The government's path damages the reputation of the Kurdistan Region

Reports 10:42 PM - 2023-03-26

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"Violations and torture in the prisons, a reversal in human rights, the control of minorities, and increased corruption and injustice practiced by the government" are how the reality of the Kurdistan Region is described in international and local reports, but the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) denies all of this in responses released by the Office of the Coordinator for International Advocacy (OICA), leaving the government to continue on its current course.
 
When the KRG was focused on lighting the Newroz fire, the US State Department lit the fake gesture of support for democracy, human rights, and freedoms made by the KRG. Following that, another report on the terrible state of democracy and human rights in the Kurdistan Region was then published by the American magazine Foreign Policy (FP).
 
In response to the US State Department's report on the state of Human Rights in the Kurdistan Region, the OICA said: "The US State Department's report is opaque, inaccurate, and presents a double-standard modality about the realities of the Kurdistan region."

This brings us closer to the ideology of the fallen regime!

Regarding the US State Department report and the OICA's response, Stran Abdullah, head of the Media Bureau of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), told PUKMEDIA: "Of course, arrogance and denying international organizations' and the Kurds' allies' reports and supporting what has been happening in the Kurdistan Region since 1991 will have no benefit."
 
"We must pay attention to human rights and political freedoms because the Kurdish people deserve these rights and freedoms," Stran Abdullah said.
 
The reports on human rights produced by international organizations have both positive and negative consequences and perceptions from other nations. Several organizations, including the US State Department and Human Rights Watch, used to release reports on abuses of freedom and human rights committed by the overthrown Ba'ath Regime, particularly against Kurds and minorities in Iraq. However, the violations were increasingly denied instead of being addressed. The OICA of the Kurdistan Region seems to follow the same path.
 
Denying is pointless, and avoiding reality gradually moves us closer to the ideology of the overthrown regime, according to Abdullah.

These parties and organizations have deviated from the "right path" of the authoritarian party culture

Relying on the documents of the Independent Human Rights Commission in the Kurdistan Region, the US State Department speaks about the Kurdistan Region's correctional facilities, which have long had issues with overcrowding, insufficient water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities, use of violence during preliminary detention, and outdated infrastructure at women's and juvenile centers. Because of a lack of medical personnel, not all convicts could receive adequate medical services.
 
"Furthermore, despite concerns, authorities ignored physical signs of torture, and the complaint procedures did not appear fair or effective." "Many detainees chose not to report such mistreatment because they lacked trust or were afraid of retaliation," according to the US State Department.
 
In response, the OICA says: "In the Kurdistan Region, there is a high degree of freedom of expression and the press, with hundreds of media outlets operating freely, most of which are critical of the official authorities." "The OCIA answered a questionnaire provided by the US Consulate in Erbil, based on which the State Department prepared its report; of course, the latter relied on other sources too. Nevertheless, having abandoned the KRG-based sources on purpose, the US did not possess the necessary resources to access reliable and up-to-date information from the region, which in turn caused the report to be biased as it did not include all relevant information."
 
The KRG's response to the US State Department report walks a tight line between being partisan and being turned partisan, according to Abdullah.
 
"All parties, civil society organizations and cities outside the control of the capital are suspects until proven guilty, as they have deviated from the 'right path' of the authoritarian party culture," he added.

Justifying does not help the KRG

Justifying the government's actions does not serve the situation in the Kurdistan Region. We need to draw attention to and treat the wounds.
 
"What the US State Department report says is true," Gulistan Saeed, deputy chair of the human rights committee in the Kurdistan Parliament, told PUKMEDIA. "Our jails are in poor condition, and detainees are denied many rights."
 
When it comes to human rights, Gulistan Saeed said, "The alert sent to the Kurdistan Region is a warning that does not need to be justified but to be examined."

The fate of the KRG will not be good

In response to the US State Department's report, the OCIA said: "The State Department report relies on several unofficial sources and media outlets that have political rather than human rights-based positions."
 
Meanwhile, the US State Department has criticized the KRG for violating human rights and restricting freedom of expression and the press.
  
Bashdar Hassan, the leader of the legal team representing the Badinan detainees, stated: "Rather than pleading and justifying the authority, the government and the international advocacy coordinator should put their hand on the wound and try to heal it." 'Justifying the government's actions will not result in anything good."
 
"We support the content of the report, which is 100% about the reality of the Kurdistan Region because unfortunately, human rights violations in the Kurdistan Region are at their worst and the violations are increasing by the day," Hassan added.

Most of the harassment cases against journalists are in Erbil and Baghdad

The US State Department once again strongly criticized the KRG for the state of journalism and freedom of expression, saying that the Asayish forces in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah arrested demonstrators and journalists, pointing out that the Press Freedom Advocacy Association (PFAA) recorded 280 cases of abuses of journalists nationwide between May 2021 and May 2022, with the majority of cases in Baghdad and Erbil.
 
According to the US State Department's report, the KRG and the federal government occasionally interfered with media activities through oversight and censorship, which in some cases led to the closure of media outlets, limitations on reporting, refusal of access to public information, and disruptions in internet service.

KRG Security Council and its violations

The US holds the KRG's security forces responsible for violations, torture, and violence. The KRG's OICA acknowledges this fact and says: "It is important to note that the intelligence service in the Kurdistan Region is overseen by the Security Council (KRSC), an established governmental institution responsible for distributing particular obligations to provinces based on decentralization of governance while it consolidates unified security policies. The same applies to other law enforcement units." Accordingly, the KRSC is responsible for all the torture and human rights violations that occur in the Kurdistan Region.



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