{"id":213747,"date":"2021-06-23T12:20:06","date_gmt":"2021-06-23T12:20:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/radiofree.asia\/?guid=3c46c10928f64ea7a5e56ea15c557021"},"modified":"2021-06-23T12:20:06","modified_gmt":"2021-06-23T12:20:06","slug":"together-with-other-international-groups-iohr-calls-on-the-european-council-to-improve-human-rights-in-turkey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/06\/23\/together-with-other-international-groups-iohr-calls-on-the-european-council-to-improve-human-rights-in-turkey\/","title":{"rendered":"Together with other International Groups, IOHR calls on the European Council to improve human rights in Turkey"},"content":{"rendered":"

The International Press Institute, the International Observatory of Human Rights (IOHR) and 14 other rights groups published a joint <\/span>letter<\/span><\/a> on 23 June 2021 calling on the European Council to strengthen its demands on Turkey to end backsliding on human rights.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The joint letter, addressed to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, aims at ensuring that the improvement of fundamental rights and the rule of law are at the core of the EU-Turkey relations. It is published ahead of a two-day European Council Summit Meeting starting on 24 June in Brussels, which has previously been described as a key moment for Turkey\u2019s future relations with the EU by Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, the head of the EU delegation to Turkey:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe meeting will mark a very important moment for the future development and improvement of EU-Turkey relations. I hope that we will be in an environment that is conducive to positive decisions.\u201d<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The signatories of the letter, which include, inter alia, the European Federation of Journalists, Article 19, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Reporters without Borders, urge the European Council to translate its continuous commitment to fundamental rights and the rule of law into tangible reality:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the restatement of the EU\u2019s commitments are welcome, more robust action is needed to address Turkey\u2019s backsliding on human rights.\u201d<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the letter, the organisations condemn the recent deterioration of human rights in Turkey, such as the ongoing closure case against the Peoples\u2019 Democratic party (HDP), the refusal of Turkey to implement the European Court of Human Rights\u2019 (ECtHR) demand to release human rights defenders Osman Kavala and Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirta\u015f, as well as threats of violence and dozens of trials against the elected parliamentary opposition.<\/span><\/p>\n

The European Council is being asked to affirm that these developments will impede the positive agenda and to\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPrioritize[] concrete and measurable improvements in Turkey\u2019s domestic human rights record.\u201d<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In order to improve the human rights situation, the Turkish government should release all prisoners of conscience and implement the ECtHR\u2019s rulings, while the European Council needs to<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201dClarify that EU-Turkey relations is not only based on a <\/b>dialogue<\/i><\/b> on human rights, but on a demonstrated mutual commitment to implement human rights obligations.\u201d<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The EU has shown its commitment to supporting calls for improvements by Turkey to its human rights record at the UN Human Rights Council\u2019s 47th regular session which began in Geneva on Monday 21 June. The EU mission to the UN used part of its high level statement to deliver a robust public rebuke to Turkey:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe EU remains concerned about the continued deterioration of respect for the rule of law and human rights, incl. fundamental freedoms and the independence of the judiciary in Turkey. The targeting of political parties, people participating in trade union activities, independent media, human rights defenders, lawyers and judges, as well as other recent decisions represent major setbacks for human rights and run counter to Turkey\u2019s obligations to respect democracy, the rule of law and women\u2019s rights. Human rights are non-negotiable and they continue to be an integral part of EU-Turkey relations. As an EU candidate country and long-standing member of the Council of Europe, Turkey is expected to apply the highest democratic standards and practices. In this context, we urge Turkey to implement the judgements of the European Court of Human Rights. The EU calls on Turkey to fully uphold women\u2019s rights.\u201d<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To read the full letter, click <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The post Together with other International Groups, IOHR calls on the European Council to improve human rights in Turkey<\/a> appeared first on International Observatory of Human Rights<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

This post was originally published on International Observatory of Human Rights<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The International Press Institute, the International Observatory of Human Rights (IOHR) and 14 other rights groups published a joint letter on 23 June 2021 calling on the European Council to strengthen its demands on Turkey to end backsliding on human rights.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The post Together with other International Groups, IOHR calls on the European Council to improve human rights in Turkey<\/a> appeared first on International Observatory of Human Rights<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":485,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213747"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/485"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213747"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":213748,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213747\/revisions\/213748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}