Peace in Kurdistan calls on the UN to act and defend Maxmur

Peace in Kurdistan Campaign called on the UN, its member states and all its institutions and agencies to fulfil their duties and take action to enforce the law by holding Turkey to account for its actions.

In a statement titled "Defend Maxmur Camp from Turkish Aggression", Peace in Kurdistan Campaign reminded that "last Friday, it was reported that Turkey had launched air strikes on the Maxmur refugee camp, located in the Kurdish region of Iraq, over which the UN flag flies."

This brutal military action, said the statement "targeted civilians but was met with total silence and utter inaction from the international community. This is an outrage as is the fact that the liberal media turned a collective blind eye. The lack of response from Iraq and the Kurdish regional authorities is equally an outrage."

Peace in Kurdistan Campaign added: "We remain shocked even though it is far from being the first time that such actions by Turkey have escaped scrutiny or even comment. 

In its attack on Maxmur Camp we see once again that the Turkish state's reputation as a serial violator of international law is well earned.

The litany of human rights abuses and atrocities committed by Turkish state forces in its war against the Kurds have made the regime notorious, but it has incurred few penalties from those with the power to constrain its activities."

The statement continued: "All those who are formally signed up to international law have a duty to defend and uphold the system of law that provides protection to the world's most vulnerable. Refugees deserve and are entitled to that protection."

Equally, added the statement "those who uphold the law have a responsibility to take action to punish those, such as Turkey, who are caught in repeated violation of their commitments, because Turkey, it must be recalled, is itself a signatory to the UN Charter and international human rights laws."

Peace in Kurdistan Campaign called "on the UN, it member states and all its institutions and agencies to fulfil their duties and take action to enforce the law by holding Turkey to account for its actions.

Turkey must not be allowed to avoid punishment for its brutal and unprovoked use of force against civilians in the UN protected Maxmur Camp, where more than 12,000 refugees reside.

If Turkey is allowed to act with impunity, it will continue with its military interventions in its brutal war against the Kurds. Turkey must be stopped. "