Academic Publications (Peer-Review) by Thomas McGee
Researching Internal Displacement, 2022
Academia has focused on risks of statelessness for Syrian refugee families. But what about childr... more Academia has focused on risks of statelessness for Syrian refugee families. But what about children who are born to the millions of displaced parents who have not crossed an international border into another country? This paper consequently considers the factors that may put internally displaced Syrian children at heightened risk of statelessness.
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Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication, 2022
The Syrian conflict has contributed to major debates in culture, media and politics around transi... more The Syrian conflict has contributed to major debates in culture, media and politics around transitions linked to borders, ethnicity and identity. Against this backdrop, this article explores the use of ‘Rojava’, a keyword referring to Kurdish-majority areas in the country. It examines the term’s changing meanings and usage against the evolving backdrop of the governance project led by Kurds since the post-2011 power vacuum in North(eastern) Syria. The article identifies how the term has been both operationalized and later abandoned and replaced by other nomenclature while highlighting the implications of these changes on public and political discourse. The term ‘Rojava’ traces its origins to the context of (pan-)Kurdish nationalism, with its literal meaning of ‘western’ (Kurdistan) implying a notion of trans-border Kurdish identity. From this point of departure, the author considers how it has been popularized in anarchist and Western solidarity circles as well as through international media in expressions such as the ‘Rojava experiment’ and ‘Rojava Revolution’. The article unpacks how it has become shorthand in Western media for an ideology of women’s liberation and leftist grassroots governance, as well as considering the term’s less favorable reception in the Arab press, where the word ‘Rojava’ itself is treated as a foreign, and sometimes threatening, concept. Finally, the article presents how from 2016 the Kurdish-led authorities in this region of Syria sought to formally distance themselves from the term they had introduced. This change was due to realpolitik imperatives to re-brand their governance project under the ‘Syrian Democratic’ banner when incorporating non-Kurdish-majority territories (Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor and Menbij). In the context of its official abandonment, the term has nonetheless retained currency in the media as well as popular everyday contexts among Kurds on street level.
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Statelessness & Citizenship Review, 2022
This commentary developed out of a workshop held by the MENA Statelessness Network (Hawiati) on... more This commentary developed out of a workshop held by the MENA Statelessness Network (Hawiati) on 9 June 2021. Within this commentary, we approach the Zhao decision from the perspective of our research and advocacy work in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and consider the potential impact of this decision on ICCPR state parties in the MENA, where domestic legal protections for stateless persons are scarce.
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Critical Statelessness Studies, 2022
In this blog entry, Thomas McGee, PhD candidate at the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness at ... more In this blog entry, Thomas McGee, PhD candidate at the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness at the University of Melbourne, reflects on the emerging body of critical statelessness scholarship, and considers its relation to the more established field of Critical Citizenship Studies (CCS). He argues that critical perspectives on statelessness can benefit from the emphasis on claim-making and performative identity construction advanced by CCS, but that there remains a need to consider the unique dimensions of stateless experiences.
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European Network on Statelessness, 2020
What is the potential impact of world attention turning to the COVID-19 pandemic and its socio-po... more What is the potential impact of world attention turning to the COVID-19 pandemic and its socio-political consequences, on statelessness research? The term ‘Covidisation’ has been coined by Dr. Madhukar Pai for the reorientation of research in this manner. By examining how COVID-19 may impact on funding, the representation of stateless people and awareness-raising, this blog offers a reflective analysis of this very sudden change in our working landscape, and coincides with the recent launch of 'The Critical Statelessness Studies Project’ by the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness. The project interrogates dominant narratives and approaches in the contemporary study of statelessness.
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Critical Statelessness Studies Blog
The Critical Statelessness Studies Project emerged to promote reflexive critical analyses of main... more The Critical Statelessness Studies Project emerged to promote reflexive critical analyses of mainstream approaches to statelessness that have emerged over the past decade or so in both academia and civil society. The CSS blog series provides a platform for (emerging) statelessness scholars engaged with critical theory or critical methods. Critical approaches take many forms and have been applied to an immense variety of subjects, disciplines and fields. In this introductory blog, we elaborate on what critical approaches can mean for the statelessness sector and invite readers to reflect upon their own practices or approaches to statelessness work.
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Routed Magazine, 2021
The recent global debates on ‘citizenship stripping’ for associates of the Islamic State terroris... more The recent global debates on ‘citizenship stripping’ for associates of the Islamic State terrorist group have been characterised by emotive responses propagated by the Western tabloid press. Knee-jerk reactions tend to dominate in place of nuanced discussions and evidence-driven policy articulations. Citizenship stripping has been considered to constitute a ‘return of banishment’ – that is, exiling problematic individuals beyond the borders of a limited political community. Recent practices of citizenship stripping by states do not only reinforce their own borders against those they consider to be a national security threat, with implications for processes of justice, as highlighted in the Shamima Begum case. They also institute and maintain other systems of outsourced governance and externalised border control, e.g. the use of detention in camps run by non-state Kurdish actors in Northern Syria. However, rarely have the perspectives of Syrians on this issue been heard, despite the fact that their lives are evidently more directly affected by these citizenship stripping policies since they are left to manage the humanitarian, security and social impacts of former ISIS members now stranded in their country.
