Name:
Kurdish Human Rights Watch
Website:
Location
Headquarters: Fairfax, VA
Other Offices: Baghdad, Iraq; Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan; Kirkuk, Iraqi Kurdistan; Sulaymaniyah, Iraq; Portland, Oregon; Kent, Washington; San Diego, California
KHRW Director, Pary Karadaghi, with a boy in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Mission:
The mission of Kurdish Human Rights Watch, Inc. (KHRW) is to enable Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), refugees, asylee newcomers and homeless individuals to achieve self-sufficiency and economic independence through direct assistance and capacity-building.
About:
KHRW began in 1989 with a mandate to advocate for the human rights of the Kurdish people in response to atrocities committed against Kurdish minorities in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey and the former Soviet Union. A major advocacy campaign was initiated due to the crimes against humanity committed by Saddam Hussein, including chemical weapon use and genocide of the 1980s.
KHRW has grown into an international, humanitarian service organization with six community service sites in the United States and four community service sites in Iraq. The KHRW mandate has grown over the past 20 years to enable Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Kurdistan Region (northern Iraq) and refugees in the United States to achieve self-sufficiency and preserve their fundamental rights. KHRW is the primary Kurdish-American, community-based organization in America that helps newcomers, who view the U.S. as their beacon of light, to achieve successful integration.
Goals:
- Advocate for economic and democratic rights and opportunities for all ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq, Syria, Iran and Turkey
- Encourage Kurdish and Iraqi Arabic speaking women to be equal participants in Iraq’s new political systems.
- Assist refugee individuals and families with achieving economic self-sufficiency
- Increase humanitarian services to those in need, particularly refugee families and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
- Provide community and microenterprise economic development opportunities
- Promote human rights and provide humanitarian aid to refugees and internally displaced persons
- Build understanding among the diverse ethnic groups that KHRW serves
Looking for service hours or want to help KHRW? You can become an intern or volunteer. Follow the directions on this page to give back by supporting an important Kurdish organization.