A vigil by the Democratic Kurdish Community in Switzerland has been taking place in front of the UN headquarters in Geneva since 25 January 2021. Every Wednesday, activists stage a protest in front of the United Nations building to demand the release of Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan. The action is carried out as part of the 'Dem dema azadiye' [Time for Freedom] campaign and directed against the isolation of the Kurdish leader on the Turkish prison island of Imrali, the Turkish occupation attacks on Kurdistan, the massacres committed in Kurdish territories and the silence of the UN.

Hundreds of Kurds and activists in solidarity participated in a march organised on the occasion of the 3rd anniversary of the ongoing vigil within the scope of the "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, democratic solution to the Kurdish question" campaign launched globally on 10 October 2023.

The mass gathered under heavy rain at Palais Wilson Square where the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) building is located and made a statement before the march.

Selma Sürer, Co-Chair of the Democratic Kurdish Council of Switzerland (CDK-S), made a speech on behalf of the Swiss committee of the "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, solution to the Kurdish question" campaign and stated that Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan should be free, saying: "We are entering the 4th year of the 'Dem dema azadiyê ye' campaign, which has been going on for 3 years in Geneva. We will make this year the year of freedom of Leader Apo (Abdullah Öcalan). We are hopeful of our people, patriots and friends. Whatever happens, this year we must ensure the physical freedom of our Leader. And for this, as the Kurdish people, we will fulfil our responsibility and stand up for the freedom of our leader. We will take this campaign to the end. We will liberate our leader, no matter what."

After the march, politician Mehmet Aslan made a speech on behalf of the Co-Presidency Council of the KCDK-E on behalf of the masses who reached Nations Square, where the sit-in continued.

Aslan started his speech by saluting the guerrilla resistance and the hunger strike actions in prisons in Turkey and Kurdistan as part of the "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, democratic solution to the Kurdish question" and emphasised the need for the freedom of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan. Aslan said: "Kurds have defended and will defend their Leader despite all pressures. No pressure will be able to subjugate us. Leader Apo has been in a glorious resistance against the Imrali torture system. He is still continuing the resistance he started on İmralı. Parallel to this, our patriotic people are resisting in 4 parts of Kurdistan, in their mountains. We congratulate our friends who have been protesting here for 3 years. All the Kurds, especially those in Geneva, should embrace this action and take it further. Our people will never submit to the policies of AKP fascism. Because if they have resisted against oppression for centuries, they will resist today. They will not find a single Kurd who will surrender to this fascism. We would like to make a call to the UN and the states of the world. If Kurds are resisting in the Middle East, it is not only for themselves, but also to prevent the spread of ISIS darkness to the world. The Rojava resistance took place in front of the eyes of the whole world. Today, if Europeans are free from the scourge of ISIS, it is thanks to the Kurdish resistance. This is also a resistance for the freedom of all ignored identities in the world. If the Kurds are resisting for the rights of the whole world, the UN and European countries should also take a role for the freedom of the Kurdish people. They should make efforts for the recognition of the rights of the Kurds."