Thomas Schirrmacher, President of the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) and the International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF), met in Berlin with Dilshad Barzani, the representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Germany, at his office near the German Bundestag for an in-depth discussion. The two men were already acquainted from previous meetings.
The discussion centred on political and social developments in the Kurdistan Regional Government, its constitutional status within Iraq, and prospects for the region’s future. Schirrmacher outlined his views – which he has publicly advocated for decades – on the Kurdish people’s right to self-determination and on the future of Kurdistan. In addition, issues relating to human rights, freedom of religion and the protection of religious and ethnic minorities were discussed.
Schirrmacher reported on his recent trips to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and on his meetings with Kurdish government representatives, religious leaders and representatives of civil society. He praised the KRG for providing protection to members of many religious minorities who had fled to the KRG from neighbouring countries. He also spoke about his lectures and meetings with the Kurdish community in Germany.
The meeting built on Schirrmacher’s decades-long commitment to the Kurds. Since the 1980s, he has been publishing academic works on Kurdistan and the Kurds, campaigning for the rights of the Kurdish people as well as for religious freedom and the protection of persecuted minorities, and maintaining close contacts with Kurdish institutions and leaders.
The conversation took place in a warm and friendly atmosphere.
The photograph shows Thomas Schirrmacher with Dilshad Barzani, the representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Germany, at the representative office in Berlin. In the background is a portrait of his father, Mustafa Barzani, the historic leader of the Kurdish national movement and the spiritual founder of today’s Kurdistan Regional Government.