The Palgrave Handbook of Kurdish Genocides

Table of Contents

1. Frontmatter

2. Chapter 1. Introduction

   Kaziwa Salih

   Abstract

   As İsmail Beşikçi (1990) once said, ‘Turkey has Kurdistan, Iran has Kurdistan, Iraq has Kurdistan, Syria has Kurdistan. Everyone has a Kurdistan, except the Kurds themselves’. Kurds are the native population of Mesopotamia, possessing a unique and rich homeland, culture, and civilization. However, following the division and occupation of their homeland, they have been labeled a stateless nation, and have been facing ongoing genocide. The Kurdish genocide remains one of the least recognized yet most continual cases of genocides and mass violence in modern history. Despite experiencing over one hundred genocides across multiple states—including Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Syria, and the former Soviet Union—Kurdish suffering has been largely neglected by the international community and overlooked within genocide studies. This introductory chapter introduces the topic of the handbook, which brings together thirty scholars in a comprehensive survey of Kurdish genocides from the Ottoman and Safavid empires to the modern-day manifestations of mass violence. It explains that the contributors, through historical, political, sociological, and psychological lenses, investigate the modalities of ethnic cleansing, cultural erasure, and systematic extermination that have shaped the Kurdish experience. They cover geopolitical interests driving genocide, perpetrators’ ideological constructions, and the lasting impacts on survivors. It explains that the aim of this handbook is to challenge the prevailing silence surrounding the Kurdish genocide and present an argument for its inclusion in the global discussion of genocide. In so doing, it provides a critical contribution to understanding state violence, historical erasure, and the pursuit of justice in the face of continued denial.

3. Empires, Conquest, and the Seeds of Kurdish Genocide (1600–1918)

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 2. The Dimdim Castle Defeat and the Emergence of the Kurdish Genocide During the Safavid Empire

      Shukriya Bradost

      Abstract

      This chapter explores the historical roots of the first genocide against the Kurds, carried out under the Safavid Empire, focusing on the defeat of the Dimdim fortress and the subsequent massacres of Kurdish populations in the early seventeenth century. Shah Abbas I, the Safavid emperor, orchestrated systematic violence, including mass killings, forced relocations, and the destruction of Kurdish communities, particularly in the Bradost and Mukriyan regions of Kurdistan, located in the west of present-day Iran. Through an analysis of primary sources, including Safavid chronicles, the study highlights the ethnic and sectarian motivations behind these genocidal campaigns, marking the first instance of Kurdish persecution based on their ethnic identity. The findings emphasize the long-term impacts of these massacres on Kurdish identity and socio-political dynamics, connecting past atrocities to the ongoing struggles of Kurds in the region. This research aims to fill a significant gap in genocide studies, which often overlook the Kurdish experience under the Safavid Dynasty in Iran’s history.

   3. Chapter 3. The Systematic Intentional Destruction of the Cultural Heritage of Yezidis by the Ottoman in the Late Nineteenth Century

      Ghiath Rammo

      Abstract

      The Ottoman Empire’s systematic intentional destruction of the cultural heritage of Yezidis in the late nineteenth century posed a grave threat to the survival of the community. This chapter examines the genocidal events surrounding the military campaign led by General Omar Wahbi Pasha, also known as “Ferîq Paşa” in Yezidi memory, in 1892. The campaign achieved its objective by forcibly compelling the Yezidis to convert to Islam; as a result, it entailed the occupation of Sinjar and Sheikhan, the destruction of Yezidi villages, and the transformation of sacred shrines into Islamic institutions. The chapter further explores the consequences of this campaign on Yezidi’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage, shedding light on the persistent threat of violence and persecution faced by the community.

4. Genocide and the Shaping of New Nations (1918–1950)

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 4. An Undeniable Genocide: Dersim 1937–38

      Bülent Bilmez

      Abstract

      This chapter examines the genocidal state operations in the Dersim province of Turkey in the years 1937 and 1938 as part of a broader policy that incorporate Kurdistan through oppressive and violent means. This analysis begins with the changing the name of province from Dersim to Tunceli by a special law in 1935, implemented under a ‘General Governorship’ that held full administrative, military and judicial authority. The operations culminated in mass killings, village burnings, abduction of children, and deportations during the summer months of 1937 and especially in1938. The chapter starts with a critical analysis of the existing historiography and historical background, focusing mainly on the mass killings and deportations in 1937 and especially 1938. The chapter’s main aim will be to demonstrate that the developments in Dersim during these two years as a part of a more general process between 1935 and 1947 constitute genocide as described by the international law.

