Experts of the United Nations (UN) have welcomed the unilateral ceasefire declared by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on 1 March, following Abdullah Öcalan’s ‘Call for Peace and a Democratic Society’ on 27 February, and urged the Turkish government to take concrete steps to ensure successful peace negotiations in Turkey.
According to the press release issued on 11 April, UN experts urged the PKK and the Turkish state to “peacefully settle the conflict and respect applicable international humanitarian and human rights law” after “so much bloodshed and insecurity”.
The release noted that the PKK has linked its willingness to convene a congress to take the decision to dissolve itself and disarm, as proposed by Öcalan’s call, to the conditions of a “secure environment, a ceasefire by Türkiye, the creation of a legal mechanism for peace talks, and the release of its imprisoned leader”, referring to Öcalan.
Furthermore, they acknowledged that the Turkish state has continued to attack “alleged PKK targets and armed groups in Iraq and Syria it believes are affiliated with the PKK” despite welcoming the ceasefire and insisting on a disarmament.
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The UN experts also highlighted that even though multiple ceasefires have been declared by the PKK in the last decades, lasting peace could not be achieved and many civilians have been affected by the conflict.
“We encourage the parties to learn from successful peace settlements elsewhere,” the experts said and listed proposals that should be included in a possible peace agreement such as the “disarmament, demobilisation, reintegration and amnesties or pardons for those who have not committed international crimes” and justice processes leading to prosecutions and reparations for victims.
The release highlighted the need to “address the root causes of violence to prevent the resumption of conflict” and the need for practical measures to support victims of violence including “material assistance, protection, tracing of missing persons and repatriation of the deceased”.
