When: Friday, July 10 @ 11 AM DC / 5 PM Europe / 6 PM Syria

Where: This is a virtual event. Please click here to register.

Nearly two years have passed since the fall of the Syrian Baath regime and the resumption of peace talks between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Initially, both developments were a source of hope for long-suffering Kurdish communities. Many believed that these political shifts would bring justice and accountability for the abuses Kurds in both countries suffered across decades of war and authoritarian rule.

So far, these hopes have not materialized. In Turkey, leaders frame the negotiations in securitized terms, discussing an end to ‘terrorism’ but remaining silent on legacies of state violence against Kurdish communities. In Syria, official transitional justice efforts have been limited to atrocities committed by the former regime, while rebel perpetrators of anti-Kurdish abuses during the civil war have been rewarded and promoted. The Kurdish political and military actors involved in both processes have focused on forward-looking issues, like new security frameworks, political reforms, and constitutional change.

It is Kurdish civil society that is left to deal with the past. Their work is not secondary to stability and security: if perpetrators of violence against Kurdish communities are not held accountable, then the grievances that drive mobilization and conflict will remain in place. In this conversation, the Kurdish Peace Institute will bring together speakers from leading Kurdish civil society organizations in both Syria and Turkey to discuss how they are engaging with these processes, what opportunities for justice and accountability exist, and what is at stake if it is delayed or denied.

(Photo: Marko Kafé – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=99577868)