   3. Chapter 5. Kurdish Exiles under Stalin’s Rule

      Ismet Konak

      Abstract

      Kurds were subjected to numerous deportations and massacres in the twentieth century. A few of the deportations took place in the fifth part of Kurdistan, Caucasian Kurdistan. While the 1920s were a renaissance for Soviet Kurds, the 1930s turned into hell. The Stalin administration, which became more authoritarian during these years, began to put pressure on ethnic identities. Minorities were particularly exposed to a deliberate policy of Russification and Cyrillization. Undoubtedly, this policy has also negatively affected the Kurds. Kurdish intellectuals were arrested and a few were sent into exile. Similarly, the Kurdish newspaper Rêya Teze was shut down. Subsequently, in 1937–1938, some Kurds living in Armenia and Azerbaijan were deported to Central Asian countries. They were accused of anti-Sovietism, nationalism and espionage. The second wave of deportations took place in 1944 during World War II. This time mainly Kurds living in Georgia were exiled. In both deportations, thousands of Kurds were displaced from their homes and hundreds died on the trains. They could not adapt to the countries they were exiled to for a long time. Some remained uneducated and some unemployed. This chapter provides a detailed analysis of the exile of Soviet Kurds in 1937–1938 and 1944, examining how these events constituted acts of genocide.

   4. Chapter 6. Genocidal Policies Against the Kurds in Syria

      Michael M. Gunter

      Abstract

      The purpose of this chapter is first to analyze the international legal definition of genocide, but how the term can still be ambiguous. Then this chapter analyzes the three waves of genocide against the Kurds in Syria: (1) The earlier Arab/Baathist phase was highlighted by the notorious Decree 93 in 1962, which stamps many Kurds in Syria as ajanib who could not vote, own property or work in government jobs. (2) More recently, the ISIS genocidal attack against the Kurds in 2014, was emphasized by the dramatic battle of Kobane, which eventually brought in U.S. aid to help defeat ISIS. (3) The Turkish attacks with their Jihadists allies that began in Kurd Dagh (Afrin) in 2018 and continued with renewed attacks in following years to the east in attempts to remove the Kurds from the Turkish border and continues to this day offer yet another example of genocide against the Kurds in Syria. Finally, this chapter also argues that when certain acts may have fallen short of what some might legally label as genocidal, the term ethnic cleansing might be more appropriate.

5. Manufacturing Homogeneity: Nation-State Sovereignty Through Genocide

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 7. Political Calculations and the Gendered Lens in the Barzani Genocide and Gendercide

      Kaziwa Salih

      Abstract

      This chapter examines the Barzani genocide and gendercide of 1983, revealing the deliberate use of ethnic and gendered politics by the Ba’ath regime to dismantle the Barzani Kurdish community. The systematic targeting of men and boys for execution aimed to exterminate the Barzani population and disrupt their generational and cultural continuity. Meanwhile, women and children, exiled to camps in Erbil, Kirkuk, and southern Iraq faced forced displacement, incarceration, and dire living conditions designed to erase their cultural identity and the sense of resistance within the community. Women bore the dual burden of profound personal loss and responsibility for raising their children and preserving their tribe’s identity amidst the genocidal destruction. This chapter highlights the significant economic challenges experienced by Barzani women, who were left to grieve their families while seeking ways to support their households. It underlines how the intersection of gender and systemic violence reshapes social and cultural structures. By centering the experiences of Barzani women, the chapter highlights the broader socio-political transformations resulting from genocidal violence.

   3. Chapter 8. The 1980s Massacres and Mass Executions in Eastern Kurdistan (Rojhelat): A Counter-Kurdish Movement Strategy

      Allan Hassaniyan, Gareth Stansfield

      Abstract

      Following the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, several regions in Eastern Kurdistan witnessed extensive acts of violence and significant loss of civilian lives. The Iranian Regular Army, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Mujahedin, a pro-regime Azeri militia group, formed a coalition that committed the crimes. Eastern Kurdistan’s national movement grew stronger following the revolution. Nevertheless, to crush the Kurdish movement and consolidate its power in Kurdistan, the Islamic regime organized and supported acts of extreme violence, including massacres and other forms of mass killings in Eastern Kurdistan. This development, defined by village massacres, had a massive impact on Kurdistan’s rural areas. This chapter will provide a thorough analysis of the coercive measures employed by the Iranian state to aggressively suppress the Kurdish people and their resistance movement in the decade that followed the Iranian Revolution of 1979. To achieve this, the chapter will incorporate various instances of massacres and mass executions and examine the reasoning behind these crimes committed by the Iranian regime in Eastern Kurdistan.

