Image source: Lelun
Image source: Lelun

Syria: Statement on the Passage of Five Years Since the Occupation of Ras al-Ayn/Serê Kaniyê and Tall Abyad During “Peace Spring” Operation

 126 Organizations call for ceasing the occupation, ensuring a voluntary, safe and dignified return for the IDPs, halting demographic changes, and adopting a reparations-based approach for those affected, as part of a comprehensive process that guarantees accountability and justice for the victims

 

Five years have passed since the Turkish occupation of areas of Ras al-Ayn/Serê Kaniyê and Tall Abyad as a result of the military operation dubbed “Peace Spring”, which began on October 9, 2019, under the pretext of establishing a ‘’ Safe Zone”. However, the reality has been the opposite. The region has lost its safety and stability, as well as continues to endure widespread violations and the absence of the rule of law.

The military incursion displaced more than 200,000 indigenous people from these areas, with Turkey and the Turkish-backed factions of the opposition Syrian National Army (SNA) indiscriminately bombarding civilian buildings and systematically looting private properties belonging to locals of various backgrounds, particularly the Kurds.  Moreover, the SNA factions have prevented hundreds of displaced families from returning to their homes and reclaiming their properties.

Tens of thousands of indigenous people remain forcibly displaced in dire humanitarian conditions in makeshift camps and shelters that lack support and official recognition from UN agencies. According to independent local Syrian organizations, more than 85% of the inhabitants of Ras al-Ayn/Serê Kaniyê are still forcibly displaced, with the Kurdish population dwindling from 75,000 to just 50 individuals, the numbers of Armenian, Syriac, and Yezidi residents have also fallen to no more than a handful. Meanwhile, thousands of displaced families from other Syrian regions have been settled in the homes of those who were forcibly displaced, along with dozens of Iraqi families, including relatives of Islamic State (ISIS) fighters. Let alone the Turkish public attempts to settle one million Syrian refugees in these areas.

The endeavors of the Turkish authorities and armed factions of the opposition Syrian National Coalition (SNC) to alter the demographic and culture composition of these areas through forced displacement, resettling other groups in the homes of the indigenous population, and overt Turkification practices, constitute a crime against the indigenous people. These actions are punishable under international law and International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and represent an attempt to change the entire identity of the region.

Turkey, which has effectively controlled all military and civil aspects in the region for the past five years, has failed to assume its responsibilities under the international law, and it has not taken any tangible and serious measures to protect civilians or improve the situations. Instead, it has turned a blind eye to the widespread violations committed by the SNA factions. Consequently, crimes, such as looting, pillage, murder, and abductions have been rife in these regions, as the absence of accountability encourages these violations to perpetuate, and exacerbate the suffering of the local people.

As an occupying power, Turkey is obligated under Article 43 of the 1907 Hague Regulations and the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, to take all the measures in its power to restore, and ensure, as far as possible, public order and safety. This obligation includes the duty to ensure respect for the applicable rules of International Human Rights Law (IHRL) and International Humanitarian Law (IHL), as well as to protect the population of the occupied territories from acts of violence and not to tolerate such violence by any third party.

Despite Turkey’s commitments under the “Ceasefire Agreement”, signed with the US on October 17, 2019, stipulating in several items to “pledge to uphold human rights, protect religious and ethnic communities, ensure the safety and well-being of all residents in the zone controlled by Turkey, and exercise maximum care in order not to cause harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure,” Turkey has evaded its responsibilities towards the population and turned a blind eye to the wide-scale violations and crimes committed during and after the operation. This has led to rampant looting, pillage, murder, kidnappings, and arbitrary detention.

Ending the occupation, ensuring the return of the displaced to their homes, and compensating those affected within a framework that guarantees accountability and justice for the victims are the most urgent demands from the perspective of the organizations signing this statement. Achieving any sustainable peaceful settlement is impossible without accomplishing justice for the victims and ensuring that such crimes are not repeated. On this painful occasion, we reaffirm that the issue of Ras al-Ayn/Serê Kaniyê and Tall Abyad is a critical national humanitarian matter for its displaced inhabitants, who look forward to the day when their homes are free and safe once again.

Accordingly, we, the undersigned organizations to this statement, call on:

  1. The United Nations and the UN Security Council: To end the occupation, ensure the voluntary, safe, and dignified return of IDPs in line with UN standards that safeguard their rights, officially recognize the camps housing displaced people, and provide necessary support to alleviate their suffering.
  2. The United States Government: to ensure the implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement, compel Turkey to adhere to its provisions on protecting civilians, impose sanctions on factions and armed groups responsible for violations and crimes against civilians, work towards the return of forcibly displaced persons to their original areas, and support the IDPs residing in camps.
  3. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic (COI) and the International, Impartial, and Independent Mechanism (IIIM): to release a special report about human rights violations in the Turkish-controlled territories and establish structural investigations on these violations.
  4. The Turkish Government: to assume its responsibilities as an occupying power, prevent factions and armed groups from harming the civilian population, establish a specific timetable for ending its occupation of the regions to ensure a safe return for the residents to their homes, and stop weaponizing water, in the occupied territories, against the residents in northeast Syria.
  5. The European Union (EU): to support projects that alleviate suffering of the IDPs residing in the camps and shelters, pressure Turkey to stop supporting factions and groups that commit crimes and violations against the residents, work to hold accountable perpetrators of war crimes and violations in these areas through a process that guarantees accountability and redress for the victims, as no sustainable peaceful settlement can be achieved without justice for the victims.

