Aqil: The Turkish government ignored all international agreements to build the dam, which has disastrous effects on neighboring countries

The Maat Foundation for Peace, Development and Human Rights released today, Saturday, May 30, 2020, a report entitled “The Turkish Ilisu Dam ... economic, water and cultural risks to neighboring countries“The report dealt with the negative effects and grave dangers resulting from the construction of the dam on neighboring countries, in addition to the negative effects of this dam on the cultural and archaeological heritage in the Turkish historical area of Hasankeyf, which dates back 12 thousand years and includes many Assyrian, Christian and Islamic monuments that make the region A meeting place for many cultures, it will also affect the marshes in Iraq, which are drought into a desert as a result of the construction of this dam because it will prevent the flow of water to it, and it is the area included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as it has a biological diversity and a multi-cultural history.

The report also referred to the severe damage to environmental life in the State of Iraq as a result of the construction of this dam, represented by the decrease in the level of water flowing into the Tigris River, which results in a crisis in drinking water and agriculture inside Iraq, in addition to the increase in the phenomenon of desertification and the specific pollution of water and the impact on Iraqi industries due to The decrease in the energy generated by the electric power plants that depend on water, with the lack of suitable environmental conditions for the growth of fish wealth, which will lead to its decrease, which will result in economic damage as well.

The report also explained Turkish disregard for international agreements and conventions Which determines the establishment of water projects, such as the Treaty of Lausanne, the Treaty of Friendship and Good Neighborliness, in addition to the 1997 United Nations Convention on the Use of International Watercourses for Non-Navigational Purposes.

And under the heading Warning indicators: simultaneous risks threatening neighboring countries The report clarified the serious negative effects that occur on the neighboring countries as a result of filling this dam, whether on the level of citizens, at the agricultural level, or at the economic level, as well as on the level of the river environment, in addition to the decrease in the energy generated by electric power plants. The report also focused on Obliterating history and features of the loss of cultural heritage The result of the construction of the Ilisu Dam, especially for the Turkish historical "Hasankeyfah", which dates back 12 thousand years.

For his part, Ayman Aqil, head of the Maat Foundation, said that despite the existence of a set of legal controls, charters and international agreements that govern the construction and inauguration of water dams, among which is the need for coordination and cooperation between the downstream countries and the upstream countries when constructing the dams, but the Turkish authorities ignored all of this when constructing the dam. It did not consult with the countries involved in the Tigris and Euphrates basins, such as Iraq and Syria. Aqil added that the Turkish Ilisu Dam has negative effects on these countries, including reducing the water imports of the Tigris River by about 60%, meaning reducing its share from 20 billion cubic meters to nearly 9 billion, and that this shortage will deprive the State of Iraq of one third of its arable lands, specifically in the north, center and south. To transform from a producing country to an importer of crops instead of being self-sufficient; Consequently, the dam will lead to deteriorating economic conditions, mainly exhausting, and an increase in unemployment, but the most dangerous is the possibility of forming a large wave of displacement, not to mention a significant decrease in livestock.

The risks of the Turkish Ilisu Dam on water and cultural rights in Iraq