   4. Chapter 9. How to Kill A Mother Tongue? The Kurdish Linguicide Attempt in Turkey

      Salih Akin

      Abstract

      This paper examines the Turkish linguicidal policy and the strategies mobilized to eradicate the mother tongue of the Kurds, the second-largest non-Turkish population in Turkey. It shows how Turkish racist nationalism greatly influenced Turkish language policy and the linguicidal attempt against Kurdish. This policy was formed at the end of the Ottoman Empire and implemented at the beginning of the modern Turkish Republic. The linguicidal project unfolded in five main strategies, using a broad range of means, from the coercive force of the state to the dissemination of pejorative representations about the Kurdish language. Intentionally and methodically implemented, these strategies deprived Kurds of basic human rights, including education in their mother tongue, diminishing linguistic vitality, and significantly reducing the intergenerational transmission of the language.

   5. Chapter 10. The Ba’ath Party and the Genocide of Faily Kurds

      Mohammad Salih Mustafa

      Abstract

      This paper examines the Ba’ath Party’s systematic persecution of the Faily Kurds, exploring the underlying reasons for their targeted mistreatment and eventual genocide. It focuses on the period when the Ba’ath intensified its anti-Iranian political actions and argues that the party’s opposition to Shi’ites was a key factor in the Faily Kurds’ persecution, which led to systematic annihilation. The chapter uses a qualitative method of content analysis to investigate the nationalist ideological motives that led to the dual forms of mistreatment and genocide of the Faily Kurds by the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party. Studying the case of the Faily Kurds elaborates the political behavior of the Ba’ath Party towards the rest of the Iraqi population as well. Their case is a good example to explain the genesis of the mentality and behavior of the Ba’ath Party towards the whole Kurdish population and any kind of opposition.

   6. Chapter 11. Echoes of Survival and Justice: The Yezidi Genocide and Its Lasting Impact

      Shivan Fazil, Bahar Baser

      Abstract

      This chapter examines the plight of the Yezidi (Êzîdî) community in Iraq. It begins by exploring the historical and contemporary context of Yezidis before delving into the atrocities committed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)– recognized as genocide by many countries and international organizations. ISIS atrocities devastated Yezidi communities through mass killings, enslavement, and sexual violence, and its legacy has profoundly impacted the population of survivors scattered across the globe. The chapter further analyzes the aftermath of the genocide, focusing on justice-seeking efforts at both local and international levels. It highlights that, as Iraqi authorities strive to transition from the conflict with ISIS toward stability and sovereignty, the Yezidis’ quest for justice and accountability remains unfulfilled. These efforts often neglect critical issues such as reparations and restorative justice for survivors and the families of victims, whose suffering is increasingly overlooked due to diminishing international involvement.

   7. Chapter 12. Arabization, Turkification, And Persianization Of the Kurds And the Question of Genocide

      David Romano, Hedi Rashid Hamad Amin, Farhang Faraydoon Namdar

      Abstract

      This chapter adopts a working definition of linguicide as “the deliberate act of killing a language,” and then argues that such a policy is synonymous with ethnocide – “the deliberate and systematic destruction of the culture of an ethnic group¹”. Linguicide and ethnocide are then presented as something that can and should be regarded as a form of genocide, as defined by the 1948 International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Following this, the chapter provides a broad, general overview of twentieth and early twenty-first-century policies of the Iraqi, Turkish, Iranian, and Syrian states towards their Kurdish populations and the Kurdish language in particular. We find that while Iraqi state policy could at no time be classified as linguicidal, Turkish and Syrian state policies did fit the criteria for linguicide. Iranian state policy after the first Pahlavi monarchy (which did try to engage in linguicide) presents a more complex picture, with evidence for an intentional, deliberate policy to destroy the Kurdish language being harder to establish conclusively. The analysis here encourages readers to distinguish between attempts to Arabize, Turkify, or Persianize a population and linguicide. While the former can and do include significant levels of coercion and ethnic chauvinism, they do not necessarily constitute linguicide. Linguicide involves more than trying to establish a single nationwide language and culture. Linguicidal states view other languages and cultures within the country as threats and hence attempt to destroy them.

