Conferences

17th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON “THE EUROPEAN UNION, TURKEY, THE MIDDLE EAST AND THE KURDS”

Brussels, European Parliament
Wednesday 8th March – 15.30 – 18.30
Thursday 9th of March – 09.30 – 18.30

PATRONS

ARCHBISHOP EMERITUS DESMOND TUTU
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, South Africa

SHIRIN EBADI
Human Rights Lawyer
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Iran

BIANCA JAGGER
Council of Europe Goodwill Ambassador
Chair of the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, UK

NOAM CHOMSKY
Institute Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

LEYLA ZANA
European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought,
Rafto Prize Laureate, Turkey

In cooperation with

IMPORTANT TECHNICAL INFORMATION
“HOW TO PARTICIPATE AND ENTER THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT”

An official “European Parliament personal badge/pass” will be available for all ALREADY REGISTERED participants to the Conference.

Your “personal badge / pass” will be available at the main entrance of the European Parliament (Place de Luxembourg – main European Parliament’s building “Altiero Spinelli”

Wednesday 8th of March, 13.30 – 15.00
Thursday 9th of March, 08.30 – 09.30

All participants must take care of their own “EP badge / pass” during both days; if someone lose the “pass / badge”, it will be impossible for the conference’s organizers to replace it, according to the E.P. internal rules.

For any additional information, please contact the conference’s secretariat:
brusselsconferenceep@gmail.com

Wednesday, 8 March 2023, 15.30-16.00
OPENING SESSION, Room SPAAK 05B01

Interpretation in
Kurdish, Turkish, French, English, German

Opening Speeches and Greetings

•Ms. Kariane Westrheim, Chair of EUTCC, University of Bergen, Norway

•Ms. Shirin Ebadi, Human Rights Lawyer, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Iran (video message)

•Mr. François Alfonsi, MEP, Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA), France

•Ms. Dersim Dagdeviren, Kurd-Akad, EUTCC Board Member, Germany

Wednesday, 8 March 2023, 16.00-17.30
Panel I – Room SPAAK 05B01

100 Years Republic of Turkey: Continuations, Contradictions and Change

Moderator: Ms. Amberin Zaman, Senior Correspondent, UK

Interpretation in
Kurdish, Turkish, French, English, German

100 Years of Turkish Republic and Treaty of Lausanne: Historical Continuations and Present Realities
•Mr. Baskın Oran, Historian, Turkey

Elections in Turkey: New Start versus Continuity
•Ms. Meral Danış Beştaş, HDP Group Deputy Chair, Turkey

A Country in Ruins: Earthquake, human rights and racism
•Ms. Rehsan Bataray, Human Rights Association Diyarbakir Branch, Turkey

Questions and Discussion with Moderators and Speakers

Wednesday, 8 March 2023, 17.30-18.30
Panel II – Room SPAAK 05B01

The Causa İmralı and European Institutions: Law, Obligations and Deficits

Moderator: Ms. Barbara Spinelli, ELDH Co-Chair, Italy

Interpretation in
Kurdish, Turkish, French, English, German

The Imprisonment Conditions of Abdullah Öcalan: From an Individual Case to Lawlessness of Whole Turkey
•Ms. Raziye Öztürk, Asrın Law Office, Turkey

Preventing Torture: Limits and Obligations
•Ms. Ann Jessica Therese Karlqvist, MP, Left Party, Sweden

Questions and Discussion with Moderators and Speakers

Thursday, 9 March 2023, 09.30-10.30
Panel III – Room SPAAK 05B01

The Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria: In the Crossfire of Interests

Moderator: Ms. Ezo Özer, Journalist, Germany

Interpretation in
Kurdish, Turkish, French, English, German

Interview with

•Ms. Ilham Ahmad, Co-Chair of the Executive Committee of Syrian Democratic Council, Syria

•Mr. Andreas Schieder, MEP, Socialists and Democrats (S&D), Austria

Questions and Discussion with Moderators and Speakers

Thursday, 9 March 2023, 10.30-13.00
Panel IV – Room SPAAK 05B01

Turkey, the Kurds and the Middle East: Continuations and Challenges

Moderator: Mr. Michael Gunter, Tennessee Technological University, EUTCC Secretary General, US

Interpretation in
Kurdish, Turkish, French, English, German

War crimes in Kurdistan: From Halabja to Today
•Mr. Salar Mahmoud, Head of Kurdistan Genocide Writers Union, Iraq

The Alleged Use of Chemical Weapons by Turkey: Questions and Options
•Mr. Jan van Aken, Biologist, Member of Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War`s (IPPNW) Scientific Advisory Board, Germany

Turkey´s New War: Drones and Deals
•Mr. Georges Henri Beauthier, Lawyer, Belgium

Turkey´s Crimes Against Humanity: Eocide, Feminicide, Genocide
•Ms. Bedia Özgökçe, former HDP MP and Mayor of Van, Turkey

Questions and Discussion with Moderators and Speakers

Thursday, 9 March 2023, 15.00-16:45
Panel VI – Room SPAAK 05B01

The EU and the Kurds: Expectations and Options

Moderator: Mr. Joost Jongerden, EUTCC Board Member, University of Wageningen, Netherlands

