Call to international institutions for Rojava

2026-01-22 15:51:13


	 

	NEWS CENTRE - Legal organisations and human rights organisations in many centres have reacted to the attacks on Rojava and called on international institutions and organisations.

	 

	Human rights associations and legal organisations in many centres issued simultaneous press statements regarding the attacks on Rojava. 

	 

	Lawyers for Freedom Association (OHD), Human Rights Association (IHD), The Association of Contemporary Lawyers (CHD) and the Lawyers for Justice Association, Turkish Human Rights Foundation (TIHV) Wan Representative Office, and Komeleya Vekolîn û Perwerdeya Hiqûqê (DADSAZ) held a press conference in many city of Kurdistan and Turkey. 

	 

	During the statement, a banner reading ‘Genocide in Rojava, silence in the world ’ was unfurled, and slogans such as ‘Bijî berxwedana Rojava’ and ‘The defence did not and will not be silenced’ were chanted. 

	 

	Numerous legal institutions and human rights organisations held a press conference in front of the Istanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan regarding the attacks on Rojava. The press statement, which featured a banner reading ‘We do not accept the attacks on Rojava’ and slogans such as ‘Biji berxwedana Rojava, Human dignity will defeat ISIS,’ was read by Eda Önal, President of the Istanbul Branch of the Human Rights Association (OHD).

	 

	'We only need peace'

	 

	Eren Keskin, a member of the Executive Board of the Human Rights Association (IHD), took the floor after the statement in İstanbul and said, "All Kurds in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria want peace. I call on the imperialists: you are destroying your own international declarations and legal texts. The only secularists in the Middle East are the Kurds. If you want to be subjected to attacks by jihadists, continue. Furthermore, the Turkish press is publishing inflammatory news. We only need peace. That is why we are calling on the press council to warn the press."

	 

	The joint statement included the following remarks:

	 

	“The Kurdish people living just beyond Turkey’s borders are being subjected to statelessness, insecurity and constant threats of violence; this is not strengthening social peace in Turkey, but rather having the opposite effect, weakening it. The prohibitive approach towards the public who wish to organise protests and peaceful marches to protest the HTS attacks on Rojava and the international powers turning a blind eye, and to show solidarity with the people of Rojava, amounts to imposing a “remain silent” demand in the face of attacks on Rojava and the Kurdish people.

	 

	However, as human rights organisations, defending human rights is defending humanity, and not remaining silent about what is happening in Rojava is our duty to peace and equality. In this regard, we also condemn the prohibition of peaceful protests and marches; the disproportionate intervention by the police against the public, human rights defenders, elected officials, lawyers and the bar association president during the marches on the grounds that they were prohibited; and the ill-treatment and detention procedures applied.

	 

	Call to international organisations

	 

	'*There must be no silence in the face of attacks on civilians and ethnic-religious rights violations in Syria; effective steps must be taken on the basis of international law to protect the legal and political status of Rojava. 

	 

	*The UN Security Council must immediately activate all protection mechanisms, including a “no-fly zone”, to stop the ongoing civilian massacres in Rojava.

	 

	*The European Union and the International Coalition must not remain silent as a people with whom you have partnered in the fight against ISIS is now being annihilated by attacks from regional forces. The provisions of the United Nations must be complied with and implemented immediately. Silence, on the contrary, demonstrates that the UN conventions and mechanisms are clearly invalid and lack legitimacy. 

	 

	*International Criminal Court (ICC): We call on the ICC to establish urgent investigation panels to examine allegations of “war crimes” and “attempted genocide” in the region.