Call for Support: Mothers of Diyarbak?r

Throughout history, the use of children in wars and conflicts has been a tragic reality. Today, terrorist organizations, including the PKK/KCK, continue to exploit children in their violent activities. This article sheds light on the heroic resistance of the Mothers of Diyarbak?r, whose children have been abducted by these groups. Their courage and determination offer hope in the fight against these human rights violations.

WHO ARE THE MOTHERS OF DIYARBAKIR ?

It is the name of the civil resistance started on 3 September 2019, by Hacire Akar, who started a sit-in in front of the Diyarbak?r HDP Provincial Directorate building with the slogan "I am here for my son" in order to take back her son who was kidnapped by the PKK to the mountain. As of March 2021, number of families whose children was kidnapped reached. Mothers of Diyarbak?r have actually become a civil initiative with many NGOs that support them. In order to understand the resistance and importance of Mothers of Diyarbak?r, we find it useful to look at international research, reporting and legislation on the use of children in conflict.

CHILD AND CONFLICT

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, every individual under the age of 18 is a child.

• The words child and conflict are concepts that the whole world does not want to see side by side anymore. For this reason, many international regulations such as the "declaration of children's rights" prepared by the League of Nations in 1924, the United Nations '' Convention on the rights of the child '' in 1989, the 'Geneva convention' in 1949, and “Amman Declaration on the Use of Children as Soldiers" have been signed by the states parties. However, the regulations in these conventions contradicted with the 18-age limit included in the children's rights convention, as the age limit for the use of child fighters was set as over 15 years of age. This contradiction was largely eliminated in 2000 by the supplementary protocol to the United Nations convention on children's rights. Because, with the 1st article of this protocol, compulsory recruitment of persons under the age of 18 is prohibited. On February 12, when the Protocol was adopted, it was declared as the day of struggle against the use of child soldiers. One of the most important regulations regarding the use of children in wars and conflicts is the "International Criminal Court Statute". ICC's precedent decisions on this issue will also be included in the following sections of our article.
• Although all these international regulations have effects and consequences on the basis of the state parties, the fact that terrorist organizations are still using children in conflicts reveals that international organizations and the public should fight this sad phenomenon more effectively. As a matter of fact, Leila Zerrougui, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict - the United Nations, stated in her statement that "While governments around the world have made progress in accepting that children should not have a place in their armies, the armament of children is still a big problem ...". Also, Yoka Brandt, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, said “Children in armed groups should be released immediately. We cannot wait for peace to help children who are stuck in the middle of the war...” and expressed her findings and opinions on the termination of the use of children in armed terrorist organizations and in conflicts. All these data and explanations show us that the Mothers of Diyarbak?r have undertaken a universal mission to protect children from conflicts.

PKK AND CHILDREN

• Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV) report, "Who are those in the mountains", shows that 12% of PKK militants are female, and 88% are male. According to the report, it has been revealed that 42% of those participating in the mountain staff are 18 years old and younger, 9.25% of the participants are 15 and under, the age of participation in the organization is 17.7 on average, and 10% of these children are girls.
• The human rights report published by the US State Democracy, Human Rights, Labor Office confirms that children are in the PKK's mountain staff. In the Human Trafficking Report published by the USA in June 2016, it is stated that the Syrian branch of the terrorist organization PKK, PYD / YPG, continued to recruit boys and girls, including children under the age of 15, as members of the organization, use them and take them to training camps. It was pointed out that in April 2015, a 16-year-old girl was forcibly taken into the organization by the YPG despite the objections of her family. In the Human Rights Practices Country Reports published by the USA in 2014, it was stated that the PKK regularly made children militants in the past, but the number of children with the PKK is not known.
• In its report published in August 2013, the UN International Independent Syrian Investigation Commission stated that the YPG recruited 12-year-old boys and girls in Afrin and Al-Hasakah as members of the organization. In addition, in a report published by Human Rights Watch on June 19, 2014, it was stated that the YPG used boys and girls under the age of 18 at checkpoints in "Afrin, Kobani and Jazira", and some children participated in clashes in the ranks of the YPG.
• It has been noted that PKK and YPG recruited children under the age of 18 as members of the organization, dragged them into clashes and even documented the deaths of some children in the war in July 2015. Based on information obtained from local and international organizations, it was stated that Human Rights Watch had a list of 59 children, 10 of which were under the age of 15.
• It was also noted that the PKK used some primary and secondary schools in the region as military shelters and therefore families might have to take their children from schools. In January 2016, a 9-year-old girl was kidnapped by two female PKK militants from primary school, and the child's family and relatives were able to take their children back from the PKK after great efforts, and this is the main reason for families to take their children from school.
• There are also images of children in the mountain cadres of the PKK / KCK and its extensions. Many videos on the YouTube website, titled "child soldiers in the PKK" and "PKK Kindersoldaten", reveal the terrifying face of the terrorist organization's use of children. While it is mentioned in the videos that children between the ages of 12 and 16 are used in conflict zones, the question of the interviewer "why the children are in the mountains / in the organization instead of school" cannot be answered by the members of the organization.
• By the World Council of Arameans, with a press release in May 2018 it has been confirmed once again that the terrorist organization does not only kidnap children living in Turkey, and it poses a threat to all peoples of the region. Because, in the council's statement, it was announced to the world public opinion that Aramean children were kidnapped by the YPG / PKK. Much more of these examples continue to exist in the field.

