Joint Statement on Recently Increased Human Rights Violations
Strong allegations have been reflected in the public sphere concerning extra-judicial executions, forced displacement, bombing of civilian settlements and urban infrastructure, arbitrary detention, torture and other forms of ill-treatment during the operation launched by HTS against the neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maksut and Ashrafiye in Aleppo, Syria, where Kurds, Alevis, Assyrians, Yazidis and Armenians live.
The conflict that commenced in Aleppo quickly spread across Syria. Numerous pieces of footage and news reports have emerged indicating that civilians, particularly women and children, were deliberately targeted in these attacks, which were specifically aimed at the Kurdish population in Syria.
Unfortunately, the forces fighting against ISIS, which have considerably defeated it, are now under threat of attack and massacre. According to news from the region, attacks by HTS forces on prisons where ISIS members were being held have led to the release of numerous ISIS members. Thereby, the door has been opened for the resurgence of ISIS, which had been defeated at great cost and with immense suffering.
The perpetrators of the Shengal massacre, operating under a different guise today, continue their policies of slaughter and massacre, benefiting from the support, consent and silence of regional and international forces. Terrifying footage reflected in the public opinion are considered war crimes and crimes against humanity. The greater risk is that these attacks have the potential to turn into ethnic cleansing in full view of the world.
Paying regard to the historical, cultural and affinity ties of Kurds living in Syria and our country, these attacks will lead to irreversible emotional and political damage and undermine the desire of living together.
Therefore, as the organisations signed this statement, we share with the public that,
- We call on international human rights mechanisms, particularly the United Nations (UN), to adopt an immediate stance based on their raison d’être that will enable the people living in Syria to express themselves freely, and we call upon all states, including the Republic of Turkey, to adopt a political stance based solely on human rights values and principles.
- We call on the UN and all international human rights institutions to take action to immediately put an end the operation launched by HTS forces.
- For the establishment of lasting peace, we call on the international community to support solution models that align with the Syrian people’s demands for an equal and free life, while considering Syria’s ethnic and religious diversity.
- We invite international legal and judicial mechanisms to identify war crimes and human rights violations committed against civilians and to prosecute those responsible.
- We call on the media to renounce language that fuels and legitimizes war, violence, and discrimination.
İnsan Hakları Derneği (İHD)-Human Rights Association
Türkiye İnsan Hakları Vakfı (TİHV)-Human Rights Foundation of Turkey
Kamu Emekçileri Sendikaları Konfederasyonu (KESK)-Confederation of Public Employees Trade Union
Özgürlük İçin Hukukçular Deneği (ÖHD)-Lawyers for Freedom Association
DAD Ankara/Ana Fatma Cemevi- Democratic Alevi Association/Ana Farma Djemevi
Polen Ekoloji Kollektifi-Polen Ecology Collective
10 Ekim Barış Derneği- 10 October Peace Association
Ankara Dersimliler Derneği- Ankara Association of Dersim People
Pir Sultan Abdal Derneği-Pir Sultan Abdal Cultural Association
78’liler Hareketi-78’ers Movement
Devrimci 78’liler Federasyonu-Revolutionary 78’ers Federation