Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights

About us

Jîyan is the Kurdish word for "life". The Jiyan Foundation supports survivors of human rights violations, promotes democratic values and defends fundamental freedoms in Kurdistan-Iraq.

The Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights is a non-profit organization based in Iraq. The mission of our organization is to support survivors of severe human rights violations, including those that have experienced torture, genocide, political persecution, domestic and gender-based violence, and terrorist attacks.

The Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights was established and officially registered as a non-governmental human rights organization in May 2005.

During the past ten years, our teams have established

• multidisciplinary rehabilitation centers for traumatized survivors of human rights abuses in the cities of Kirkuk, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Chamchamal, Halabja and Duhok
• programs for traumatized children and adolescents
• programs for adult females affected by domestic violence
• a program for survivors of chemical attacks in Halabja and Sulaymaniyah
• mobile outreach services for survivors living in remote and rural areas
• a rehabilitation program for Syrian refugees
• a rehabilitation program for IDPs
• outreach teams for juvenile prisoners
• a human rights education program for students in local schools
• trainings for multipliers and empowerment activities for survivors

Between 2005 and August 2015, some 15,000 survivors of human rights violations benefited from our rehabilitation services: appr. 40% were female adults and 30% children and youths. Another 9000 Syrian refugees received short-term medical treatment. Direct and indirect beneficiaries included individuals of Arab, Kurdish, Turkmen and Assyrian origin as well as Syrian refugees, internally displaced persons and members of religious minorities.

Since summer 2014, the Jiyan Foundation has further supported internally displaced persons displaced by terrorism with acute medical support, humanitarian relief and psycho-social assistance. It further operates a specialized health clinic for female survivors of the so-called Islamic State and a healing garden in the city of Chamchamal.