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Şar Magazine, 2020
تقدم هذه الورقة حجتين رئيسيتين، الأولى هي أنه لا يزال انعدام الجنسية يؤثّر على كُرد سوريا حيث أن ... more تقدم هذه الورقة حجتين رئيسيتين، الأولى هي أنه لا يزال انعدام الجنسية يؤثّر على كُرد سوريا حيث أن قسماً من عديمي الجنسية قبل 2011 لم يتحصّلوا على الجنسية إلى اليوم (مثل مكتومي القيد الذين استبعدوا من المرسوم 49)، كما أن من حصلوا على الجنسية بعد 2011 ما زالوا يعانون من الإرث السلبي لانعدام الجنسية.
الحجة الثانية: تجادل هذه الورقة، بأن قضية انعدام الجنسية لكُرد سوريا؛ لها مكانة مهمة ضمن عملية بناء السلام في البلاد.
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Statelessness and Citizenship Review, 2020
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استعادة الديار - معركة العدالة في حقوق الإسكان والأرض والملكية في سوريا والعراق وليبيا, 2020
يقدم هذا الفصل دراسة عن حالة الإسكان والأراضي والممتلكات للنازحين المحليين والنازحين في منطقة عفر... more يقدم هذا الفصل دراسة عن حالة الإسكان والأراضي والممتلكات للنازحين المحليين والنازحين في منطقة عفرين السورية منذ انطلاق "عملية غصن الزيتون" بقيادة تركيا في يناير 2018. تم وصف انتهاكات حقوق الإسكان والأراضي والممتلكات في المقابلات التي تقدم تقارير دقيقة عن أدوار ومشاركة مختلف الجهات الفاعلة فيما يتعلق بالاحتلال ونقل الإسكان والأراضي والممتلكات. تتناول هذه الدراسة على وجه التحديد مشاركة القوات المسلحة التركية وشركائها السوريين (الجيش السوري الحر والفصائل الأخرى) ، وكذلك النازحين داخليًا الذين أعيد توطينهم من أماكن أخرى في سوريا. يتم تحليل الديناميكيات بين هذه الجهات الفاعلة ، وكذلك المجالس المحلية وقوات الشرطة المدنية التي شكلتها تركيا وحلفاؤها السوريون ، لفهم التعقيدات المتعلقة بمن يرتكب انتهاكات الإسكان والأرض والملكية في عفرين ، والمساءلة عنها في نهاية المطاف.
تتجلى قضايا الإسكان والأرض والملكية المتداخلة في سوريا اليوم في نقل العائلات النازحة إلى عفرين ، ولا سيما تلك التي تم إجلاؤها من المناطق الريفية حول دمشق والتي أعيدت إلى سيطرة الحكومة السورية في ربيع 2018. وفي السياق الأوسع ، تقدم دراسة حالة عفرين مقنعة شهادة على الطرق العديدة التي أثر بها الصراع السوري على التمتع بحقوق السكن والأرض والملكية. يوثق هذا الفصل مختلف انتهاكات الإسكان والأرض والملكية التي ارتكبت ضد أفراد من عفرين أثناء العملية العسكرية وبعدها ، ويقبل ادعاءات الأشخاص الذين تمت مقابلتهم على أنها ذات مصداقية بأن الانتهاكات هي محاولات سياسية الدوافع لتغيير التركيبة السكانية لمنطقة كردية تاريخية. تعكس الممارسات الأخيرة لنقل السكن والأرض والملكية في عفرين السياسات التي سنتها الحكومة التركية ضد سكانها الأكراد وتستند إلى تدابير ما قبل النزاع التي قدمتها السلطات السورية لتقييد ملكية العقارات والمساكن في المناطق الحدودية المستهدفة.