6. The Kurdish Ecocide: Environmental Warfare and Its Consequences

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 13. A Nation Under Siege: Colonization, Ecological Destruction, and Cultural Genocide of Kurds

      Dilşa Deniz

      Abstract

      This paper examines the state of Turkey’s policies towards the Kurds in Bakûr Kurdistan, through environmental engineering and cultural oppression—including dam construction, forest fires and bombings, language bans, toponymy change and cultural destruction—as a deliberate, long-term strategy of Kurdish ethnocide.

   3. Chapter 14. Ecocide in Iranian and Iraqi Kurdistan

      Ebad Rouhi

      Abstract

      The establishment of nation-states in the Middle East has marginalized the Kurdish people, resulting in systematic oppression and environmental devastation in Kurdistan. The environment, essential for production and development, has always been pivotal. The Kurds’ exclusion from power structures and decision-making processes has led to their environment being attacked, suppressed, and exploited, reflecting the treatment of Kurdish citizens. Numerous actions aimed at the Kurdish population have involved environmental destruction and the dismantling of natural life infrastructure. This study examines whether these actions, particularly dam construction, deforestation, and resource exploitation, qualify as ecocide or genocide. It focuses on environmental policies in Iran and Iraq, analyzing water policies, deforestation, and resource exploitation. The key question is whether these acts are classified as ecocide or genocide. The findings demonstrate substantial environmental deterioration, compelled displacement, and socio-economic consequences for Kurdish populations. The study concludes that these actions meet the definitions for ecocide and hence genocide, underscoring the need to establish legal structures to address such environmental crimes.

   4. Chapter 15. The Kurdish Ecocide: Environmental Degradation Across Greater Kurdistan

      Dawod Rasooli Keya, Evin Adin

      Abstract

      This chapter examines the systematic environmental destruction across the Kurdish regions of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. It highlights the intertwined impacts of political marginalization, conflict, and unsustainable practices on Kurdistan’s ecosystems. This environmental degradation, manifested in deforestation, pollution, resource exploitation, and habitat destruction, is partly related to the statelessness of the Kurds and the occupation of their lands. Employing a multidisciplinary approach, the study analyzes historical and contemporary ecocide through military actions, state policies, and industrial expansion, revealing how such practices undermine biodiversity, local livelihoods, and ecological stability. The chapter underscores the weaponization of nature, where tactics such as dam building, chemical warfare, and deforestation serve as instruments of control and displacement. These regional practices not only devastate local communities but also contribute to broader global environmental crises, necessitating urgent international response. Beyond regional consequences, this ecocide impacts global ecological health, emphasizing the necessity of integrating environmental restoration with political justice. The analysis advocates for international accountability and collaborative solutions, including sustainable resource management and reforestation, to restore the region’s ecological balance while empowering Kurdish communities.

7. The Ideological Foundations of Genocidal Perpetrators

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 16. Ba’athist Ideological Justification of Genocide against the Kurds

      Shaho S. Saeed

      Abstract

      This chapter examines the role of Ba’athist ideology in legitimizing state-sponsored violence and genocide, with a particular focus on the oppression of the Kurds in Iraq. It argues that these genocidal actions should not be perceived just as byproducts of war and armed conflict, but rather as deeply entrenched in the Ba’ath Party’s enduring doctrinal and ideological principles, from its formation to its dissolution. The chapter rigorously examines Ba’athist ideological literature, illustrating its role in justifying and legitimizing institutional brutality against the Kurds. This study employs the theoretical frameworks of Karl Mannheim, Louis Althusser, and Hannah Arendt, among others, to examine how authoritarian ideologies function as systems of social control and instruments of governmental violence. It highlights four principal forms of genocide perpetrated against the Kurds, each rationalized within Ba’athist ideology: forced displacement and demographic destruction, mass deportation and revocation of citizenship, Arabization and cultural eradication, and the deployment of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in ethnic cleansing operations. This chapter shifts attention to the intellectual foundations that facilitated and perpetuated the organized genocidal campaigns documented by several international organizations and independent entities. By examining the ideological basis of Ba’athist rule, the chapter contributes to broader studies on the interplay between ideology, state brutality, and genocide.

