MESOP : HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH admits latest reports not reflective of KRG

Waar, Duhok: 1 April 2015 – The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has admitted that the content of their latest report was not reflective of the policies of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). HRW has recently published a report titled “Iraqi Kurdistan- Arabs Displaced, Cordoned Off and Detained,”which led to the frustration of the KRG. On Monday, a number of HRW representatives met with Head of the KRG High Committee to Follow Up and Respond to International Reports Dindar Zebari to discuss the issue.

Zebari said the report was not reflective of the KRG policies and that political sensitivity should be taken into account while writing such reports. The KRG strived to ensure peaceful coexistence in the region, he said, adding that 20 percent of Erbil’s population were Arabs who lived safely in the region. On the other hand, executive director of HRW’s Middle East and North Africa Division Sarah Leah Whitson stressed that better care would be taken in the future in order to avoid any generalizations.