June 11th, 2025, stood to be a serious beginning towards ending over four decades of the Turkish – Kurdish armed conflict. This was marked by a symbolic and historic disarmament ceremony in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, with thirty militants voluntarily burning and destroying their weapons, signifying the PKK’s intention to shift from armed struggle to democratic politics and legal means. This followed Abdullah Öcalan’s earlier call for PKK’s dissolution in February 2025.
Such a step also highlighted the important role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in this peace initiative. Some CSOs participated as observers, including EMR’s partner in Turkey, the Human Rights Association (İHD), which was one of three CSOs that received a list of organization members who had laid down their weapons. This historic ceremony came after almost three weeks of a landmark conference “The Way to Peace: Justice and Memory” held by IHD, in partnership with EMR and the Human Rights Joint Platform (İHOP), which was a part of their initiatives towards the Kurdish peace process.
In light of these progressive attempts towards peace, EuroMed Rights and İHD call on Türkiye to establish inclusive peace platforms that engage all conflict-affected parties, especially those who have historically been on opposing sides. We urge Turkish authorities to form independent truth commissions, open state archives, and document and recognize the testimonies of victims and their families. These are vital steps for establishing the facts, fostering reconciliation, and delivering justice. Türkiye must also repeal all discriminatory laws, restore fair trial guarantees, and reinstate public servants dismissed under emergency decrees to rebuild trust in public institutions and ensure equality before the law.
We further urge Türkiye to publicly open Diyarbakır Prison No. 5 as a Memory Museum, which would serve as a crucial site for remembrance and truth-telling, and to ensure justice is served in cases brought before the European Court of Human Rights and the Constitutional Court. It is equally essential that civil society organizations are recognized as central actors in peacebuilding, and that their support, protection, and participation in policy dialogue are strengthened. Women’s equal participation in all peace processes must be guaranteed, ensuring that gender perspectives and women’s voices are at the heart of sustainable peace. Finally, we call for the immediate reinstatement of elected officials who have been removed by trustee (kayyım) appointments, and for upholding electoral rights and genuine local representation.
In line with these recommendations, we urge the European Union to take concrete action. The EU should integrate these civil society-led recommendations into its human rights and enlargement dialogues with Türkiye and use its leverage to press for their implementation. The EU must urge the Turkish state to embark on a genuine peace initiative, guided by clear, rights-based steps and transparent public communication. European support is also needed for initiatives that advance transitional justice, truth-seeking, and the recognition of Kurdish cultural and linguistic rights. We further call on the EU to invest in long-term peace infrastructure by funding memory initiatives, independent truth commissions, and platforms for intercommunal dialogue. As the disarmament process advances, the EU should take an active position to ensure the process is monitored by an independent commission that includes human rights defenders.