 

The signatory organizations to the statement, listed in alphabetical order are:

  1. Accountability Advocates Organization
  2. Act for Afrin
  3. Adil Center for human Rights
  4. Afrin Platform
  5. Afrin Social Association
  6. Al Ahd
  7. Al Diyar Society
  8. Al Ghaith Development
  9. Al Nawras Development Organization
  10. Al Zajel
  11. Amal Al Furat Org
  12. Ambassadors Association for People with Disabilities
  13. Analysis and Strategic Studies Organization (ASO)
  14. Anwar Algahd
  15. ARAS Association
  16. Areej Organisation
  17. Artis Team for Arts, Culture and Children
  18. Ashna Development Organization
  19. ashti center
  20. Aso News network
  21. Bader Organization for Community Development
  22. Baladna
  23. BALLOON
  24. Bridges of Peace
  25. Bukra Ahla Association for Relief and Development
  26. Center for Research and Protection of Women’s Rights
  27. Centerofliertiesbefense
  28. Chaushka Women’s Association
  29. Cloud Org
  30. Community Solidarity Organization
  31. DAN for Relief and Development
  32. Dar Association for the Victims of Forced Displacement
  33. Das Leben
  34. DemoS
  35. Development Seeds Centre
  36. Dijla Organization for Development and Environment
  37. DOZ Organization
  38. Dya Al Aml
  39. Edraak Organization for Development and Peace
  40. Ella organization for development and peace building
  41. Emaar Al Mansura
  42. Engineering for Services
  43. Enlil Center
  44. Environmental Protection Association
  45. Ezdina Organization
  46. Fajr
  47. Foor Them
  48. Future Makers Team
  49. Hevy for relief and development
  50. HLD
  51. Hope Makers
  52. House of Citizenship Organization
  53. Human rights organization Afrin – Syria
  54. Human Rights Organization in Syria
  55. Humanitarian and Development Cooperation – HDC
  56. Insight Organization
  57. Jian Humanitarian Organization
  58. Jiyan foundation for human rights
  59. Kobani for Relief and Development
  60. Kurdish Cultural Association in Geneva
  61. Lamasat Al Khair Association for Relief and Development
  62. Lêlun Association for Victims
  63. Lights For Development And Construction
  64. Lots Association
  65. Malva Organization for Arts, Culture and Education
  66. Mary for culture
  67. Mawj for Development
  68. Missing Persons’ Families Platform in North and East Syria (MPFP-NES)
  69. Nabd Team
  70. Nasmet Amal
  71. NES -LNGO- Platform
  72. Nour Al-Huda Charity Association
  73. Nowat organization
  74. Nûdem
  75. Nudem Organization
  76. Nujeen Association of Community Development
  77. Okaz
  78. Organization “Swaedna for Relief and Development
  79. Orgnaization of Zagon
  80. Orient Association
  81. Oxygen shabab
  82. Peac Tent
  83. Peace land organization
  84. Peace Pioneers
  85. PEACE SHE LEADER NETWORK
  86. PÊL- Civil Waves
  87. Purity
  88. Raja Organization for Relief and Development
  89. Ras Al-Ayn Platform
  90. RÊ for rehabilitation and development
  91. Reng for Development
  92. Restoring Hope
  93. Rights Defense Initiative- RDI
  94. Rojava Relief and Development Organization
  95. Rose
  96. منظمة سهم للتعاون والتنمية
  97. منظمة سلام
  98. منظمة سند الإنسانية
  • منظمة سارة لمناهضة العنف ضد المرأة
  1. منظمة سواعد للتنمية
  2. إس إس دي
  3. جمعية شمال الخيرية
  4. شارك من أجل تنمية المجتمع
  5. منظمة سيلاف للأنشطة المدنية
  6. مجموعة الأحلام الصغيرة
  7. مركز سمارت
  8. مركز دعم الاستقرار.
  9. جمعية التآزر للضحايا
  10. منظمة الصليب السرياني للإغاثة والتنمية
  11. سوريون من أجل الحقيقة والعدالة – STJ
  12. منظمة مساعدة سيرين
  13. تاء مربوطة
  14. منظمة تارا
  15. لجنة مهجري سري كانيه/رأس العين.
  16. منظمة شجرة الحياة للتنمية
  17. جمعية ورشين للبيئة
  18. جمعية وقاية
  19. منصة القمح والزيتون
  20. منظمة الأمل الأبيض
  21. منظمة الانسان الابيض
  22. نساء من أجل السلام
  23. مبادرات المرأة
  24. الشباب من أجل التغيير
  25. منظمة زمن للتنمية وبناء السلام
  26. جمعية زهرة الفرات
  27. زورانا للتنمية

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