واقرأ هنا المنشور بأكمله
http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/tunesien/16596.pdf
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رواق عربي / Rowaq Arabi, 2020
من المرجح أن يواجه الأطفال الذين ولدوا للناجيات الإيزيديات عبر اغتصاب الإبادة الاجتماعية خلال أ... more من المرجح أن يواجه الأطفال الذين ولدوا للناجيات الإيزيديات عبر اغتصاب الإبادة الاجتماعية خلال أسرهن لدى تنظيم الدولة الإسلامية، مستقب ًلا سيكتشفون خلاله حقائق قاسية بشأن الظروف المأساوية التي أحاطت بمجيئهم إلى هذا العالم. وفي ظل الصدمة التي لا تزال أمهاتهن تعانيها، يخضع العديد منهم لإرث الإبادة الجماعية. أحد تجليات ذلك، مأزق التوثيق المدني لأوراقهم الثبوتية، إذ أنهم محاصرون ما بين مخاطر انعدام الجنسية وبين إمكانية الحصول على جنسية من شأنها أن تؤدي لوصمهم بشكل خطير؛ نتيجة ربط هؤلاء الأطفال بآبائهم مقترفي الجرائم. وآخذًا في الاعتبار حقوق الإنسان والمصالح الفُضلى لهؤلاء الأطفال؛ فإن هذا المقال يستعرض الأبعاد القانونية والدينية والاجتماعية، التي من شأنها تعقيد قدرتهم على الحصول على حقهم في الجنسية، كما يتعقب المقال تطور الخطاب المجتمعي حول هذه القضية. الحجة الرئيسية التي يقدمها المقال أنه في ظل الظروف المأساوية الاستثنائية، ربما يغدو الحصول على جنسية موصومة معضلة لا تختلف عن المحنة التي يواجهها الذين ظلوا عديمي الجنسية. وبالرغم من بعض الحلول "المبتكرة" غير الرسمية التي ظهرت في مستهل الأزمة للمشكلات التي أخفقت القوانين في حلها؛ فإن المقال يخلُص إلى ضرورة إحالة الأمر إلى المجتمع الدولي، ليعمل على سد الفجوة في الحماية المتاحة لهؤلاء الأطفال.
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Rowaq Arabi, 2020
Children born to Yezidi survivors of genocidal rape during Islamic State (ISIS) captivity are lik... more Children born to Yezidi survivors of genocidal rape during Islamic State (ISIS) captivity are likely to face a future interspersed with difficult realisations about the tragic circumstances of their coming into this world. In the shadow of the trauma endured by their mothers, many are subject to the legacy of genocide. One such manifestation is their civil documentation predicament, as they are trapped between the risks of statelessness and the possibility of acquiring a dangerously stigmatised nationality that associates the children with their perpetrator fathers. Considering the human rights and best interests of such children, this article unpacks the legal, religious and social dimensions that complicate their ability to access the right to a nationality, and traces the evolving community discourse on the issue. The central claim is that in exceptionally tragic circumstances, accessing a stigmatised form of nationality may be just as problematic as the plight of remaining stateless. Despite some initial ‘creative’ informal solutions to the problems the laws have failed to solve, the article concludes by turning to the international community to fill the gap in protection available to these children.
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Genocide Studies International, 2019
The Kurdish-inhabited lands of the Middle East—spanning territories in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Tur... more The Kurdish-inhabited lands of the Middle East—spanning territories in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey as well as the Caucasus—have hosted a complex ethno-religious mosaic of civilizations since ancient times. The region’s fertile soils bear witness to centuries of social cohesion and intercommunal harmony, punctuated by persecution, war, genocide, and atrocity committed against its peoples by internal and external historical agents. In the modern era, genocidal strategies have been employed against ethnic Kurds as well as Armenians, Assyrians, and Ezidis,1 among other groups, as part of the rise of nationalism and nation-states within a larger global context characterized by regional competition and Russian, European, and North American imperial interests.
At times, Kurds have found themselves caught up in genocidal processes as perpetrators, bystanders, and rescuers, as was the case with the Ottoman Empire’s genocide against its Christian (and Ezidi) populations during and after World War I. At other times, and more frequently, Kurds have found themselves targeted by genocidal violence, to the extent that they have been referred as “a nation of genocides.”2 The enduring trauma of genocide and of the historical processes of erasure, as well as the trauma associated with the unfinished project of creating a sovereign homeland in which Kurds can find protection, is palpable to anyone who visits the region.
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Statelessness & Citizenship Review, 2020
This article responds to the literature gap within both discourses on 'sexual citizenship' and st... more This article responds to the literature gap within both discourses on 'sexual citizenship' and statelessness studies on the nexus between statelessness and sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics ('SOGIESC'). It explores the intersectional experiences of stateless lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer plus ('LGBTIQ+') individuals as well as circumstances in which discrimination on SOGIESC grounds can cause statelessness for LGBTIQ+ persons or their children. In addition to rare reports of arbitrary deprivation of citizenship from LGBTIQ+ persons, the non-recognition of post-transition statuses and intersex realities may lead to situations of statelessness. Finally, complex legislation and administrative practices around assisted reproductive technology-and especially international commercial surrogacy-can leave children born within 'rainbow families' at particular risk of statelessness. In arguing that a global nexus does indeed exist between SOGIESC and statelessness, this article calls for further empirical research in order to provide greater nuance and context-specific understandings of the intersectional experiences and causes of statelessness for LGBTIQ+ individuals around the world.
