The Van branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD) published a comprehensive statement on August 30, the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. At a press conference on Saturday, the organization presented ten key demands aimed at ensuring that the cases are dealt with legally and socially.
IHD representative Serpil Sezer recalled that enforced disappearances have a long history in Turkey. Intellectuals were victims of this practice during the Armenian Genocide in 1915. Later, during the military coup of 1980 and especially in the 1990s, it once again took on a systematic character. “In 1994 alone, there were over 500 documented allegations of enforced disappearances,” Sezer said. She emphasized that this was a crime against humanity that was not subject to a statute of limitations.
The IHD listed their demands on the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances as follows:
▪ The implementation of the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the Turkish Constitutional Court,
▪ The lifting of restrictions on the right to demonstrate in Istanbul’s Galatasaray Square,
▪ The recognition of state responsibility for cases of enforced disappearance,
▪ Disclosure of the fate of the disappeared and the return of their remains to their families.
▪ An end to impunity for perpetrators and those responsible.
▪ The creation of clear legal regulations that define enforced disappearance as a crime against humanity, prevent it, and punish it.
In addition, the IHD called on Turkey to sign and implement the UN Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
IHD stressed that cooperation with international institutions—such as the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances—must also be intensified. In addition, human rights organizations such as the IHD itself or the Saturday Mothers initiative should be supported in their work and not hindered.
The IHD also called on international organizations such as the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and the European Union to exert greater pressure on Turkey to ensure that cases of enforced disappearance are investigated and those responsible are held accountable.