Formal complaint to the UN over Turkish airstrikes on Sinjar hospital

Turkish airstrikes that targeted a civilian hospital in Sinjar, killing eight people, have been formally reported to the UN Human Rights Council. The Guardian reports that four plaintiffs who survived or witnessed the airstrikes say that Turkey violated their right to life under international law, guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It is the first case to be brought regarding the Turkish bombing of Yazidis.

On 17 August 2021, 8 people were killed and more than 20 injured in the airstrike carried out by the Turkish state on the Sikeniye hospital in Sinjar. Following the attack, the Turkish Ministry of Justice claimed that “10 PKK members had been neutralized” in airstrikes. However, the Yazidi self-defense force, the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS), denied Turkey’s allegations of ties to the PKK. Moreover, the claimants say that Turkey has failed to investigate the killing of civilians as a result of the airstrikes and to provide effective remedies for the victims. According to the claimants, this violates their right to a prompt, independent and effective investigation under the same covenant, reports The Guardian. The complaint, which has been two years in the making, was lodged at the end of last week.

The file submitted to the UN states that the hospital was close to a YBS checkpoint, but that no armed units directly protected the institution, which was built in a civil area. The claimants state that all eight people killed were hospital staff. It is reported that the hospital, with 10 beds and around 20 occupants, was run by the Sinjar community of Sikeniye and is a completely civilian hospital. The Guardian notes that one of the complainants, a hospital staff member identified in the allegation only as C1, gave an eyewitness account of the attack, stating that he had not recovered from the mental and physical effects. A third witness, a relative of one of the victims of the attack, said that there was no PKK member at the scene.

In its article, the Guardian quotes the following words from Aarif Abraham, the director of the Accountability Unit, regarding Turkey’s attacks: “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. Turkey has long enjoyed impunity and the international community’s silence for targeting non-Turkish nationals outside its territories on the pretense 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.” Women for Justice Executive Director Dr Leyla Ferman added that after the victory over ISIS in Sinjar, Turkish airstrikes posed the greatest security risk and that the case was a chance to show that the safety of Yazidis was a concern of the UN.