Bayad Sarwar Abdullah
International Relations and Diplomacy Department
Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economics
Tishk International University, Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
Email: [email protected]
DOI: 10.23918/ICABEP2022p34
Abstract
The paper examines the application of the International Humanitarian Law to the Turkey and Syrian Kurdish conflict. The paper employed document analysis in which relevant secondary data were collected, which were thematically analyzed. The paper is predicated upon a neorealist theoretical perspective. The key findings of the paper include apparent violation of International Humanitarian Law, violation of the territorial integrity of Syria, perpetration of war crimes against the Kurds, creation of several humanitarian crises, and refugee crisis. These have serious implications for the demography of the Kurds, as they pose an existential threat to the very existence of the Kurds and peace in the Middle East. Another incredible finding is that the violations of International Humanitarian Law by the Turkish-backed militias should be investigated and those found culpable and guilty should be tried, and severe punishment should be given to the responsible parties in order to deter others from committing similar atrocities. The paper recommends that it is high time that the politics that is being played with observance of International Humanitarian Law and poor acknowledgement and condemnation of the war crimes committed in the course of the Turkey-Syrian Kurdish conflict by the International Community got to be condemned and appropriate action is taken, given the likely impact of these violations on regional and international security, stability, and development.
Keywords: International humanitarian law, state, non-state actors, armed conflict, turkey-Syrian Kurdish conflict
ICABEP2022
4th International Conference on Accounting, Business, Economics and Politics
Organized by
Tishk International University, College of Administration and Economics, Salahaddin University-Erbil, and
University of Szczecin, Poland.