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Refuge: Canada’s Journal on Refugees, 2020
Fully Human: Personhood, Citizenship and Rights, by international human rights scholar Lindsey N.... more Fully Human: Personhood, Citizenship and Rights, by international human rights scholar Lindsey N. Kingston, is an ambitious academic study of the global hierarchies of belonging.
[...] In presenting the problems around non-functioning citizenship, Kingston’s book helps to recognize the reality that “citizenship itself is a gradient category, with most people fit-ting on a spectrum somewhere between full and noncitizen-ship” (221). However, the richness of her case studies naturally presents challenges in bringing these disparate contexts into robust analytical conversation. Her call for a reassessment of how the institution of citizenship functions (or does not) raises the question of whether state recognition can ever ultimately be fully inclusive. As she points out, if rights are attached to citizenship (and its effectiveness), we are ultimately dealing with a politically limited model of equality. More functioning forms of citizenship can partially ameliorate, but not eliminate, this systemic problem of modern human rights.
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Tilburg Law Review, Jan 2014
Kurds constitute a trans-border population and the world’s largest non-state nation. Conceptually... more Kurds constitute a trans-border population and the world’s largest non-state nation. Conceptually, as well as empirically, they have long challenged the boundaries of the Middle East’s nation-state system. Due to recent developments in Syria, the country’s (stateless) Kurds find themselves at a double historic juncture. Firstly, some non-citizen Kurds have ‘benefitted’ from the exceptional naturalization brought in as a reconciliatory reform by the current regime during the Revolution’s early stages. Secondly, the transformation of state identity, which is presently being negotiated between Islamists, secularists and Arab nationalists etc, not only impacts upon citizen-state relations, but also determines the position of both stateless and citizen Kurds. Drawing on fieldwork conducted with stateless Kurds, both in Syria and displaced in neighbouring countries, this paper argues that not only is access to citizenship being transformed, but so too is the very definition of being a citizen. The paper concludes that enjoyment of citizenship for Kurds of Syria cannot be understood from a quantitative statistical analysis alone.
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This paper provides a case study update on the situation of stateless persons – specifically ajan... more This paper provides a case study update on the situation of stateless persons – specifically ajanib and
maktumeen Kurds from Syria – and focuses on the forced displacement from their country of origin.
It considers the protection regime in place for the many stateless Syrian Kurds now in the Kurdistan
Region of Iraq, as well as what more can be done to protect those seeking a durable solution in a third
country. This includes a consideration of UN-facilitated resettlement schemes, such as the Vulnerable
Persons Resettlement (VPR) programme to the UK, which presently excludes stateless Syrians at a
time when increased numbers from the stateless community are risking travel to Europe by illegal
means. Finally, the paper highlights some concerning policy assumptions affecting stateless persons
within the present European refugee/asylum context.
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Oxford Monitor of Forced Migration, 2020
While statelessness is not a new problem for Syria, the civil war has brought about additional ri... more While statelessness is not a new problem for Syria, the civil war has brought about additional risks and instances of becoming stateless. It has also transformed situations and vulnerabilities for those who already lacked Syrian citizenship. Greater efforts are urgently needed to understand the impacts of statelessness within post-conflict and forced displacement contexts, and as a platform for change there needs to be heightened understanding and identification of the issue. This article will outline the characteristics of the main stateless profiles, and then will go on to focus on the challenges and need for identification of stateless persons and risks of statelessness.
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Reclaiming Home: The struggle for Socially Just Housing, Land and Property Rights in Syria, Iraq and Libya, 2019
This chapter presents a case study of the housing, land and property (HLP) situation for local an... more This chapter presents a case study of the housing, land and property (HLP) situation for local and displaced persons in the Syrian region of Afrin since the Turkish-led ‘Operation Olive Branch’ was launched in January 2018. HLP rights violations are described in interviews that provide nuanced accounts of the roles and engagement of different actors in relation to the occupation and transfer of housing, land and property. This study specifically considers the involvement of the Turkish Armed Forces, their Syrian partners (the Free Syrian Army, FSA, and other factions), as well as internally displaced persons (IDPs) resettled from elsewhere in Syria. The dynamics between these actors, as well as the local councils and civil police forces set up by Turkey and its Syrian allies, are analysed so as to understand the complexities of who is committing, and ultimately accountable for, HLP violations in Afrin.
