Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights

Our Mission

The Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights promotes the physical rehabilitation, mental well-being and social reintegration of victims and their family members by providing them with free-of-charge medical treatment, psycho-therapeutic support and socio-legal counseling. In addition, we seek to protect survivors of past human rights abuses and prevent future attacks of violence through political advocacy, human rights education, and public awareness-raising programs.

The core values guiding our work are expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We believe in the inherent dignity of the human person and seek to promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms laid out in the Universal Declaration. We help survivors of human rights abuses regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity or spiritual leanings.

In 2005, we started our activities in the multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk, where we opened the first rehabilitation clinic for victims of torture in Iraq. Today we have a total of nine clinics throughout Kurdistan-Iraq where more than 19,000 traumatized men, women and children have received our services.

Each year, The Jiyan Foundation assists more than 6,000 victims of human rights violations. On average 50% of those who seek our help are female adults, while 30% are children and adolescents.