A group of Syrian human rights organizations released a statement, of which The Syrian Observer has obtained a copy, calling on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and Paulo Pinheiro, Chair of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, to condemn “violations and crimes against unarmed civilians in Afrin.”
The text of the appeal was as follows:
Mr. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
Mrs. Michele Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Mr. Paulo Pinheiro, Chair of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria
After the torrent reached its apex, the violations and crimes against unarmed civilians in the Afrin area, by Syrian armed factions, reached their peak of ugliness, harming human dignity, without any consideration or respect for heavenly laws and status. These groups were unleashed by Turkish intelligence forces to commit prohibited acts against the Kurdish Syrian residents of Afrin, including men, women, the elderly and children, with the aim of forcing them to leave their homes and face displacement in order for Turkey to carry out its plan for demographic change in the area, as well as obliterate its Kurdish identity.
And once the veil has been lifted to reveal these immoral crimes that were committed by the mercenary factions, especially against Kurdish girls and women, as well as continued murder of the elderly, and especially what was shared by the Council of Notables of Ghouta in a statement yesterday about their eyewitness accounts of a number of women held in detention centers run by the al-Hamza Brigade, which were raided and seized by Ghouta settlers and factions from Ahrar al-Sham, who found the women in a state of nakedness that is unacceptable and unlawful.
We, the civil and legal organizations signed below, call on you to address the following as quickly as possible:
- The necessity of forming a committee to investigate the daily crimes and violations committed in Afrin and other areas under Turkish occupation, in order to document them and refer them to relevant international authorities and hold those responsible for these crimes accountable.
- Exertion of additional pressure on Turkey to carry out its duties as an occupying state, including ensuring the safety and protection of civilians.
- Demands that Turkey end its unlawful military presence in Syria and leave along with its mercenaries. The Security Council must place those areas under international protection in order to find a complete political solution for Syria.
29/5/2020
Signatories:
- Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
- The Kurdish Legal Authority
- The Association for Defending Threatened Peoples—Germany Branch
- Kurdish Organization for Human Rights (DAD)
- The Kurdish Committee for Human Rights (al-Rasid)
- The Violations Documentation Center in Northern Syria
- The Mahabad Organization for Human Rights (MOHR)
- The Association for Defense of Human Rights in Austria
- Human Rights Organization in Syria (MAF)
- Lekolin Center for Legal Studies and Research
- Ezdina Media and Rights Foundation
- Syrian Center for the Defense of Human Rights
- Human Rights Organization in Syria – MAF
- Human Rights Organization – Afrin
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