The overlapping HLP issues in today’s Syria are exemplified by the relocation to Afrin of displaced families, particularly those evacuated from the rural areas around Damascus that were returned to Syrian government control in spring 2018. Framed in the larger context, the Afrin case study presents compelling testimony of the many ways the Syrian conflict has impacted enjoyment of HLP rights. This chapter documents various HLP violations committed against individuals from Afrin during and since the military operation and accepts as credible local interviewees’ claims that the violations are politically motivated attempts to change the demographics of a historically Kurdish region. Recent practices of HLP transfers in Afrin mirror policies enacted by the Turkish government against its own Kurdish population and build on pre-conflict measures introduced by the Syrian authorities to restrict property and housing ownership in targeted border areas.
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Kurdish Studies, 2018
Brutality and sexual violence perpetrated by the Islamic State (IS) group against women and girls... more Brutality and sexual violence perpetrated by the Islamic State (IS) group against women and girls held in captivity have left traumatic effects on survivors and their communities. In this context, the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg launched a novel 'Special Quota' Humanitarian Admissions Programme to receive one thousand vulnerable women and children. They are predominantly from the Yezidi religious minority in Iraq and its autonomous Kurdistan Region. The programme serves as a noble precedent for new and expanded forms of international protection to those affected by conflict-related sexual violence and associated trauma. This article draws, however, on interviews with participants of the programme in order to consider critically the gendered assumptions embedded within its design, implementation and related discourse. Research findings indicate that explicit exclusion of all adult male family members from accompanying the vulnerable " womenandchildren " to Germany is against the wishes and self-perceived best interests of some women survivors. Moreover, women's inability to maintain family unity compounds their lack of agency to determine the conditions of their own recovery and future within the programme framework.
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Academic Publications (Peer-Review) by Thomas McGee
الحجة الثانية: تجادل هذه الورقة، بأن قضية انعدام الجنسية لكُرد سوريا؛ لها مكانة مهمة ضمن عملية بناء السلام في البلاد.
تتجلى قضايا الإسكان والأرض والملكية المتداخلة في سوريا اليوم في نقل العائلات النازحة إلى عفرين ، ولا سيما تلك التي تم إجلاؤها من المناطق الريفية حول دمشق والتي أعيدت إلى سيطرة الحكومة السورية في ربيع 2018. وفي السياق الأوسع ، تقدم دراسة حالة عفرين مقنعة شهادة على الطرق العديدة التي أثر بها الصراع السوري على التمتع بحقوق السكن والأرض والملكية. يوثق هذا الفصل مختلف انتهاكات الإسكان والأرض والملكية التي ارتكبت ضد أفراد من عفرين أثناء العملية العسكرية وبعدها ، ويقبل ادعاءات الأشخاص الذين تمت مقابلتهم على أنها ذات مصداقية بأن الانتهاكات هي محاولات سياسية الدوافع لتغيير التركيبة السكانية لمنطقة كردية تاريخية. تعكس الممارسات الأخيرة لنقل السكن والأرض والملكية في عفرين السياسات التي سنتها الحكومة التركية ضد سكانها الأكراد وتستند إلى تدابير ما قبل النزاع التي قدمتها السلطات السورية لتقييد ملكية العقارات والمساكن في المناطق الحدودية المستهدفة.
واقرأ هنا المنشور بأكمله
http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/tunesien/16596.pdf
At times, Kurds have found themselves caught up in genocidal processes as perpetrators, bystanders, and rescuers, as was the case with the Ottoman Empire’s genocide against its Christian (and Ezidi) populations during and after World War I. At other times, and more frequently, Kurds have found themselves targeted by genocidal violence, to the extent that they have been referred as “a nation of genocides.”2 The enduring trauma of genocide and of the historical processes of erasure, as well as the trauma associated with the unfinished project of creating a sovereign homeland in which Kurds can find protection, is palpable to anyone who visits the region.
[...] In presenting the problems around non-functioning citizenship, Kingston’s book helps to recognize the reality that “citizenship itself is a gradient category, with most people fit-ting on a spectrum somewhere between full and noncitizen-ship” (221). However, the richness of her case studies naturally presents challenges in bringing these disparate contexts into robust analytical conversation. Her call for a reassessment of how the institution of citizenship functions (or does not) raises the question of whether state recognition can ever ultimately be fully inclusive. As she points out, if rights are attached to citizenship (and its effectiveness), we are ultimately dealing with a politically limited model of equality. More functioning forms of citizenship can partially ameliorate, but not eliminate, this systemic problem of modern human rights.
maktumeen Kurds from Syria – and focuses on the forced displacement from their country of origin.
It considers the protection regime in place for the many stateless Syrian Kurds now in the Kurdistan
Region of Iraq, as well as what more can be done to protect those seeking a durable solution in a third
country. This includes a consideration of UN-facilitated resettlement schemes, such as the Vulnerable
Persons Resettlement (VPR) programme to the UK, which presently excludes stateless Syrians at a
time when increased numbers from the stateless community are risking travel to Europe by illegal
means. Finally, the paper highlights some concerning policy assumptions affecting stateless persons
within the present European refugee/asylum context.
The overlapping HLP issues in today’s Syria are exemplified by the relocation to Afrin of displaced families, particularly those evacuated from the rural areas around Damascus that were returned to Syrian government control in spring 2018. Framed in the larger context, the Afrin case study presents compelling testimony of the many ways the Syrian conflict has impacted enjoyment of HLP rights. This chapter documents various HLP violations committed against individuals from Afrin during and since the military operation and accepts as credible local interviewees’ claims that the violations are politically motivated attempts to change the demographics of a historically Kurdish region. Recent practices of HLP transfers in Afrin mirror policies enacted by the Turkish government against its own Kurdish population and build on pre-conflict measures introduced by the Syrian authorities to restrict property and housing ownership in targeted border areas.
الحجة الثانية: تجادل هذه الورقة، بأن قضية انعدام الجنسية لكُرد سوريا؛ لها مكانة مهمة ضمن عملية بناء السلام في البلاد.
تتجلى قضايا الإسكان والأرض والملكية المتداخلة في سوريا اليوم في نقل العائلات النازحة إلى عفرين ، ولا سيما تلك التي تم إجلاؤها من المناطق الريفية حول دمشق والتي أعيدت إلى سيطرة الحكومة السورية في ربيع 2018. وفي السياق الأوسع ، تقدم دراسة حالة عفرين مقنعة شهادة على الطرق العديدة التي أثر بها الصراع السوري على التمتع بحقوق السكن والأرض والملكية. يوثق هذا الفصل مختلف انتهاكات الإسكان والأرض والملكية التي ارتكبت ضد أفراد من عفرين أثناء العملية العسكرية وبعدها ، ويقبل ادعاءات الأشخاص الذين تمت مقابلتهم على أنها ذات مصداقية بأن الانتهاكات هي محاولات سياسية الدوافع لتغيير التركيبة السكانية لمنطقة كردية تاريخية. تعكس الممارسات الأخيرة لنقل السكن والأرض والملكية في عفرين السياسات التي سنتها الحكومة التركية ضد سكانها الأكراد وتستند إلى تدابير ما قبل النزاع التي قدمتها السلطات السورية لتقييد ملكية العقارات والمساكن في المناطق الحدودية المستهدفة.
واقرأ هنا المنشور بأكمله
http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/tunesien/16596.pdf
At times, Kurds have found themselves caught up in genocidal processes as perpetrators, bystanders, and rescuers, as was the case with the Ottoman Empire’s genocide against its Christian (and Ezidi) populations during and after World War I. At other times, and more frequently, Kurds have found themselves targeted by genocidal violence, to the extent that they have been referred as “a nation of genocides.”2 The enduring trauma of genocide and of the historical processes of erasure, as well as the trauma associated with the unfinished project of creating a sovereign homeland in which Kurds can find protection, is palpable to anyone who visits the region.
[...] In presenting the problems around non-functioning citizenship, Kingston’s book helps to recognize the reality that “citizenship itself is a gradient category, with most people fit-ting on a spectrum somewhere between full and noncitizen-ship” (221). However, the richness of her case studies naturally presents challenges in bringing these disparate contexts into robust analytical conversation. Her call for a reassessment of how the institution of citizenship functions (or does not) raises the question of whether state recognition can ever ultimately be fully inclusive. As she points out, if rights are attached to citizenship (and its effectiveness), we are ultimately dealing with a politically limited model of equality. More functioning forms of citizenship can partially ameliorate, but not eliminate, this systemic problem of modern human rights.
maktumeen Kurds from Syria – and focuses on the forced displacement from their country of origin.
It considers the protection regime in place for the many stateless Syrian Kurds now in the Kurdistan
Region of Iraq, as well as what more can be done to protect those seeking a durable solution in a third
country. This includes a consideration of UN-facilitated resettlement schemes, such as the Vulnerable
Persons Resettlement (VPR) programme to the UK, which presently excludes stateless Syrians at a
time when increased numbers from the stateless community are risking travel to Europe by illegal
means. Finally, the paper highlights some concerning policy assumptions affecting stateless persons
within the present European refugee/asylum context.
The overlapping HLP issues in today’s Syria are exemplified by the relocation to Afrin of displaced families, particularly those evacuated from the rural areas around Damascus that were returned to Syrian government control in spring 2018. Framed in the larger context, the Afrin case study presents compelling testimony of the many ways the Syrian conflict has impacted enjoyment of HLP rights. This chapter documents various HLP violations committed against individuals from Afrin during and since the military operation and accepts as credible local interviewees’ claims that the violations are politically motivated attempts to change the demographics of a historically Kurdish region. Recent practices of HLP transfers in Afrin mirror policies enacted by the Turkish government against its own Kurdish population and build on pre-conflict measures introduced by the Syrian authorities to restrict property and housing ownership in targeted border areas.
