Final Resolution of 11th EUTCC Conference in European Parliament
The EUTCC conference was closed last week with a resolution again calling for all parties take the opportunity for negotiations for peace and democracy in Turkey and for several measures to support the peace process such as delisting the PKK; third party mediation; recognition of the Democratic Autonomous Self-Administration of Rojava and more logistical support for the people of Kobane who have been resisting a siege on their city since August.
Kurdish Info has also published all the papers that were presented at the conference, as well as a videos of the discussion and a message to the conference by Abdullah Ocalan. The conference, now in its 11th year, was attended by Selahattin Demirtas and Salih Muslim, as well as several prominent academics and activists.
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EUTCC announces next conference, 10 – 11 December
Press Release: For immediate release
4 December, 2014
11th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EU, TURKEY MIDDLE EAST AND THE KURDS
“CHAOS AND CRISIS IN THE MIDDLE EAST: NEW REGIONAL ORDER AND THE KURDS”
To be held at the European Parliament, Brussels, 10 -11 December 2014. The full programme can be downloaded here.
Please note that all Conference’s sessions will be webstreamed in internet, these are the links which you can use to follow the Conference:
(Wednesday 10th December 2014, 15.00-18.30)
http://eventstream.streamovations.be/european-union-turkey-middle-east-kurds-10-dec.php
(Languages available: Turkish, English, French and German)
(Thursday 11th December 2014, 09.30-13.00 and 15.00-18.30)
http://eventstream.streamovations.be/european-union-turkey-middle-east-kurds-11-dec.php
(Languages available: Turkish, English, French and German)
Since 2004 the EUTCC has held an annual conference in the European Parliament. One of its most important tasks is to monitor Turkish compliance with the EU accession criteria. EUTCC wishes to contribute to the progress of Turkish membership of the EU by spreading accurate, objective information both in Turkey and Europe about the progress made by Turkey, but also about any shortcomings which may still persist. Continue reading “EUTCC announces next conference, 10 – 11 December”
Conference to be held in Washington next week: The Kurdish Role in the New Middle East
Organized by Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Representative Office in the USA
Date: Monday, 28 October 2013, 09:00 a.m. – 05:00 p.m.
Place: The National Press Club, Holeman Lounge
529 14th St NW Washington, D.C., 20045
The Kurds have emerged as crucial regional actors out of the rapid political transformations that have been sweeping the Middle East over the last decade. This trend has accelerated with the Arab Spring. The “Kurdish problems” that have been compartmentalized across the four nation-states in the Middle East are now more interconnected and more globalized. This has been pressuring Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran as well as global powers to revise their conventional Kurdish policies. The Kurds have been viewed as an element of regional instability throughout the twentieth century. Recent political developments, however, strongly suggest that while the provision of justice for Kurds is essential for the restoration and maintenance of order in the Middle East, the Kurds themselves command valuable political, economic, social and human resources to contribute to the advancement of peace and stability for the states and peoples of the region in the twenty first century.
Challenging the Oppression of Lawyers in Times of Conflict
Queen’s University Belfast Human Rights Centre, School of Law, will host a one day conference in November called Challenging the Oppression of Lawyers in Times of Conflict, which will tackle questions about the causes of oppression of lawyers in conflict and post-conflict scenarios, and what protections can be provided. 
Aims of the conference:
“In times of conflict it is common for severe oppression to infiltrate every aspect of life as a result of both State and non-State actors’ actions. Those in a position to challenge the oppressors, such as lawyers, are often subjected to systematic discrimination and violence during times of conflict. Such oppression deprives lawyers of their fundamental rights.
The aim of this one day conference is to bring together academics, activists, grass-roots expert, legal professionals and students to learn from each other and ignite debate on the issues that lawyers face during time of conflict, the impact of these issues from a human rights perspective and potential ways to address these issues. It seeks to engage a holistic approach that draws from conflict experiences across the globe which at are at various stages in their progression towards peace. As such this conference will bring together experts who have experience in countries which have seen lawyers become specific targets of oppression. Primarily the Basque country, China, Colombia, Northern Ireland, Palestine, Russia, Turkey and South Africa.
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Northern Kurdistan Conference: Öcalan’s freedom a must for a solution
This article was originally published in Firat News.
Northern Kurdistan Conference: Öcalan’s freedom a must for a solution
ANF – AMED 17.06.2013 15:48:07
The two day “Northern Kurdistan Conference for Solution and Unity” in the main Kurdish city Amed has ended on Sunday. The conference was organized as a part of the four conferences Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan suggested should take place in the ongoing process in search of a peaceful and democratic solution to the Kurdish question.
The final declaration of the conference called on the government to take more sincere steps for the solution of the Kurdish question and demanded Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan’s freedom to ensure a healthy progress in the solution process.
Reading the Turkish side of the final declaration, which was released in Kurdish as well, DTK (Democratic Society Congress) co-chair Aysel Tuğluk underlined that “the conference which was attended by Kurdistani identities has been a significant step serving for a free future for Kurdistan”.
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‘The Kurdish Question in Turkey’ – Conference Report
“On Wednesday 17 April 2013 the Law School and the ISCTSJ at Queen’s University Belfast hosted a one-day conference entitled ‘The Kurdish Question in Turkey’. The aim of this multi-disciplinary conference was to bring together legal experts, academics, politicians, journalists and grass-roots activists to ignite debate on the Kurdish question in Turkey, particularly from a human rights perspective. The ‘question’ concerns the Turkish-Kurdish conflict. A dispute concerning the rights of Kurds in Turkey, which has spanned over three decades and involved systematic violations of civil, political and socio-economic rights.
The conference dealt with three issues – ‘Democracy Deferred, the Continuing Challenges – Political Trials, Identity and Human Rights’, ‘Victimization of Kurds by the Current Turkish Law’ and ‘Constructive and Peaceful Solution to the Kurdish Question in Turkey’. Eleven speakers presented on these issues to an audience of over 80 participants. The conference, which occurred within weeks of the latest PKK ceasefire, came at a particularly propitious time, thus leading to a number of lively discussions.”
Participants included Peace in Kurdistan patron Margaret Owen OBE, distinguished lawyer from Turkey Ercan Kanar, and head of the BDP Foreign Affairs Commission Nasmi Gur – plus may more.
The report is available for download.
Also, audio-visual recordings from the conference are available at the HR Conference QUB Youtube Channel. The recordings are also gradually being uploaded to the HR Conference QUB Vimeo channel, which we hope to have completed by the end of May.
If you have any further queries you can contact Dennis Arbet Nejbir and Hannah Russell from the organising commmittee at this address queenshrconference@gmail.com.