
          The Kurdish people have been are subjected to a severe political repression, serious
          discrimination and ethnic cleansing since the declaration of the “Holy War” in 1979 by
          Ayatollah Khomeini. The following is a brief review of some of the methods used by the
          authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran to suppress the Kurdish people.
          1. The political and economical situation of the Irani Kurdish people.
          While Iranian Kurdistan is, in terms of natural resources (oil, agriculture, minerals), one of
          the richest regions of Iran, along with Ahwaz (territory of the Arab minority), a report
          published in April 2006 by the United Nations shows that this area is one of the most
          discrimination and impoverishment in the country. Resources from the area are taken by
          government authorities or those contracting with the authorities, leaving little or nothing for
          the area's Kurdish population. The Persian areas such as Shiraz, Abada, and Teheran enjoy
          the wealth from these resources.
          The Iranian authorities have carried out both “dekurdistanisation” and “white genocide” 2
          since it came to power:
          “Dekurdistanisation”:
          Because of the economic looting of the regions resources, and because the authorities do
          not invest in developing enterprises or infrastructures, Kurdish youth must leave Kurdistan
          with their families to find employment. Non-Kurdish Tranis relocate in the Kurdish areas to
          manage the exploitation of the resources, and increasing control the economy in the region.
          This becomes a type of ethnic cleansing, with the Kurdish population scattering and
          fragmentizing and the numbers of Persian settlers into Kurdish areas increasing.
          “White Genocide”:
          The term “white genocide” is applied to the practice of distribution of addictive drugs like
          cocaine and opium to Kurdish youth. According to Mahdi Badri, the phenomenon of drug
          addiction affects one out of five families in Kurdistan and is spreading to Kurdish villages
          that were previously drug-free. 3 In this region, the Iranian authorities do not arrest dealers;
          rather, they recruit them and provide them with drugs.
          The goal of such practices is twofold: keeping the Kurdish youth away from Kurdish
          political movements and creating a spy system inside the families. Indeed Ittela'at (the
          Iranian Intelligence Services) uses this method to obtain information about the active
          members of Kurdish political and civil movements: it is easier to obtain information from
          people under addiction — even more when they are provided with drugs. Kurdish political
          leaders have practically no political space to address this and other pressing problems the
          Kurdish people face as they are labelled “terrorists” or “treasonist” by the authorities and
          essentially live in fear for their lives.
          * The Association of Humanitarian Lawyers and the Association of Human Rights in Kurdistan of Inn,
          NGOs without consultative status, also share the views expressed in this statement.
          Journal Kurdistan, n. 421, 2007, p. 11 .
          2 idem
          BADRI Mahdi, Drug Spread in Iran and East Kurdistan, Erbil, Edition Khani, 2007, p.5 4 .
          2
        

          
          A/HRC/14/NGO/7
          2. Language discrimination.
          Under the article 15 of the Iranian Constitution, the official language is Persian. However,
          the Constitution allows the use of regional and tribal languages in the press and mass
          media, as well as for teaching of their literature in schools. However, this Constitutional
          right to language is not respected by the authorities, and, in fact, the Kurdish language is
          not or cannot be taught in schools, the Kurdish newspapers are regularly closed down, and
          Kurdish journalists arrested. Even the use of Kurdish in govemmental instances is impeded.
          In this regard, on the day before she was executed, Ms Shirin Alam- Hooli wrote:
          “My language is Kurdish, the language that I use to communicate with my family, friends
          and community, and the language that I grew up with. But I am not allowed to speak my
          language or read it, I am not allowed to go to school in my own language and I am not
          allowed to write it. They are telling me to deny my Kurdishness, but if I do, that means I
          have to deny who I am.” 4
          3. Prisoners and the death penalty.
          Many of the persons receiving the death penalty in Iran are Kurdish activists. According to
          the Kurdistan Human Rights Organisation as many as 80 % of executions in Iran are of
          Kurdish activists. We note the following 5 persons were executed in the Evin Prison
          (Teheran) on May 9, 2010: (1) Farzad Kamangar; (2) Ali Heydariyan; (3) Farhad
          Vakili; (4) Ms. Shirin Alam-Hooli ; and (5) Mehdi Eslamiyan. 5
          We also note that Ms. Alam- Hooli's case was still on appeal, so took place with no final
          judgement. According to Iran's own laws this execution was illegal.
          4. International action
          It is obvious that the authorities have no intention of improving the situation of the Kurdish
          people in the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is also obvious that the Kurdish people are unable
          to fight back in any way against the oppression without risk of arrest and even the death
          penalty. In these circumstances, the international community has an obligation to engage in
          actions on behalf of the Kurdish people. We urge the Council's mandate holders to address
          this situation. We also urge the Council itself to undertake effective measures to ensure that
          the practices of the govemment cease. Finally we urge the High Commission, the
          Secretary-General as well as Member States to act in unity and decisively to promote and
          protect the human rights of the Kurdish people in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
          www.medyanews.com, 10 May 2010.
          www.medyanews.com, lOMay 2010.
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