Publications
“Children are our future” is an often-heard slogan used to indicate that children are the focus of an effort, that their protection and development are essential for the development of societies, and that we all care about them and their interests. From January 2020 through December 2021, Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights researched the situation of former ISIS “Children Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups”. These children were forced to witness and be actively part in armed conflict and gross human rights violations.
“Children are our future” is an often-heard slogan used to indicate that children are the focus of an effort, that their protection and development are essential for the development of societies, and that we all care about them and their interests. From January 2020 through December 2021, Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights researched the situation of former ISIS “Children Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups”. These children were forced to witness and be actively part in armed conflict and gross human rights violations.
To mark the second anniversary of the passage of the Yazidi [Female] Survivors Law, C4JR publishes a report More than “Ink on Paper”: Taking Stock two Years After the Adoption of the Yazidi [Female] Survivors Law. This report provides an overview of circumstances leading up to YSL´s enactment and content, reactions and the state of implementation.
Protection and promotion of children’s rights present crucial elements of the international system for protecting human rights. Recently, we have seen substantial progress towards embedding the rights of children to be protected from sexual exploitation and sexual violence into both local and international agendas.
Since 2003, Iraq has suffered devasting conflict and insecurity. The country witnessed large-scale violence caused by the terrorist group Da’esh, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). From June 2014, ISIS launched a genocidal campaign against ethno-religious minorities in Iraq. The targeted violence sought to erase the presence of religious minorities in Iraq altogether, and particularly the Yazidis. ISIS decried the Yazidis as devil-worshippers. ISIS executed those who refused religious conversion. This resulted in an estimated 30,000 civilians killed and 55,000 injured. They destroyed countless shrines, churches, temples, and other cultural sites. This also triggered a large-scale displacement crisis with more than 3 million displaced. Ethno-religious communities were particularly targeted, including Yazidis, Christians, Sabean-Mandaeans, Turkmen, Kaka’i, and Shabaks. This triggered existential threats which continue in Iraq to this day.
The Coalition for Just Reparations (C4JR) is an alliance of Iraqi civil society organizations (CSOs). The coalition represents Iraq’s linguistic, ethnic and religious diversity. C4JR is calling for comprehensive reparations for survivors of atrocity crimes perpetrated during the ISIS conflict in Iraq. C4JR draws on international human rights and national law to advance the right to reparations. The coalition seeks to provide a collaborative and safe space where grievances of survivors belonging to all affected groups will be adequately addressed (Yazidi, Turkmen, Shabak, Kakai, Christians, Shia, Sunnis and others).
This manual aims at enhancing the Iraqi civil society organizations’ (CSOs) knowledge in
Transitional and Restorative Justice (TJ/RJ) and improving their capacities in planning and
implementing relevant activities. Therefore, the manual combines both theoretical
knowledge and practical steps to explore, plan, and implement interventions at the local
levels. While the manual draws on TJ/RJ academic discourse and experiences from other post-conflict contexts, it was specifically developed in conformity with the Iraqi context and based on accumulated inputs from civil society actors.
The booklet combines stories from patients and staff of the Jiyan Foundation to aid parents, teachers, community leaders and others to discuss the trauma that was brought by ISIS with children and youth, and provide strategies to counter the destructive messages that have been spread by the group.
This brochure contains a selection of eleven representative survivors’ testimonials. We created this booklet to share our patients’ stories with a larger community. We feel it is essential to help the survivors speak out, in the hope that one day all people will enjoy their fundamental human rights in Iraq.
Rights in Your Pocket
We believe that a person who knows their rights has a better chance of getting their rights realised. Rights in Your Pocket is a series of pocket-sized booklets detailing fundamental human rights and specific women’s and children’s rights in Kurdish and English.