11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Discriminationof ethnic minorities by Kurdish security forces ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 24032]

"Ethnically and linguistically, the country's population includes Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, Chaldeans, Assyrians, Shabak, and Armenians. The religious mix is likewise varied. According to UNAMI the situation of minority communities deteriorated significantly since mid-April in many parts of the country.

Assyrians and Chaldeans are considered by many to be a distinct ethnic group. These communities speak a different language, preserve Christian traditions, and do not define themselves as Arabs.

The constitution identifies Arabic and Kurdish as the two official languages of the state. It also provides the right of citizens to educate their children in their mother tongue, such as Turkmen, Syriac, or Armenian, in government educational institutions in accordance with educational guidelines or in any other language in private educational institutions.

During the year discrimination against ethnic minorities was a problem. There were numerous reports of Kurdish authorities discriminating against minorities in the North, including Turkmen, Arabs, and Christians. According to these reports, authorities denied services to some villages, arrested minorities without due process and took them to undisclosed locations for detention, and pressured minority schools to teach in the Kurdish language. Ethnic and religious minorities in Kirkuk frequently charged that Kurdish security forces targeted Arabs and Turkmen."

Document(s): Open document

01.2003 - Source: University of Texas Libraries

Distribution of Ethnoreligious Groups and Major Tribes ("Distribution of Ethnoreligious Groups and Major Tribes") [ID 10058]

Document(s): Distribution of Ethnoreligious Groups and Major Tribes