Justice for Afrin. Deceptive palm oil label. Ceuta pushback survivor files complaint

A blind spot in the Syrian Civil War – the neglected crimes in Afrin

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JUSTICE FOR AFRIN. DECEPTIVE PALM OIL LABEL. CEUTA PUSHBACK SURVIVOR FILES COMPLAINT.

JANUARY 2024 | NEWSLETTER 95

After more than a decade, the Syrian civil war still rages on. While recent judgements in Germany against state torturers of the Assad regime show progress in addressing crimes committed in Syria, the Syrian civil war still has many blind spots. In the Afrin region of northeastern Syria, crimes against the predominantly Kurdish population have often been overlooked. Thus, ECCHR, together with survivors and Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ), recently filed a criminal complaint in Germany, calling for investigations into the crimes of pro-Turkish militias in Afrin. Learn more about this case and others in this newsletter.

The ECCHR Team

Once part of the Kurdish self-administered zone, the Afrin region is now largely under the control of Turkish-backed forces. Photo © Thomas Schmidinger

Neglected crimes and atrocities in Afrin: Mass expulsions of Kurdish population

In January 2018 Turkish forces and allied armed militias of the Syrian National Army (SNA) began bombing the Afrin region in the military campaign "Olive Branch." The roughly two-month long offensive led to the displacement of more than 300,000 civilians, most of whom were Kurds. With Turkey’s support, the militias established a system of brutal rule that dominates to this day. What was once part of the Kurdish self-administered zone – a fertile, autonomous region running along Turkey’s southern border – has come increasingly under Turkish control. As a result, Afrin’s Kurdish population – once the most densely Kurdish populated region in the world – has been dramatically reduced through forced expulsions and the seizure of their property. At the hands of Turkish-backed militias, the remaining Kurds, along with other ethnic minorities including the Yazidis, suffer from widespread and systematic violations of their human rights, including enforced disappearances, targeted killings, arbitrary arrests and torture, as well as sexual violence.

To address these crimes, ECCHR, together with survivors, STJ and their partners filed a criminal complaint with the German Federal Public Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe on 18 January 2024, calling for a comprehensive investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity.

More about the case

Watch the film

INTERNATIONAL CRIMES AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Gaza: ECCHR calls for structural investigations

Based on the deaths of German citizens in war in Gaza, ECCHR sent a legal brief to the German Federal Prosecutor’s office, requesting the opening of investigations into the alleged killing of the German-Palestinian Abdujadallah family during an Israeli strike in Gaza. ECCHR calls on the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office to conduct structural investigations and, if necessary, personal investigations into crimes under the German International Criminal Code.

Read the legal brief (only available in German)

LATEST UPDATES

Brazil

25 January marks five years since the Brumhadinho dam failure in Brazil, which killed 272 people and contaminated the drinking water of thousands. The German certifier TÜV SÜD confirmed the dam’s safety only four months prior to the tragedy. ECCHR’s case against TÜV SÜD is still ongoing.

More about the case

Syria

One year ago on 13 January, a high-ranking member of the Syrian regime was pronounced guilty in Germany of crimes against humanity. This historic trial was the first trial on Syrian state crimes, including torture, murder and sexual violence. ECCHR supported 14 joint plaintiffs in the trial.

Further reading: Syrian State Torture on Trial and Torture in Syria on trial in Koblenz

BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Is Edeka greenwashing palm oil products with deceptive label?

The seal of the Round Table for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) graces the surface of several store-brand products of the Edeka supermarket chain in Germany, in particular margarine and vegetable oil. Recent research by ECCHR, foodwatch and a Guatemalan organization, however, found that palm oil plantations in Guatemala – where Edeka sources its palm oil – are rife with human rights violations, and are also tied to environmental devastation and theft of indigenous land. Thus, ECCHR and foodwatch have taken legal action against Edeka for misleading consumers with a label for sustainable palm oil. In addition, the organizations, together with those affected from Guatemala, demand that Edeka stop using palm oil from those plantations until the situation is improved on site.

More about the case

Lafarge: Amid setback, historic precedent confirmed

On 16 January, the French Supreme Court confirmed the charge of complicity in crimes against humanity against French cement manufacturer Lafarge. Lafarge allegedly paid up to 13 million euros to several armed groups in Syria, including the Islamic State, to keep its cement factory running during the Syrian civil war and its atrocities. Lafarge is the first company in the world to ever face such a charge. In a blow to justice, however, the court dropped the charge against Lafarge of endangering the lives of its former Syrian employees.

More about the case

New agreement on EU supply chain law

Last December, a provisional agreement on the most contentious issues of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive was reached between the Council and the European Parliament. Under the deal, large companies will have to address risks to people, communities and the environment linked to their operations and business relationships. In addition, people harmed within company operations will be able to hold these companies liable within EU courts. Nonetheless, key opportunities to end corporate impunity have been missed, for example, by excluding the financial sector and by excluding climate change from liability. The provisional agreement still needs to be formally adopted by the European Parliament and the Council.

More information

Photo © Thomas Schmidinger

Justice for the people of Afrin!