PKK CONFESSES

• It has been accepted by Karay?lan himself that children are used by the organization. However, in a statement he made, Karay?lan stated that the children were kept behind the frontline. On the other hand, it is known that the organization has used children both in conflicts and in other deeds from past to present. Even when looking at the history of the organization, it can be seen that a battalion of children between the ages of 8-12 was formed under the name of "Tabura Zaroken Martyr Agit" (Martyr Agit child battalion). While the presence of children in the mountain staff in the area of conflict continues, it is seen that the organization started to use children in acts such as bombing actions and throwing Molotov cocktails at the security forces, especially during the efforts to activate the city structuring. One of them was the 14-year-old boy who was caught while he was about to commit a bombing action on behalf of the PKK in Siirt Kurtalan. In such actions, the terrorist organization also ruthlessly uses children in its propaganda activities. It should not be surprising that the terrorist organization, which does not care about children's right to life, condemns children to death in non-conflict areas. One of the examples of this is that the administrators of the organization instructed seven children to go on a hunger strike in Mersin E Type Prison on 19 October 2012 within the framework of the actions "Defense in Kurdish in the mother tongue" and "Freedom for Abdullah O?calan".

WHY DO THEY USE CHILDREN?

? Children’s lack or few criminal liability

? Being open to guidance

? To take advantage of the dilemma and vulnerability that security forces cannot use force against children or that they will face in the use of force.

? In case of the use of force by the security forces, using it as a propaganda material, using it to gain legitimacy for the organization in the international arena and gather supporters by using concepts such as ethnicity and sect.

? To draw the attention of the national and international public and human rights organizations to the region.

CHILD ABUSE IN THE TERRORIST ORGANIZATION

• The use of children in conflicts is a form of abuse in which the four basic principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which are the protection, survival, development and participation of the child, are simultaneously violated.

• Children whose lives and dreams are taken away not only have to endure harsh conditions on the mountain, but they are also sexually abused. The statements of ZT, who left later while s/he was a militant in the terrorist organization, published in Action magazine clearly reveal this situation.

• ZT's statements about the children in the mountains are as follows. “The main problem of children on the mountain is their abuse and rape. Both boys and girls are being harassed and raped. There are about 15 events that I have witnessed. Former militants rape and threaten little girls. "

While you are reading this article, a child may be raped in the mountain ...

THIS IS A WAR CRIME

• The Rome Statute, which is the founding document of the International Criminal Court, was signed at the United Nations Conference held in Rome, the capital city of Italy, between June 5, 1998 - July 17, 1998.

• The Rome Statute gives the ICC jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide crimes. In this context, rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced impregnation, forced sterilization or other forms of sexual violence of similar severity are considered both war crimes and crimes against humanity.

• For the first time in international law, the Rome Statute recognizes the recruitment and active use of child soldiers as a war crime. It is also considered a war crime to call or recruit children under the age of 15 to the armed forces or an armed group, or to use them actively in international armed conflict. A similar definition is made for non-international armed conflicts.

• Under the Rome Statute, the International Criminal Court was established on 1 July 2002 and started to operate on 11 March 2003. ICC can only try individuals, but it does not have the power to try states.

• The historical decision in this context is that the leader of the Congo Patriotic Union, Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, was found guilty of using child soldiers, and enrolling children under the age of 15 between 2002 and 2003 during an armed conflict in the Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and he was convicted of sexual violence and sentenced to 14 years in prison.

• Another important decision of the court is that Bsco Ntaganda was sentenced to 30 years in prison for recruiting children under the age of 15, applying the same military training to children, actively using children in the field of conflict, raping child soldiers and using them as sex slaves.

• As a result, it is a possible and explicit requirement to assert the international responsibility of the executives of the PKK / KCK and its extensions and to ensure their prosecution due to the violation of the provisions of the ICC status.

MOTHERS OF DIYARBAKIR

• One third of Diyarbak?r Mothers' children kidnapped by the PKK terrorist organization are children, and 34 of these children are 15 years old or younger. Two of the kidnapped children were between the ages of 8 and 9.

• The action of "children's rights" by the Mothers of Diyarbak?r not only led 24 mothers to have their children back, but also to the loss of credibility of the terrorist organization and the civilian support it regarded as a potential warrior and logistics area. Because, 243 children in 2020 and 35 children in 2021 surrendered to the Turkish army with their own consent, and only 2 people participated in the terrorist organization in 2021. This is the biggest indication that the organization is seriously damaged. Mothers of Diyarbak?r continue their watch with determination, especially in Diyarbak?r, I?zmir, Hakkari and Van.

• This resistance is a civil human rights resistance for the rights and freedoms of all children of the world, rather than an effort to bring back their children kidnapped by the PKK terrorist organization. The kidnapping and use of children, who are the subjects of this resistance, by terrorist organizations is a problem of humanity. Due to this importance, the fact that the will put forward by Mothers of Diyarbak?r has found more place both in the world public and in the international arena, and this struggle has been examined on different platforms is thought to provide great benefits for rights-based policies and finding solutions.

Call for Support: We look forward to your support for the honorable struggle for rights of Mothers of Diyarbak?r around the world. You can stand by them with the hashtag #Diyarbak?rMoms