KURDISH – SWISS ALLIANCE
Topic: Item 3 Legal and Institutional Framework for
Minority Rights and Conflict Prevention
Mrs. President,
I’m
Shakra
Mohammed
Samira
and
I
speak on behalf of
Kurdish-Swiss Alliance
For nearly 4 years, my city Afrin and the Kurdish, to whom I belong and
who have lived in the area for thousands of years, have endured the most
horrifying sorts of atrocities against defenceless civilians. In the lack of
humanitarian and human rights, laws and platforms, they refused to be
forcefully relocated and carried on living in their homes, properties, and
lands. Terrorist groups of the Syrian opposition controlled the region,
attacking its residents with all of their available weaponry. Multiple conflicts
have erupted, including fighting the agricultural economy and robbing the
people of their property, homes and lands. Except for royalties and taxes
paid to the militants, the Kurds are not permitted to reap the seasonal
harvests.
As for the social conflict, the region has its own privacy, relations, and civil
culture. This culture has been fought and the culture of terrorism and the
culture of militants have been imposed in places of worship, schools and
public places by force of arms, the most dangerous of which have been
forced marriage of minors and girls in the region, and arrest and rape of
women, children and civilians. Prisons of Mahmudiya, Maarata, and Shiah
are the biggest evidence of criminality of these factions.
At the beginning of the conflict, 300 000 of the residents of the region were
displaced by force of arms, and whoever tries to return to his home must
be imprisoned, pay a ransom, and may be killed so that no one dares to
return. The objective is the bad forced demographic change that has
affected my city. Crime is still pervasive against historical monuments that
are thousands of years old, even though they are considered to be a part
of the global heritage, in order to obliterate the Kurdish identity and Kurdish
national affiliation in the region. In addition, olive trees and fruit trees,