This report explores the experiences of stateless Kurds from Syria within the UK asylum process. It finds that stateless asylum seekers can experience unique challenges in proving their country of origin. This poses particular challenges for stateless asylum seekers themselves, but also for decision makers considering their asylum claims.
This report highlights three areas where stateless asylum seekers may be disadvantaged in the process:
i) civil documentation
ii) knowledge of local contexts
iii) language analysis
“The present spotlight on the issue, alongside the unusually strong positive reaction from the mainstream Kuwaiti public, is an important development following the failure of advocacy on the issue to gain traction in recent years. The new form of activism through the volunteerism of medical professionals presents a renewed call for the state to consider solutions to the problem of all the disadvantaged Bidoon in order to allow their effective participation in society.”
This report answers this question based on five critical case studies while highlighting constraints and opportunities towards localised solutions for peace formation in support of viable policy recommendations.
This report questions how the conflict in Syria since 2011 has impacted the country’s ethnic, religious and tribal communities. It highlights the complex, intersecting and dynamic nature of communal identity as it also explores the constraints and opportunities towards localised solutions for peace formation in support of viable policy recommendations. Using a critical case-study approach, the report focuses on five timely and revelatory cases:
Case 1 - Unpacking recent escalations in Deir Ezzor governorate: Arab tribal dynamics and the Kurdish-led Self-Administration (SA)
Case 2 - Demystifying the late (2023) uprising of Sweida’s Druze community
Case 3 - Syrian Christians’ Criss-crossing Sectarianisation and Counter-Sectarianisation
Case 4 - Unpacking the layers of displacement to and from Afrin, Northwest Syria - communal implications of Housing, Land and Property (HLP) issues
Case 5 - Bringing in the “forgotten sect”: Idlib’s Sunnis and its politically-contested education under Haya’t Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), regional and international governance
The research stresses a specific local agency: peace formation. This refers to efforts and processes aimed at forming peace and resolving conflicts from below by mobilising indigenous local and grassroots actors in cultural, social, religious, customary and local governance settings. The cases under review reflect this agency in tribal Sunni Arab leaders’ promotion of non-violence and just solutions to conflict in Deir Ezzor; Druze community members' mobilisation to advance Sweida’s communal cohesion; Christian groups countering of sectarianisation; local Kurds and Arab IDPs' informal promotion of fairer HLP arrangements in Afrin; and Arab Sunni teachers backing of a non-ideologised educational system in Idlib.
Considering the country’s relatively frozen conflict, the report recommends localised interventions in addition to the application of international pressure on the conflict parties to foster peace formation as the most viable option for policymakers. Such interventions should span sustainable political, technical, and financial support to peace formation agents. A reflexive, intersectional, and contextual understanding is necessary to design such support.
Today, it is even more pressing to support local civil society in order to minimize the risks of emergent sectarian civil war. The effective backing of well-selected civil society groups can work to limit the sectarian manifestations and chaotic escalations of such a conflict. Groups within the opposition who are promoting positive relations and dialogue between Syria’s various religious and ethnic communities are key to holding together the fabric of society, and averting a repetition of the kind of generalized violence witnessed in post-2003 Iraq.
فبعدما خنق نظام البعث المجتمع المدني السوري لعقود نجد من المفجع أن يفشل المجتمع الدولي الآن في إطلاق طاقته البناءة فيما يتعلق بالوصول إلى إجماع أكثر وضوحاً تجاه المعارضة وكسبيل أيضا لتحسين الوضع (أو على الأقل تقليل نسبة تدهوره). بل كان ينبغي دعم ذلك منذ فترة طويلة على اعتبار أن حركة الاحتجاج في حد ذاتها كانت تجسيدا لمجتمع مدني ينشد انتقالا سلميا إلى نظام ديمقراطي
واليوم فإن الحاجة ملحة أكثر لدعم مجتمع مدني محلي وذلك لتقليل مخاطر نشوب حرب أهلية مرتقبة. فالدعم القوي لجماعات مجتمع مدني منتقاة بعناية يمكن أن يعمل على الحد من الصراعات الطائفية والتصعيدات الفوضوية الناشئة عن هذا الصراع. فجماعات المعارضة التي تشجع على العلاقات الإيجابية والحوار بين مختلف الفصائل الدينية والعرقية السورية تعتبر محورا أساسيا لتوحيد نسيج المجتمع وتفادي تكرار ذلك النوع من العنف الجماعي الذي شهدناه في عراق ما بعد 2003
This article from doctoral student Thomas McGee explores the participation of women in a 6-round polio vaccination campaign, launched in January 2014 in an effort to vaccinate 2 million children under 5 years of age in Syria's opposition-controlled areas. McGee declares that it "has proved a success against all the odds."
