BURIED ALIVE

“The world hasshut its eyes to ourproblem.”charge and tortured by a gang of five menalmost to the point of death in order to forcea confession from him. He was verballyabused, beaten and punched, brutally kickedin his back, raped with a bottle, forced into atire, electrocuted multiple times with wiresattached to his genitals and toes, starved, andpsychologically tortured. He sufferedunconsciousness and severe injuries to hisspinal column and eye as a result. He wastortured along with six other accused people,three of whom were Ajanib; one man wasnearly 60 years old and bled from the rapesfor nearly five days. Mr. Jamil was kept for 21days in a 70 inch by 66.3 inch room,sometimes in solitary confinement and othertimes with another person.Relationship with UN Bodies“The world has shut its eyes to our problem,”declares a stateless Kurd. Syria and the worldcommunity, led by the United Nations HighCommissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), musttake concrete steps to end statelessness. Manystateless Kurds reportedly fear approachingthe UNHCR due to perceived politicalconnections between the United Nations andthe Syrian government. This was largelyexacerbated by the July demonstration held infront of UNICEF, when stateless Kurdish childrenand their relatives marched there askingfor the recognition of their rights and weremet with police brutality and arrests. Therewas no intervention on the part of any UNoffice or official, even after agencies wereapproached by relatives of the demonstratorsfor assistance in securing the release of theeight men who were detained.Resolving the ProblemFor purposes of ensuring both human rightsprotection of stateless Kurds and the politicalstability of Syria and the larger MiddleEastern region where Kurds reside, it iscritical that Syria take steps now to reinstatenationality to both the Ajanib and Maktoumeen.Economic and social marginalizationamongst this population is increasingly likelyto foster considerable despair, hopelessness,and unrest. Thousands of highly educatedand qualified Kurds who have much to offerto Syrian development now wait on thesidelines to become full-fledged and integratedmembers of Syrian civil society. They havemuch to offer the country in terms ofprofessional capacity, and this vast pool ofhuman resources is currently being wasted.As an intermediary step, the UNHCR, whichhas a mandate for stateless persons, shouldbe playing a proactive role in advocating forthe protection of Kurds without nationality inSyria, but has yet to act assertively on theirbehalf. The UNHCR told Refugees Internationalthat they did encourage the Syriangovernment to resolve the stateless problemupon the President’s recent visit to Hassakeh.However, there has been no evidence offollow-up other than a promised governmentinitiative to grant citizenship to 30,000stateless persons, which was frozen after theQamishli uprising. The government reportedlyconducted a confidential census ofstateless Kurds in the northeast earlier thisyear, but no numbers have been officiallyreleased.Ultimately, however, it is the obligation of theSyrian government to take steps to rectify thisserious and growing problem. The Syriangovernment should grant citizenship to allindividuals lacking effective nationality inaccordance with Article 3 of the SyrianNationality Act and with international law. Inan effort to support their integration intoSyrian society after citizenship is granted, RIencourages the Syrian government to begina program of reparations and developmentfor Kurds who lost property and status in1962 and promote the recognition ofKurdish culture and language within Syriansociety. It is also critical to ensure that Kurdshave equal opportunities for local participation.Equality will help facilitate unity.To prevent statelessness from injuring thesecurity of the nation in the future, RI urgesthe Syrian government to ensure that everychild born in Syria has the right to acquire aBURIED ALIVE: STATELESS KURDS IN SYRIA