Dear members of the press,

We are here to release “The Report on the Violations of Children’s Rights in the Eastern and South-eastern Anatolia Regions through 2016” by the Human Rights Association

The armed conflict ongoing for over 30 years, just like other social issues, has had impact on children. Children have lost their parents or relatives, eye-witnessed their deaths and/or seen the clashes. They have not been allowed to use their mother tongues; hence, they have not been supported but restricted in the process of perceiving life. They were targeted and murdered by security officials intentionally, detained or arrested. They faced violence and torture in detention premises. Many of them were wounded or killed by the police while using their right to speech or demonstrate.

The statistics in our report shows that violations continued intensively in 2016. Among them are extrajudicial executions, torture and ill treatment inside and outside detention centres, and violence during demonstrations and protests. As the future of our community, children and violations against their rights are the focused on by our association. 

5 children were killed and 6 were wounded by the security forces due to improper use of arms by the officials and disobeying stop warning.  Caused by the armed conflict, 22 children were murdered and 12 children were wounded or harmed physically in other ways. Moreover, due to bombed attacks 44 children were murdered and 3 were wounded. Lastly, judicial authorities did not carry on effective and just investigation; offenders were not put on trial, which virtually encouraged security forces that committed crime to continue their actions.

During demonstrations and police raids 150 children were detained and 40 of them were arrested. Within curfews and demonstrations, detained children were tortured and treated violently. At least 6 children were tortured and 6 other were exposed to violence inside and outside detention centres.

In 2016, 40 children were killed and 49 were wounded when it comes to our studies concerning armed battle, formal fallacy or negligence, attacks by unknown assailants, landmines and unclaimed explosives, those shot along the borders, and suspicious deaths and suicides of children.

The violations of children’s rights in prisons are remarkable as well. As to be seen in our report, apart from the violations caused by physical conditions of prison facilities, there were a great number of violations such as torture and ill-treatment, restrictions in accessing to health care and psychologists, and limitations of social activities. We call for urgent action to begin protective policies and would like to state that prisons are not suitable places for children but their homes are.

Throughout the year 2016, children faced domestic and non-domestic violence. As a result of violence, 10 children lost their lives, 2 were injured, and 114 children were sexually abused. The main reason for this vast number is that there are not sufficient preventive social policies. This shows that Turkey, which signed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 22 years ago, was not able to perform its legal obligations that were determined on some basic principles such as the high benefit of the child, right to life and free development, indiscrimination, and right to safe and healthy environment. However, actually the convention urges the governments to respect the rights of the child and puts them under  positive obligation to secure the effective enjoyment of the right, and also under negative obligation to abstain from human rights violations.

It is the basic human responsibility to defend the rights of the child and fight against the violations. On this basis, we, human rights activists, call on everyone to be sensitive against violence faced by our children and show their democratic reactions. As a conclusion, we wish a society where children would NOT be jailed, tortured, shot by tear gas capsules and killed for that reason, abused or forced to work in the streets, but would live in a society where they would access to scientific and free education in their mother tongue, in accordance with their faith, and without any discrimination.

Human Rights Association
Diyarbakır Branch The Committee on the Rights of the Child