Dr. in law offers recommendations to protect women from Turkish violations in Afrin

QAMISHLO

During the session on the human rights aspect of the ethnic cleansing and demographic change in Afrin, which was headed by Mukhtar Ghobash and attended by Mr. Zuzan Ibrahim Mohammed, Daniel Saud, Gerard Chalian and Rami Abdel Rahman.

Zuzan Ibrahim, Dr. in civil law and a professor at the University of Euphrates and a member of the Geneva Appeal touched upon the Violations by the Turkish State for Women's Rights in Afrin and its impact on changing the demographics of the region.

The text of the lecture, which was read by Zuzan Ibrahim, reads as follows

People's and Women's Protection Units liberated Afrin canton from the forces of the Syrian regime. Then the Democratic Autonomous Administration was announced in the three cantons of Rojava" al-Jazeera, Kobanî and Afrin "Women took their place within the administration and were able to play an important role in Autonomous Administration In decision-making in the three cantons.

And occupied senior positions, including the joint presidency of most of the governing bodies and institutions, and the percentage of women representation in all the regional committees in the cantons of al-Jazeera, Kobanî and Afrin is 40%, and the Executive Body of Autonomous Administration included figures of women held senior positions and women participated in the joint presidency of all cantons management. It also played a special role in building the democratic foundations of the administration based on participatory organization, building councils, academies and associations for women, in addition to forming a special force of women to defend itself against any threat.

As well as the enactment of a law to protect her rights and restore her dignity, where by this law, polygamy and the marriage of minors was prohibited, and she was granted the right of custody and jurisdiction over children, as well as the prevention of divorce by the will of the husband alone. (1)The establishment of democratic self-government with the participation of women has created a safe haven for all components of the region, in addition to receiving more than 300,000 displaced persons from different parts of Syria who have fled the conflicts in their areas and fear of death and demand for security and peace.

The Turkish state did not accept the idea of Autonomous Administration project in the north and north-east of Syria, and tried in various ways to hit the democratic project and launched a war on the region and in cooperation with 20 thousand fighters of Islamic extremist factions on 20/1/2014 under the pretext of fighting terrorism.

Accordingly, we will address the violations of the rights of women by the Turkish State during the attack on Afrin and the violations committed after the occupation of Afrin:

First: Turkish state violations of women’s rights during the attack on Afrin

As part of the four Geneva Conventions, Turkey is bound by the application of international humanitarian law, or the so-called law of armed conflict. This law sets out the rules of conduct that must be followed in armed conflicts. These rules have a humanitarian character and are aimed, in general, at reducing the suffering caused by armed conflict. The law on armed conflict begins with the idea that armed conflicts must occur. It does not care about the causes or justification of the dispute, or whether the use of force by the parties is legitimate or no.

Since the beginning of the attack of the Turkish state and Islamic extremist factions loyal to it on the city of Afrin on 20/1/2018, the city is empty of its original inhabitants, and settled by occupying groups affiliated to the Turkish occupation state, where they are stealing and looting property of the people, and burning orchards, and destroyed nature and violated and changed the names of shops and streets, while violence against women was the largest part, their bodies became an extension of the battlefield and the physical, psychological and moral violence as a means to humiliate opponents and the destruction of entire communities, and forced women to wear the hijab and the niqab so the personal liberty was limited.

In addition to deaths from bombardments, weapons, rocket fire and other factors associated with death, many women have lost their lives affected by violence and displacement, such as lack of essential basic services, hunger, drought, disease and shortages of essential medicines, drugs and supplies. (5) as well as the increasing number of deaths among senior citizens of Afrin because the occupying state and its affiliated factions did not permit the entry of relief organizations there.

2-Kidnapping and torture

Since the outbreak of the conflict in Afrin, women have been kidnapped on a large scale, including forced disappearances, kidnappings for ransom or trafficking, and even in the event of a victim's release, kidnappings often have serious consequences.

Cases of kidnapping were recorded in 36 cases, and the numbers are likely to be much higher, with many families reluctant to report the abduction of their daughters.

3- Sexual violence and rape

Due to the sensitivity of this subject, it was not possible to obtain accurate information and statistics from the competent authorities

According to available statistics, the number of victims of sexual assault was 46 cases.

Second: Violations of the Turkish state after the occupation

In accordance with the Hague Regulations of 1907 (Articles 42-56), the Fourth Geneva Convention (Articles 27-34) and 47-78, in addition to some provisions of Additional Protocol and Customary International Humanitarian Law, Afrin became an area occupied by Turkish forces , and the factions opposed to the date of occupation of Afrin 18/3/2018, and accordingly the Turkish state and the armed factions loyal to them are committed to many of obligations under these conventions, especially the provisions of the convention, which require the occupying power to protect the position and human rights. The Convention also obligates all states and parties concerned to implement the convention in the face of grave violations in the territories it has occupied. However, Turkey has practiced since the first day of its occupation, whether directly or through armed Syrian factions, mercenaries loyal to and affiliated with many crimes and serious violations in various forms and unity to the most cruel and brutal, from theft, robbery, looting, killing, torture and attacks physical disappearances, forced disappearances, forcible displacement of populations, systematic demographic change and other crimes, most of which fall under what international humanitarian law considers war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. This is confirmed by reports by Amnesty International, 7 Human Rights Watch (8), a girl two years in Afrin killed after being raped and killed her mother by three young men, amid discontent from the residents of the deteriorating security situation in the region. (9) Police and Public Security Forces found the girl and her mother dead in a house in the village of Korka in the area of Maabtli in the city of Afrin, north of Aleppo. Local sources in the city of Afrin (northern Syria) reported that the head of the so- The city of Afrin «Mahmoud Salo» raided several women in the city of Afrin, the most recent minor girl and pregnant woman in the third month, which led to the abortion of her fetus, and also targeted professional women throughout Afrin because of their participation in the public domain, either through their work as artists, doctors, journalists or activists.

Therefore, there is an occupying state that does not deal with the absolute with the occupied part and its inhabitants according to the logic of the law. Rather, they have launched the hands of the armed elements to do what they want. Those elements who adopt extremist ideas, diseases, and religious, sectarian, and ethnic doctrines, the Kurdish component of which the vast majority of Afrin population belongs and see in the Yazidi religion, which our brothers believe in in Afrin, they are infidels, separatists and traitors.

Conclusion

In conclusion, and in support of all this and comparing these articles, laws and agreements with reality or facts and events in Afrin until the moment of preparation of this subject, we see that they are identical, and that what happens can be considered as clear and ongoing crimes within the framework covered by those articles and conventions. What is stranger in our opinion is that the verification of these crimes and their truth and the gathering of evidence and the fact that what is happening in Afrin as a whole is not difficult or difficult task when the intention and desire of the international parties and destinations, organizations and institutions are in place. It is imperative that these international bodies or the international community assume their moral and humanitarian responsibility above all for what is happening in Afrin and to conduct fair, impartial and transparent investigations under civil law, and to refer those files, investigations and perpetrators of those crimes to the competent authorities, particularly the International Criminal Court.

Accordingly, we make some recommendations

1-Steps must be taken to prevent the transfer of arms and financial resources to groups committing grave violations against women.

2-Take into account the specific needs of displaced women in the context of humanitarian assistance programs and increase the allocation of medical, emotional and psychological support to victims of sexual violence.

3-Work to form a fact-finding committee and send it to Afrin to verify violations of international humanitarian law, its source and perpetrators from any party, whether by the Turkish occupation state or its armed factions. The Commission of Inquiry, the gathering of information and the identification of suspects and those responsible for such violations and crimes in order to bring them to fair trials.

4-To compel Turkey as a member state of the international institution to respect the international covenants and conventions and to recognize the international community that Turkey is an occupying country to carry out its duties (as an occupying state) at various levels as defined by international conventions.

5-To request Turkey to allow the media, committees, international humanitarian, relief and human rights organizations and civil society organizations to enter Afrin and to introduce all supplies and relief materials and to provide adequate protection and guarantees to the competent authorities.

A.H

ANHA