United Nations Human Rights Council The KMMK-G’s oral statement to the Ninth session of the Forum on Minority Issues on "Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises” Thank you Madam President, The Association for Human Rights in Kurdistan of Iran-Geneva would like to draw your attention to the situation of Kurdish people facing major humanitarian crises under the rule of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran is party to five of the nine core inte rnational human rights tre atie s including the ICCPR and the Ge ne va Conve ntion of 1949. De spite its inte rnational obligations, Iran’s Constitution, article s 1, 4, 12 and 15 de prive its ethnic members of political participation. Iran’s deliberate policie s of de nying the rights of ethnic groups, constitutes a major source of grave human rights violations. Its targeted persecution creates instability – not only for the state, and its diverse fabric of society—but for the region as a whole. Iran’s hostile and discriminatory policies have dramatic humanitarian consequences on Kurdish people and other minorities. For instance, the Islamic Republic has plante d 20 million landmine s in Kurdistan during the 8 years of Iraq-Iran war. But 27 ye ars late r, we still observe daily victims among Kurdish civilians due to the government’s unwillingness to join the Ottawa Conve ntion and to cle an Kurdistan from landmine s. The Islamic Re public has also e stablishe d mandatory re volutionary tribunals to execute drug-re late d offe nde rs and Moharebe (an imaginary crime against God). This state -sponsore d viole nce also constitute s a major humanitarian tragedy and a clear violation of international law. Since the inception of the Islamic republic in 1979, fifteen thousand prisoners mostly belonging to Kurdish people and Afghan refugees have been executed for and under the cover of drug related offences. In august 2016, and despite the high commissioner’s warning, Iran committed mass and summary e xe cutions of 20 Kurdish prisone rs for Moharebe and continues the blind killing of Kurdish kulbar (borde r courie rs). Such killings have triggered serious concern that ethnic war can spiral in the region. We ought not to forge t that the worst case s of massacre s in this ce ntury including the ge nocide s of Rwanda and Sre bre nica were triggered by ethnic tensions. In re spe ct to the e nvironme nt, the Islamic Republic of Iran ignores UN e xpe rt warnings and continue s to dive rt the rive rs in Kurdistan and to ne gle ct the lake of We rmê (Urumiye h), which has drie d up and is threatened, of draughtiness. This policy has alre ady cause d the displace me nt of hundre ds of thousands pe ople and constitute s a major e nvironme ntal disaste r for the Kurdish pe ople . Ultimate ly, we de mand the Inte rnational Community, and in particular EU gove rnme nts, to factor in human rights, including the rights of e thnic groups, into all bilate ral de alings with the