Final statement on crimes of Turkish occupation in Afrin on Second HR Forum's

The work of the Second Human Rights Forum crimes in occupied Afrin concluded its work by a final statement and a set of recommendations, above all, work to end the Turkish occupation of Syrian territories and ensure the return of the forcibly displaced under the international sponsorship.

30 January, 2021 17:57

QAMISHLO – NEWSDESK

Under the sponsorship of the Research and Women's Rights Organization in Syria, the Law Initiative Organization, the Rojava Center for Strategic Studies, the Human Rights Organization Afrin - Syria and the Human Rights Organization in Al-Jazira, the work of the second forum on crimes committed by the Turkish occupation army and mercenaries in the occupied Afrin canton, started in Qamishlo. In the presence of a group of human rights defenders in NE Syria, and with the participation of a number of human rights defenders and stakeholders in the year.

The forum was of three main axes; the characteristics of the crimes of the Turkish occupation and its backed factions in light of international law, the violations against women in Afrin by the Turkish occupation and its mercenaries, and the legal ways to hold the perpetrators of these crimes accountable in accordance with international law.

The forum concluded with the final statement, read by the member of the Preparatory Committee, Heyhan Ali.

The statement read:

“The Second Human Rights forum on Human Rights Crimes in Afrin, Syria, was held on 01/30/2021 in Qamishlo, with the presence of more than a hundred and fifty participants from Syria and abroad. The crimes committed in Afrin canton by the Turkish occupation and the loyal Syrian armed factions were highlighted. Through discussion of the axes and opinions and proposals, the following recommendations and demands were offered:

- Stressing that the Turkish military intervention in the Syrian territories is a crime of aggression against the sovereignty of the Syrian state, a member of the United Nations, because it is not based on an international resolution or a Syrian national resolution and is a clear violation of the provisions of the UN Charter and the provisions of international humanitarian law.

- Work to end the Turkish occupation of Syrian areas and ensure the return of the forcibly displaced under international sponsorship.

- Stresing that the crimes committed against women in Afrin rise to the level of genocide, and work to expose it to the international community.

- Demanding the United Nations to send an international fact-finding committee to Afrin canton to investigate the crimes committed by the Turkish occupation state and the factions under its banner.

- Demanding the United Nations and the relevant international bodies to assume their legal and moral responsibilities towards hundreds of thousands of displaced Afrin, considering it a crime of forced displacement for the purpose of demographic change and a crime of ethnic cleansing, which is a war crime according to the 1998 Rome Statute, and to refer the perpetrators to the International Criminal Court

- Communicating with international humanitarian workers, academics, researchers and activists to prepare files on the violations committed in Afrin and submit them to European international courts with them and communicate with relatives of victims in Europe and America

- Establishing an international program for individual and collective compensation for all victims of the Turkish occupation, especially women and children

- Communicating with international media and documentary film makers and working to expose the crimes committed by Turkey and the armed factions loyal to it.

- Forming a local and international committee to follow up on the recommendations and decisions issued by the forum and preparing for the holding of subsequent forums and forums in this regard.

(A)

ANHA