Yazidis file complaint against Turkey for its airstrike in 2021
Four Yazidis have filed a complaint against Turkey with the UN for redress and reparation following Turkish airstrikes against Sikeniye Medical Clinic in Shengal on August 17, 2021.
News Center- On August 17, 2021, Turkish airstrikes targeted the Sikeniye Medical Clinic in Shengal, resulting in the killing of eight civilians and serious injury to over 15 others. Four Yazidis have filed a complaint against Turkey with the UN for redness and reparation.
‘Our right to life was violated’
The complaint has been brought on behalf of four Yazidis by the Accountability Unit, a human rights NGO, and Women for Justice, a Yazidi NGO based in Germany that is being supported by human rights lawyers in the UK. Four survivors of the airstrikes say their right to life was violated under international law, as guaranteed by article 6 of the international covenant on civil and political rights.
The claim to the UN states that the hospital was near a YBS checkpoint but no armed units directly protected the facility, which was built in a civilian area. The claimants say all eight of those killed were hospital staff members.
First complaint against the Turkish airstrikes
The complaint was submitted late last week and took two years to prepare. It is the first case to be brought on the issue of Turkish airstrikes against the Yazidi people.
“This is a critically important and symbolic case involving clearcut violations of the fundamental rights of Yazidi citizens by the Turkish state. There is no lawful excuse for targeting a civilian hospital with three successive airstrikes in 30 minutes, killing eight civilians and seriously injuring over 20 others,” said Aarif Abraham, the director of the Accountability Unit.
Aarif Abraham added, “Turkey has long enjoyed impunity and the international community’s silence for targeting non-Turkish nationals outside its territories on the pretence of targeting terrorists. The human rights committee is the only body which holds the realistic prospect of holding Turkey accountable and providing the victims with meaningful redress.”
“After the victory over Islamic State in Sinjar, the Turkish airstrikes pose the greatest security risk,” said Dr. Leyla Ferman, the chief executive of Women for Justice.