To the United Nations,
To the institutions of the European Union and its Member States,
To international Human Rights Organizations and women representatives,
The international community is now well aware of the systematic attacks carried out in Syria by armed groups affiliated with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham/ Organization for the Liberation of the Levant (HTS). These groups operate under the so-called interim administration established by HTS and with the overt or covert support of global hegemonic powers. The attacks are directed against Alawites, Druze, Kurds, Armenians, and other peoples living in the region.
These attacks constitute war crimes with severe and irreversible consequences, particularly for women and girls. The assaults carried out on January 6, 2026, in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods of Aleppo, which primarily targeted Kurdish communities and other local populations, represent clear violations of international humanitarian law. Throwing the lifeless body of a woman from a construction site in full public view starkly exposes the brutality directed against women.
Moreover, numerous verified cases of sexual assault, sexual torture, forced detention, and threats demonstrate that women’s bodies are being used as instruments of war, even though these cases have not reached the public sphere. These crimes are not isolated incidents; they are part of a deliberate, organized, and systematic policy of violence.
Today, women and girls in the region, particularly in the predominantly Kurdish cities of Hasakah and Kobane in Rojava, are under serious and imminent threat. As has been the case throughout history, women are paying the heaviest price in Syria’s ongoing conflict. Their right to life, bodily integrity, dignity, and freedom are being directly and deliberately targeted.
For many years, international law has been inadequate in addressing violence against women in times of war. Despite thousands of women being subjected to sexual violence during the First and Second World Wars, these crimes were not recognized as war crimes by the Tokyo and Nuremberg tribunals. Following the genocides and massacres in Bosnia and Rwanda, however, and as a result of women’s persistent struggles, a critical threshold was crossed in international law: sexual violence against women in armed conflict was explicitly recognized as both a war crime and a crime against humanity.
Despite these legal advances, intense and systematic war crimes against women from Kurdish, Alawite, Armenian, Druze, and other indigenous communities continue to be committed today in Syria—particularly in Rojava—by armed groups affiliated with HTS. The silence of international human rights mechanisms, especially dominant global powers, in the face of these crimes is unacceptable.
For this reason, we, as women human rights defenders, feel compelled to recall once again:
- United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, and
- The international human rights conventions to which the European Union and its Member States are parties.
The United Nations was founded to prevent wars and protect civilians. It has specific mechanisms dedicated to addressing violence against women. These mechanisms must take a clear, firm, and binding stance against the war crimes committed against women in Syria and Rojava. Similarly, we believe that all European Union representatives, particularly female parliamentarians, must not remain silent in the face of such grave crimes.
Our region is among those most directly and deeply affected by the war in Syria. Each new attack and violation directly impacts us, forcing us to confront the consequences of this pervasive climate of violence.
Therefore, we first and foremost call on women working within the United Nations and the European Union to stand in solidarity with us, taking a clear and public stance against the war crimes committed in Syria and Rojava—particularly those directed at women and girls.
We have written this appeal to bring these violations to light once again, demand an end to the silence surrounding them, and strengthen international solidarity among women.
We expect you to stand with us, raise your voices, and assume responsibility.
Sincerely,
Human Rights Association Central Women’s Committee