Letter by MEPs: Turkey’s crimes in Syria must be investigated
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68 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have addressed a letter to President of the European Parliament David Sassoli following the United Nations (UN) Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, which was presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on August 14.
"We are calling on the Turkish military and their auxiliary forces to end their illegal occupation in North-Syria and retreat from the region," the letter of the MEPs has read, calling on the Parliament to "send a delegation on the spot in order to gather further information on the situation."
Some highlights from the letter are as follows:
'Report shows the violations'
"We, the Members of the European Parliament, take note of the recent United Nations (UN) Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, which was presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on the 14th August 2020.
"The report states that there are clear and evidential violations of human rights in North Syria. These violations are -among others- conducted by the Turkish auxiliary forces such as 'the Suleiman Shah Brigade', 'the Hamza Brigade' or 'the Sultan Murad Brigade'.
"Victims of these violations complain about various atrocities ranging from rape and sexual violence to abductions and extrajudicial killing etc. The, mostly Kurdish, victims who could flee from these atrocities are currently located in the regions of the Autonomous Administration of North-East Syria.
'End the illegal occupation'
"We demand that the Turkish government ceases its political, economic, and military support for all groups who are part of these systematic human rights violations. We are calling on the Turkish military and their auxiliary forces to end their illegal occupation in North-Syria and retreat from the region.
"Therefore, we call on the President of the EP to form a special delegation of elected parliamentarians to travel to the regions of the Autonomous Administration of North-East Syria as soon as the corona-related travel restrictions are lifted and health concerns while traveling no longer exist.
"The goal of sending a delegation on the spot is to gather further information on the situation, start a dialogue with the political body of theAutonomous Administration of North-East Syria, and to engage in talks with people who fled the contested areas under Turkish occupation.
"This would allow to investigate the UNHRC reports and to identify possible responsible figures of these atrocities, to start prosecutions within the framework of the International Criminal Court (ICC)."
The signatories
ALFONSI François (Greens/EFA), ANDREWS Barry (Renew), ARENA Maria (S&D), AUKEN Margrete (Greens/EFA), BARRENA Pernando (GUE/NGL), BELLAMY Francois-Xavier (EPP), BENIFEI Brando (S&D), BITEAU Benoit (Greens/EFA), BJÖRK Malin (GUE/NGL), BOMPARD Manuel (GUE/NGL), BRGLEZ Milan (S&D), BULLMANN Udo (S&D), CAREME Damien (Greens/EFA), CASTALDO Fabio Massimo (NI), CHAIBI Leila (GUE/NGL), CHRISTOFOROU Lefteris (EPP), CIUHODARU Tudor (S&D), COMIN I OLIVERES Antoni (NI), CORMAND David (Greens/EFA), DELBOS-CORFIELD Gwendoline (Greens/EFA), DELLI Karima (Greens/EFA), GEUKING Helmut (ECR), GRUFFAT Claude (Greens/EFA), GUSMÃO José (GUE/NGL), HAUTALA Heidi (Greens/EFA), HEIDE Hannes (S&D), INCIR Evin (S&D), JADOT Yannick (Greens/EFA), KAILI Eva (S&D), KANKO Assita (ECR), KIZILYÜREK Niyazi (GUE/NGL), KOKKALIS Petros (GUE/NGL), KONECNÁ Katerina (GUE/NGL), KÖSTER Dietmar (S&D), MANDL Lukas (PPE), MARQUARDT Erik (Greens/EFA), MATIAS Marisa (GUE/NGL), MAVRIDES Costas (S&D), MICHELS Martina (GUE/NGL), MODIG Silvia (GUE/NGL), PAPADAKIS Demetris (S&D), PAPADIMOULIS Dimitrios (GUE/NGL), PINEDA Manu (GUE/NGL), PONSATI Clara (NI), PUIGDEMONT Carles (NI), REGO Sira (GUE/NGL), RIBA I GINER Diana (Greens/EFA), RIVASI Michèle (Greens/EFA), RODRÍGUEZ PALOP Eugenia (GUE/NGL), ROOKMAKER Dorien (NI), ROOSE Caroline (Greens/EFA), SANTOS Isabel (S&D), SATOURI Mounir (Greens/EFA), SCHIEDER Andreas (S&D), SCHOLZ Helmut (GUE/NGL), SIDL Guenther (S&D), SINCIC Ivan Vilibor (NI), SMERIGLIO Massimiliano (S&D), SONNEBORN Martin (NI), STRIK Tineke (Greens/EFA), TOUSSAINT Marie (Greens/EFA), URBAN CRESPO Miguel (GUE/NGL), VANA Monika (Greens/EFA), VILLUMSEN Nikolaj (GUE/NGL),VOLLATH Bettina (S&D), YENBOU Salima (Greens/EFA), ZDANOKA Tatjana (Greens/EFA), ZVER Milan (PPE) (EMK/SD)