Four particular areas of Syria — Madiq castle, Northern Homs, Da’el, and Menbij — present notable examples of cross-line cooperation. These cases highlight how even robust local cooperative arrangements have remained vulnerable to the larger conflict dynamics, with three of the four cases ultimately returning to Syrian government control.
The four case studies also present cautionary tales about the problems of relying solely on local actors or track 1 negotiations. By examining the evolution of the local conflict dynamics of these areas, especially since 2015, this report adduces the lessons that these cross-line arrangements might have for reconciliation, peacebuilding, and postconflict justice in Syria as a whole.
The case studies also examine the important role of historical connections and pivotal public figures to understand the factors that have enabled trade and movement across lines of conflict to continue. In some instances, the economic usefulness of a particular crossing point encouraged local combatants to keep trade moving; in others, a prominent local figure acted as a mediator to resolve points of tension between the government and opposition, or even with outside third-party actors. Lessons gleaned from these case studies can potentially also provide guidance to those involved in cease-fire or reconciliation negotiations to help protect civilians who have been caught in the crossfire.
“It’s almost exactly five years since we escaped to Turkey from ISIS [the Islamic State militant group]. Now that we are back, we are fleeing from Turkey inside our own country. This is not our home and land anymore,” says Rashid, a Kurdish local from the northern Syrian border town of Kobani. His narrative of displacement, return and subsequent further displacement speaks to the human tragedy at the heart of the protracted Syrian civil war. “Please pray for our children,” he adds, while preparing to relocate to safety out of the path of the escalating Turkish military operation into northern Syria.
After months of US-Turkish negotiations around implementing a “safe zone” on a strip of territory inside Syria, the Turkish army with Syrian partners unilaterally commenced its so-called “Peace Fountain” campaign in the same zone on 8 October. The American complicity in the offensive and decision not to intervene to protect the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which has been a US military partner since 2015, has led to disastrous consequences for communities in several large settlements across the border.
This volume provides an indispensable map for those who seek to navigate these struggles and work towards social justice in housing, land and property.
undoubtedly impact upon local citizens’ memories of, and future aspirations for, once
familiar lived spaces. There is currently, however, relatively limited research on how
personal experiences, and collective political narratives, of displacement contribute to
discourses of heritage and rehabilitation in the context of post-crisis return after disaster, be it
of natural or man-made cause.
Fleeing the ravages of terrorist group, the Islamic State, in August 2014, the mass migration
from the Syrian Kurdish region of Kobani across the international border into Turkey, and
subsequent destruction of large sections of the city's infrastructure, presents an intriguing case
study through which to trace the topographic markers of identity within a landscape once
abandoned by almost the entire civilian population. Impossible return and months of limbo in
camps and host communities in Turkey, as well as in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for some,
have meant that the physical border between the refugees and home developed a temporal
dimension: dividing the geographies of pre- and post-crisis.
When, following military developments, return to the region eventually became a possibility
for civilians, questions of approaches and projects for reconstruction naturally
arose. This paper examines the popular responses towards the plans devised by the emergent
local authorities, and considers the impact of refugees and returnees in shaping public policy,
as well as their initiatives to preserve and recover/(re)construct heritage, while revitalizing
urban space.
Most notably, the paper deals with local reactions to the 'Kobani living museum' proposal:
that is the suggestion that the most devastated sections of the city, including many civilians'
homes, be left un-repaired as a symbol of the townspeople's suffering. The study focuses its
analysis on local expressions of criticism and movements of resistance against this project,
much of which are found within debates circulating on social media. As well as giving weight
to voices of affected individuals, this paper seeks to examine the discrepancies between views
of everyday citizens and those of the political and military institutions that actively resisted
against the affronts of the Islamic State.
"
"The fact that neither the regime nor Kurds en masse have actively declared war on the other need not mean that there is collusion. Each side has their interests and is pursuing this," McGee added. "Kurds, for their part seek stability and wish to avoid escalation."
[...]
"The way things seem to be going regionally, coalitions are becoming more concrete talking points. The sentiment on the Kurdish street is that Kurds should all band together," McGee says.
"Some officials from the PYD went to Iraqi Kurdistan to meet them, and some high level PYD officials are now in Istanbul. It's one of first times they've been there. These trips are leading people to all kinds of conclusions that there's going to be some 'super coalition' of the Kurds against ISIS. We've seen this already in some areas of Iraqi Kurdistan – some of the groups who had bad relations with the PYD [before this] are banding together with them against ISIS."