{"id":131349,"date":"2025-10-23T11:23:47","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T11:23:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/?p=131349"},"modified":"2025-10-23T11:23:49","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T11:23:49","slug":"un-voices-concern-over-kurdish-language-removal-from-afrin-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/131349\/","title":{"rendered":"UN voices concern over Kurdish language removal from Afrin schools"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013<\/strong> The United Nations expressed concern over reports that the Kurdish language has been removed from the school curriculum in Afrin, northwest Syria, a Kurdish region under the control of Turkish-backed armed groups since 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During a press briefing on Oct. 21, Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, said that the UN is aware of the media reports regarding the decision but has not yet been able to independently verify them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe cannot confirm those reports, although we&#8217;re aware of the media reports on this,\u201d Haq told Rudaw. \u201cWhat I can tell you is that the Secretary General strongly believes in the right of people everywhere in the world to speak the languages that they choose to speak and to learn all the different languages of those areas.&#8221; &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;We want to make sure that the basic language rights of people are protected,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several local and regional media outlets have reported that Syrian transitional authorities in Afrin have recently removed Kurdish language classes from schools, raising fears among people and displaced Afrin families that the move represents another step toward erasing Kurdish cultural identity in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Afrin, historically a Kurdish-majority region, was captured by Turkish forces and affiliated Syrian factions in March 2018 following \u201cOperation Olive Branch.\u201d Since then, tens of thousands of Kurdish people have been displaced to camps and cities in eastern Euphrates, a region run by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have documented widespread violations in Afrin committed by Turkish-backed armed factions, known as the Syrian National Army, such as property seizures, forced displacement, and arbitrary detentions targeting the remaining Kurdish population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The UN\u2019s statement comes amid growing appeals from Kurdish civil society and human rights organizations calling on international actors to pressure Turkey and its allied factions to halt demographic and cultural changes in Afrin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>By Jwan Shekaki<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 The United Nations expressed concern over reports that the Kurdish language has been removed from the school curriculum in Afrin, northwest Syria, a Kurdish region under the control of Turkish-backed armed groups since 2018. During a press briefing on Oct. 21, Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":131351,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pgc_sgb_lightbox_settings":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,39,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-home","category-syria"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>UN voices concern over Kurdish language removal from Afrin schools<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 The United Nations expressed concern over reports that the Kurdish language has been removed from the school curriculum in\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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