Jurist: Turkey's cutting of water is a humanitarian crime, it must be held accountable for

The Turkish occupation state continues its crimes against the Syrian people, the latest of which is lowering of the Euphrates water from the Syrian lands and the revocation of the agreement concluded in 1987, which stipulates that Syria gets 500 cubic meters of water per second, while Iraq gets 58 percent of this amount.

This led to a catastrophic decline in the level of the river inside the Syrian territories, which affected the agricultural sector, electric power, drinking water and fisheries.

In this context, the co-chair of the Lawyers' Union in Manbij, Mahmoud Nabil, said that the Turkish state’s confinement of the Euphrates water is a violation of the agreements it concluded with neighboring countries and a violation of international laws that are considered transnational, as each country has its share of water as natural resources.

In his speech to ANHA agency, Mahmoud Nabil indicated that "the Turkish state can be held accountable for its confinement of the Euphrates water by putting pressure on it by international organizations, bodies and courts, and making calls for the crime of water retention and its revocation of agreements concluded with neighboring countries."

Mahmoud added, "Legally, the Syrian and Iraqi state can claim their share of the Euphrates water by submitting complaints to the United Nations to force the Turkish state to abide by the agreements, and if Turkey continues to violate the agreements, it is possible to resort to the international judiciary to recover their share."

And he added, "However, the Syrian and Iraqi states are silent, which has affected the electric power sector, agriculture and livestock, and the confinement of the Euphrates water will cause diseases and epidemics in the region, and dams."

The human rights defender believes that political reasons are among the main reasons for confining the water of the Euphrates River, in order to implement the Turkish state's agendas and ambitions on Syrian lands.

The co-chair of the Lawyers Union in Manbij sent a message at the end of his speech to the parties concerned with humanitarian affairs and international bodies to intervene to pressure the Turkish state to give the Syrian and Iraqi people their share of the Euphrates water.

(A)

ANHA