Interpretation in
Kurdish, Turkish, French, English, German

Kurdish Expectations of Europe
•Ms. Nilüfer Koc, Kurdistan National Congress Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, Belgium

De-Listing: Lifting Political Barriers
•Ms. Besra Güler, Association for Democracy and International Law (Maf-Dad), Germany

The December 23 Attack in Paris: Many Questions – Less Answers
•Ms. Berivan Firat, Democratic Council of Kurds in French Foreign Relations Committee, France

Europe and the Kurdish Question: Contradictions and Options
•Mr. Nikolaj Villumsen, MEP, Vice-Chair The Left, Denmark

Questions and Discussion with Moderators and Speakers

Thursday, 9 March 2023, 16:45-17.45
Panel VIII – Room SPAAK 05B01

Women Waving Future: Obstacles and Opportunities

Moderator: Ms. Nese Özgen, Antropologist, Germany

Interpretation in
Kurdish, Turkish, French, English, German

Jin – Jiyan – Azadî: A paradigm for freedom
•Ms. Maryam Fethi, East Kurdistan Free Women Society, Spain

Living International Solidarity – Creating Women Alliances
•Ms. Evin Incir, MEP, Socialists and Democrats (S&D), Member of The EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, Sweden

Building Bridges in Politics: United Against Patriarchy and Repression
•Ms. Ana Miranda, MEP, Greens/EFA, Spain

Questions and Discussion with Moderators and Speakers

Thursday, 9 March 2023, 17.45-18.30
Closing Session – Room SPAAK 05B01

Conclusions, Recommendations and Final Resolution
Board of EUTCC

( Download Programme as PDF)

Letter to United Nations-Secretary General

Dear Mr. Guterres,

On the occasion of the meeting between U.S. President Biden and his Turkish counterpart Erdoğan on the sidelines of the NATO summit and the attack on the Makhmour refugee camp, the EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) held an emergency debate on 13 June 2021 entitled “US – Turkey Relations: The Makhmour Refugee Camp as a Litmus Test in the Context of Human Rights and International Law versus Interest Politics”.

Relations between the two politicians seemed strained recently. Already during the election campaign, Biden announced a tougher course against Turkey and called Erdoğan an autocrat. Added to this is the recognition of the Armenian genocide by the U.S. president.

In the context of these tensions, reference was made to Turkey’s invasion of the territory of the Kurdistan Regional Government – Iraq which is contrary to international law. Turkey maintains dozens of military bases there. The Makhmour refugee camp was recently also targeted by Turkish attacks. Nearly 12,000 people who were expelled from the Kurdish areas of Turkey in the 1990s live here. On 5 May 2021, a Turkish drone struck in front of a playground, killing three people. Already a year ago, 3 women were killed in a Turkish attack on the camp.

The following speakers attended the debate, which was moderated by Meghan Bodette, independent researcher focusing on Kurdish issues, USA: Nadine Maenza, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, USA – David Phillips, Director of Peace-Building and Human Rights Programme, Institute for the Study of Human Rights, Columbia University, USA – Bewar Ünver, Foreign Relations Committee of Makhmour refugee Camp – Kariane Westrheim, EUTCC Chairperson, University of Bergen, Norway.

Bewar Ünver pointed out the multifaceted effects of the attacks on the camp and criticises the silence of the responsible states and institutions: “We have been attacked on a daily basis, for 4 years, by Turkish drones, targeting civilians in the camp. Psychologically, it has a very bad effect on children, women and society, as it is not known, when and where it will bomb civilians. This is a war crime by Turkey, but all sides are silent and are cooperating against us.”

Kariane Westrheim, who visited the camp for regarding her research three times, referred to the progressive structures in the camp and its political significance: “It is the very mindset Erdogan fear, the democratic self-governing principles that makes the Kurds independent and autonomous, that makes women consciously acting economic and political individuals on an equal footing with, and independent of men.”

Nadine Maenza referred to the links between Turkey and ISIS and Turkey’s attitudes towards Kurds and religious minorities especially in Northeast Syria. She also points out the contradictions of US policy: “The State Department seems keeping nation states allies heavy. So what Turkey is doing right now in Iraq and Syria against ethnic and religious minorities and local autonomist governments just does not raise to the level of lesser offenses against nation states”.

David Phillips underlined the importance of coordinated international actions, addressing the US and the European institutions, against Turkey “to make them know to pay a significant prize if they ignores the international order”.

Based on this, the EU Turkey Civic Commission calls upon the United Nations

to fulfil their obligations to the Makhmour camp
to implement their own regulations based on the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 protocol for the protection of the camp
to impose sanctions against Turkey for violating international law and committing war crimes
to put pressure on the Kurdistan Regional Government to lift the embargo on the refugee camp

In times of the pandemic this is even more important. In this context, you have repeatedly referred to the precarious situation of refugees and the need for peaceful conflict resolution. We fully endorse these demands.

We hope that you as United Nations Secretary-General will step up your efforts to support the interests of the people in the Makhmour refugee camp and, along with it, find a political solution to the Kurdish question which is crucial for peace in the entire Middle East.

Yours respectfully,

Prof. Kariane Westrheim
EUTCC Chairperson

Dersim Dagdeviren
EUTCC Board

EU Turkey Civic Commission
www.eutcc.net
Twitter: @EUTCC1
Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission