Despite the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution, which calls on all parties of conflicts to take special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse, in situations of armed conflict, the women, whose lives have been turned into a living hell in Kurdistan have never been brought to the agenda of the UNSC.
Following the humanitarian crimes in Rwanda and Bosnia, the UNSC adopted resolution 1325 “Landmark resolution on Women, Peace and Security” on women, peace and security on 31st October 2000, which reaffirms the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations and peace-keeping. The resolution provides a number of important operational mandates, with implications for Member States and the entities of the United Nations system was evaluated by the women movements of the time as a “ground breaking resolution”.
In an analysis shared by Hawar News Agency (ANHA), it has been criticized that the crimes committed against women by the Turkish state and allied mercenaries through northern and eastern Syria as well the northern Kurdistan have never been brought to the justice even though all have been proved and declared as crimes by the United Nations (UN).
Violence against Kurdish women is never put on the agenda
Over 20 years after it was adopted, the landmark resolution on Women, Peace and Security has never been implemented in Kurdistan as the violence against women in Kurdistan has never been put on the agenda.
The UN have listed many instances of violence, particularly against Kurdish women, such as kidnapping, murder, torture and rape, in Turkey as well as in the regions occupied by the Turkish state forces such as Afrin ( Efrîn), Ras al-Ayn (Serêkaniyê) and Tell Abyad (Gire Sipi), in their reports regarding human rights. However, resolution (1325) has never been implemented.
Kurdish women murdered by jihadists and drones of Turkey
The deceased body of Taybet İnan, engraved in the memories as “Mother Taybet” was killed on 19 December, 2015 by the Turkish law enforcement forces during the curfews in Silopi (Silopî) in eastern Turkey. Mother Taybet’s deceased body had remained in the middle of the street as her family was obstructed by the military forces prohibiting them from recovering her body.
Hevrin Khalaf (Kurdish: Hevrîn Xelef), Secretary General of the Syrian Future Party, was killed after being tortured by the jihadist mercenaries, backed by Turkey, on 12 October 2019 during the invasion attacks on Rojava.
The applications for an effective investigation to be conducted regarding the murder of two Kurdish women have never been taken into consideration, as ANHA reports.
Emine Weysi, Zehra Berkel and Hebûn Qahreman, three activists of the women’s movement in northeastern Syria were killed by drones, reported to be belonging to Turkey, in the village of Helincê (Halinja) near Kobanê. The case file regarding their killing remains unsolved.
International Criminal Court is the address
Tens of Kurdish women are reported to be either missing, killed, tortured or subjected to sexual violence since March 18th, 2018 on the regions throughout the lands of Kurdistan occupied by the Turkish forces. Despite the reports by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic there has been taken no preventive measures whilst UNSC took no action to evaluate these numerous crimes committed against Kurdish women to implement the Landmark resolution on Women, Peace and Security in the Kurdistan.
In order to confirm the war crimes committed by Turkey against Kurdish women, the UNSC’s approval is a must, but according to ANHA’s report the international relations of the country, particularly Turkey’s diplomacy with the United States, Russia and China is a factor suspending this decision of the UN. Even though there have been some attempts from the European Union in 2019, no result has been obtained.
The report finally addresses the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, Netherlands and points to the need of a Kurdish-friendly country, which can directly apply to the ICC in order to sue the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Turkish authorities in order to defend the files of Kurdish women and bring the perpetrators of murdered Kurdish women to justice.