   3. Chapter 17. Religious Rhetoric and Genocidal Violence: The Massacre of Kurds in Rojhelat Under Khomeini’s Fatwa

      Fateh Saeidi, Davoud Osmanzadeh

      Abstract

      This chapter provides an overview of the villages that fell victims of genocidal massacres by the Iranian regime in Rojhelat. It also includes an account of the mass executions of Kurds, who were perceived as a threat to Iran’s territorial integrity due to their ethnic identity. Ayatollah Khomeini’s Fatwa, supported by other religious authorities, labeled Kurds as infidels and sanctioned a jihad against them. Religious leaders such as Khalkhali and Hassani actively participated in these massacres, exemplifying the necropolitical framework of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary regime, where the power to dictate life and death is used to suppress Kurdish liberation struggles. From the onset of the Islamic Revolution in early 1979, the regime has prioritized the extermination and repression of the Kurdish nation. Violent oppression and the elimination of Kurdish civics and dissidents have become the government’s central strategy for securing its political survival and stability, justified under the slogan of defending the foundations of the Revolution and Islam. The systematic killing of Kurds and the suppression of their movements for liberation underscore the regime’s commitment to maintaining territorial and ideological control through religiously sanctioned violence.

8. Enduring Legacies: The Consequences of the Kurdish Genocides

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 18. Post-Memories of Genocidal Violence. The Case of the Êzîdî during World War I

      Maria Six-Hohenbalken

      Abstract

      This chapter gives an insight into post-memories, forms of remembrances and transgenerational transmission of traumatic memories after genocidal processes. The mass violence on the Êzîdî during World War I is a hidden genocide, long time silenced and denied. About 12.000 Êzîdîs managed to seek refuge from the genocidal persecution and fled to Armenia. Due to political developments in the Soviet Republic of Armenia a collective memory could not have been shaped. Herein the oral historical accounts, oral literature and recitations were crucial for upholding the remembrance. The fate of the Êzîdî communities in the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the twentieth century was hardly a research topic and has not gained (inter)national acknowledgement and awareness. In collecting post-memories, thus the memories of incidents told by the upcoming generations of survivors, this chapter explores the reasons for the decades long silencing, the source situation and gives an insight into the orally transmitted knowledge and today’s memories.

   3. Chapter 19. Enduring Impacts of Chemical Weapons on The Overall Well-Being of Kurdish Survivors

      Faraidoun Moradi

      Abstract

      Limited research exists on how exposure to chemical weapons impacts the biopsychosocial well-being of civilians. This retrospective study evaluated and compared the quality of life (QoL) and mental health of two groups of Kurdish civilian survivors of Chemical Warfare Agents (CWAs) attacks, who had resettled in Sweden (n = 18) as well as survivors who still lived in Kurdistan-Iraq (n = 20). The RAND Short Form Health Survey 36 (RAND SF-36) was used to assess QoL, and the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale-Self Assessment (MADRS-S) was used to measure depressive symptoms. Both groups showed moderate depressive symptoms and lower-than-average quality of life scores, suggesting a significant reduction in their QoL. While those in Sweden had better physical well-being, the groups had no significant differences in mental well-being. The findings suggest a link between reduced quality of life and depressive symptoms, regardless of where the survivors lived. Overall, this highlights the importance of providing targeted support to improve the mental health and quality of life of survivors exposed to CWAs.

   4. Chapter 20. Enjoy your Victimhood! Critical Detection of the Kurdish Subaltern Ideology

      Eyyûb Kerîmî

      Abstract

      The central argument presented in this chapter is that the Kurdish subalternity is related to deep psychoanalytical phenomena, which in turn reinforce its subaltern status. This raises significant questions about the role of ideology in perpetuating subalternity. Drawing on critical theory, particularly ideology critique, the author introduces “Critical Detection,” a theory that can also function as a method. The primary objective of this theory is to identify and expose these mechanisms in order to develop emancipatory strategies. Reflecting on the contemporary colonized Kurdish subject raises several important questions: How did the Kurdish subject become subaltern? Why did the Kurdish subject, once possessing a form of political sovereignty, transform into a subaltern entity that not only endures victimhood and genocide but also justifies it? The historical process that produced this subaltern subject is rooted in the story of occupation and colonialism in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

   5. Chapter 21. An Existentialist Victimology of the Halabja Genocide and Survivorship Narratives

      Kaziwa Salih

      Abstract

      This chapter examines the Halabja genocide through the lens of existentialist victimology, exploring its profound impact on individual and collective identities within the survivors’ community. On March 16, 1988, the Iraqi regime conducted a chemical attack on the town of Halabja, resulting in the deaths of thousands and leaving survivors with deep psychological scars. This chapter investigates the existential dimensions of victimhood, focusing on how survivors confront the absurdity of their suffering and the loss of meaning in the wake of brutality. By analyzing personal testimonies and survivorship narratives, the chapter highlights the struggles of Halabja survivors to reclaim their agency and redefine their identities amid overwhelming trauma. Furthermore, it also delves into the challenges that survivors encounter, such as political and institutional neglect, including disregard for their health needs, economic marginalization, and discriminatory practices related to their access to resources. The chapter concludes by examining how these conditions hinder healing and reconciliation while exacerbating their indelible state through collective memory.

