KRG denies HRW claims on restricting medical supply to Rojava

The Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Coordinator for International Advocacy, Dindar Zebari, on Wednesday denied claims by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) regarding restrictions imposed on humanitarian aid dispatched to northeast Syria.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Coordinator for International Advocacy, Dindar Zebari, on Wednesday denied claims by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) regarding restrictions imposed on humanitarian aid dispatched to northeast Syria.

HRW published a report on Tuesday titled, “Syria: Aid Restrictions Hinder Covid-19 Response,” in which it claimed the KRG had imposed restrictions on medical aid being supplied to Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava).

“Dozens of medical batches that consisted of medicines, medical equipment, and specialists that are necessary to Rojava [were] dispatched,” Zebari told Kurdistan 24, adding that the directive came from Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani.

Through its related agencies, the KRG “has supported and assisted the humanitarian organizations in order to maintain the aid to Rojava,” Zebari explained.

“The closure of the border crossing on March 1 was not the KRG’s decision, but the authorities of Semelka border crossing and [Self] Administration in northeastern Syria,” he noted.

“From the KRG side of the border crossing, no request for delivering aid [to Rojava] has been rejected, let alone banned,” Zebari said, referring to all the names and contacts of the international aid organizations that have delivered help during the period the HRW claimed restrictions had been imposed.  

“We have provided HRW with a list of the organizations and figures that have transferred aid through the border-crossing.”

In a statement on Tuesday, the Coordinator for International Advocacy responded to the HRW report in detail.

“KRG always takes all necessary steps to have good relations with the HRW, but this cooperation has to be bilateral,” the statement read, noting that the KRG has provided the HRW with all the necessary and accurate figures and information at the organization’s request.

At the beginning of the outbreak, the Self Administration in northeast Syria decided to close the border crossing, but at the request of the humanitarian organization “it was decided to reopen the border crossing every Tuesday,” to allow the transfer of medical aid that is necessary to fight COVID-19.

The statement also points to “10 tons of medications and medical equipment” dispatched to Rojava via the logistics of the KRG from March 1 to mid-April, citing several NGOs such as Doctors without Borders and International Medical Corps (IMC).

The KRG has also “exempted the humanitarian organizations from any customs [fees]” that supply aid to Rojava, the statement noted.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany