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UK Special Envoy on Human Rights hears
about Kurdistan's steps to tackle ‘honour’ crimes
21.12.2007
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December
21, 2007
LONDON, -- Ms Ann Clwyd, the Special Envoy to
the British Prime Minister on Human Rights in Iraq,
on Tuesday heard about steps being taken by the
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to eradicate
‘honour’ based crimes against women.
Ms Clwyd, a British member of parliament, discussed
the issue of violence against women in the Kurdistan
Region in Iraq with Ms Nazand Begikhani, who sits on
the KRG's Honour Killing Monitoring Commission as an
independent consultant, and Ms Bayan Sami Abdul
Rahman, the KRG’s High Representative to the UK.
The Commission, which was set up in June, is headed
by Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and includes the
ministers for the interior, human rights, women,
justice and religious affairs. The Commission's task
is to devise strategies to prevent honour crimes -
incidents in which mental pressure,www.ekurd.net
force or physical
violence are used against women, usually by male
family members who believe that the women have
brought shame on them. |
Ann Clwyd (R) the Special Envoy to the British Prime
Minister on Human Rights in Iraq with Nazand
Begikhani, an independent consultant in the KRG's
Honour Killing Monitoring Commission, December 20,
2007. |
Ms Clwyd, who has visited Kurdistan and other parts
of Iraq several times and chairs Britain's All-Party
Parliamentary Group on Iraq, said “I am pleased that
the KRG is taking steps to eradicate violence
against women. I have visited a shelter for women in
Sulaimaniyah and have pointed out the need for more
refuges for women who lived in fear of violence.”
The commission’s work ranges from monitoring the
implementation of Kurdistan’s laws, which punish
‘honour’ crimes as severely as other violent crimes,
providing training for the police and judiciary to
help them better understand women’s issues, and
increasing the role of the government, the media and
religious leaders in tackling the problem.
Ms Begikhani said, “Much had been achieved in
raising awareness, and more needs to be done in all
areas.” She explained that the Interior Ministry has
set up three departments in each province for
monitoring, collecting data, and following up on
violent crimes against women. The commission’s
strategies have helped to reduce honour killings
over the past five months, but more women may be
committing assisted suicide or face emotional
blackmail because family members now fear police and
judicial measures that the commission’s work has
reinforced.
Ms Begikhani has asked the British Consulate in
Erbil if Kurdish police officers could come to the
UK for training on investigating and reporting
honour crimes to pass that knowledge to their peers.
On the commission’s advice, the Religious Affairs
Ministry gave talks at mosques over one week to
educate people on Islam’s true view of women’s
right,www.ekurd.net
and imams regularly
condemn honour crimes.
Ms Clwyd said she would discuss with the Attorney
General, the British government’s chief legal
adviser, the laws and agreements on extraditing
people suspected of committing honour killings in
Britain or in the Kurdistan Region. In the past,
people suspected of committing such crimes have been
extradited from Sweden to the Kurdistan Region.
krg org
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