9. The Politics of Denial, Regulation, and Response

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 22. Strategic Interests vs. Ethical Imperatives: U.S. Foreign Policy During the Anfal Genocide

      Soran Tarkhani

      Abstract

      This study examines the U.S. response to the Anfal Genocide Campaign, a genocidal assault on the Kurdish population in Iraq from 1986 to 1988. By analyzing declassified documents, governmental communications, and secondary literature, this chapter evaluates the influence of geopolitical strategies, economic interests, and the imperative to contain Iranian influence on U.S. policy. The study reveals the ethical tensions inherent in prioritizing strategic goals over human rights concerns, highlighting the complexities and contradictions in U.S. foreign policy. These findings comprehensively assess how realpolitik often overshadowed moral imperatives during the Anfal Genocide Campaign.

   3. Chapter 23. Amnesty for Kurdish Genocide Perpetrators: Perspectives from National and International Law

      Awara Hussein Ahmed, Jamal Mohammed Ameen

      Abstract

      The concept of amnesty has long been a subject of debate, especially when it concerns those responsible for heinous crimes such as genocide. This chapter examines the controversial issue of granting amnesty to perpetrators of the Kurdish Genocide in Iraq, consisting of the Anfal operation consists of 8 stages that started on 19 March 1988 and finished on 6 September 1988, including Jafati Valley, Qaradagh, Garmyan, the mountain valleys of Smaquli, Balisan and Malakan and Badinan region, and attacked Halabja city with a chemical weapon on 16 March 1988. It also analyzes the Kurdish genocide in Iraq through the lens of national, international and national law. This research employs a method of legal analysis to showcase the Kurdistan Council's general amnesty policy for those responsible for the Kurdish Genocide. It explores, the legal frameworks established by national and international bodies, including domestic legislation, international conventions, and national and international judgments for response to the main questions of the research. Furthermore, this research critically evaluates arguments in favour of and against amnesty for Kurdish genocide perpetrators, considering the potential consequences on justice, reconciliation, and the rights of victims. The chapter aims to contribute to the ongoing discourse on transitional justice and the delicate balance between accountability and peace-building in post-conflict societies.

   4. Chapter 24. Denial, Rules, and Responses to Kurdish Genocide

      Nicola Ashraf Namiq Shalli

      Abstract

      The Kurds, currently without a sovereign state, have been partitioned among five separate countries (Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, and the former Soviet Union) as per the Sykes-Picot agreement.¹ Ever since this partition, they have been enduring various forms of genocide. This chapter provides an overview of how the perpetrators of these crimes and the countries supporting them have never taken responsibility. Additionally, it looks at how the international community and its institutions, including the UN Charter of 1945, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) of 1998, constrained by their principles and procedures, have been unable to effectively address the genocide of the Kurds. As a result, the genocide of the Kurds persists posing a threat to local and international security and peace.

   5. Chapter 25. Conclusion

      Kaziwa Salih

      Abstract

      The conclusion of The Palgrave Handbook of Kurdish Genocides reflects on the interdisciplinary themes, with a focus on state-sponsored genocide, sovereignty, ideological justifications, and the search for justice. It unites the historical and contemporary dimensions of Kurdish genocides, highlighting innumerable genocides against the Kurds in Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria, and the former Soviet Union. The chapter focuses on the evolving manifestations of genocide that are explored in this handbook, from explicit physical annihilation to manifestations of cultural erasure, linguicide, and ecocide, describing how nation-states have designed these through different political regimes. The chapter addresses the long-term psychological, social, and economic consequences for Kurdish survivors, with a particular focus on intergenerational trauma that continues to influence Kurdish identity and movements of resistance. Additionally, it denounces the failure of international legal processes and genocide prevention policy, for which the Kurdish situation is persistently denied global justice. The chapter calls for more extensive genocide research that incorporates understudied cases, digital approaches to early warning, and revitalized policy attempts at preventing the further marginalization and systematic persecution of the Kurds. Lastly, it argues that the Kurdish pursuit of recognition lies at the heart of the broader pursuit of justice, accountability of the past, and prevention of future genocides.