To uphold the human rights of all those affected in the Syrian conflict, including the people living in Afrin, ECCHR works to bring international law to bear against all perpetrators – even those supported by European allies such as Turkey.

Donate now

BORDER JUSTICE

Silenced survivor challenges Spain over deadly pushback at El Tarajal / Ceuta

This year marks a decade since the deadly pushback at El Tarajal in Ceuta, and various commemorations will be held to remember the victims and all those killed by border violence. 10 years on from El Tarajal and Ludovic N. continues his long fight for justice. He was 15 years old when on 6 February 2014 he was beaten and tear-gassed by Guardia Civil officers as he struggled to keep afloat while holding onto the sea wall border between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta at El Tarajal beach. At least 15 others were killed, countless injured and 23 more pushed back. Fundamentally flawed investigations led nowhere, failing to hear survivors or hold anyone accountable. Spain ultimately archived the case, causing Ludovic N. now to take his complaint in front of the UN Committee Against Torture, where he hopes to finally end the impunity.

Listen to Ludovic N.

More about case

Croatian pushbacks: “I wanted people to understand how they play with our lives as if they are worth nothing.”

Sami Barkal filmed the first known footage of Croatian pushbacks while he was stuck behind the border in Bosnia. It was 2018 and the young Syrian passed his video to a Guardian journalist. It would be the first time the world saw the brutality of Croatian officers at the border. He has been waiting nearly five years now for a decision from the European Court of Human Rights, where he filed his case against Croatia.

Sami Barkal’s latest interviews: The Guardian and BBC

More about the case

INSTITUTE FOR LEGAL INTERVENTION

ECCHR’s demands for reparations and restitution taken up by UN Committee

In coalition with other organizations, ECCHR submitted a report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). The report criticizes the continuity between Germany's colonial past and racist discrimination today, with a focus on the lack of restitution of human remains/Ancestors and cultural artifacts. At CERD’s meeting on Germany in November, we also presented our demands for human and fundamental rights-based restitution processes. In its “Concluding observations,” the Committee took up our demands and, for the first time, explicitly called on Germany to adopt a comprehensive approach regarding reparation for colonial wrongdoings, highlighting the participation rights of affected descendants, families and communities.

Press release

Read the CERD “Concluding observations”

FOR GLOBAL JUSTICE

The world can only be just when human rights are universally recognized and guaranteed for everyone. This is what we are fighting for across the globe:
with those affected, with partners, with legal means.
Thank you for helping us in our efforts to make this happen.

Donate now

ECCHR

ECCHR welcomes new staff and trainees

Semiha Arslan-Kovacevic joined ECCHR as Head of Human Resources in January

Helena Krüger joined the International Crimes and Accountability team as a Legal Advisor in January

Tayma Saleh joined the Institute for Legal Intervention as a student assistant for the Critical Legal Training in January

Selina Gerst joined the Border Justice team as a trainee in January

Anthea Frank joined the International Crimes and Accountability team as a trainee in January

Valentin Büchi, Christian Klein and Florencia Otero joined the Business and Human Rights team as trainees in January

Martha Bracklo joined the Media and Communications team as a trainee in January

EVENTS

Law and Peace: 3rd Consultation of the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD) Peace Workshop

The EKD Peace Workshop aims to further develop Protestant peace ethics in light of changing geopolitical considerations, particularly with regard to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. ECCHR’s Andreas Schüller will discuss the role and challenges of international criminal justice.

20 – 21 February, 1:30 pm, Protestant conference centre Bad Boll, Akademieweg 11

More info

Voices for Afrin: The overlooked atrocities in Syria

On 6 March, ECCHR and Maxim Gorki Theater Berlin will bring together a panel of experts, including Sabiha Khalil, Patrick Kroker and Kristin Helberg, to discuss the political situation in Afrin and the ongoing battle for justice fought by those affected. The event also features music by Wassim Mukdad.

6 March, 7:00 pm, Maxim Gorki Theater, Am Festungsgraben 2, Berlin

More info

PAST EVENTS

Inherited Testimonies

This live performance of culturally inherited, collective testimonies about the German genocide in Namibia was held at Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin on 3 December. Traditional leaders and oral historians delivered testimony within an immersive environment conceived by Forensic Architecture/Forensis.

Out of reach: challenges of collecting evidence of forced labour

On 19 December 2023 in Brussels, ECCHR and Anti-Slavery International addressed the problems of gathering and presenting evidence of forced labor for investigations in the EU.

Watch the footage

Read the publication

Minor Detail: A reading and discussion on literature and the limits of archival history – with Adania Shibli and Maaza Mengiste, moderated by Wolfgang Kaleck

The recent escalation of violence in Israel/Palestine led to the exclusion of Palestinian author Adania Shibli’s award-winning book from the literary sphere. ECCHR hosted the event in collaboration with Spore Initiative on 11 January to ensure that this literary work receives the attention it deserves.

Reparations and repair: On climate justice, colonialism and the Capitalocene

What do “reparations” mean in the context of climate justice? This symposium on 20 January at the Academy of the Arts in Berlin addressed the historical, economic and ecological contexts of climate change and legal and political claims for reparations from the former colonial powers.