Syrian Kurds denied right to health: UN rapporteur
AFP
DAMASCUS- The UN rapporteur on the right to health Anand Grover said on Sunday that some 300,000 Syrian Kurds were deprived of health care and urged the authorities to resolve the issue.
"The situation of one of the vulnerable groups in Syria, currently some 300,000 persons of Kurdish origin, is of particular concern to me," Grover said in a statement issued at a news conference in Damascus.
Grover said that "access to health care for these vulnerable individuals is seriously hindered."
He noted that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "has committed to resolve the issue."
"I urge the government to follow up on that resolve, as it otherwise casts a shadow over the many remarkable accomplishments in the context of the enjoyment of the right to health," Grover said.
In 2007 Assad said that concrete measures would be taken to grant Kurds Syrian nationality. More than 1.5 million Kurds live in Syria, comprising nine percent of the population.
The Kurds have long sought official recognition of the Kurdish language and culture, and human rights watchdogs have constantly urged Damascus to grant them more rights.
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