Human Rights Meeting Cancelled For Reasons Unknown

The meeting of “Establishing an Independent Human Rights Institution In Accordance With The Paris Principles In Turkey” has been cancelled.

The meeting was planned to take place on November 21.

Accordg to the invitation sent to the many rights organizations and the academic center and rights defender who work in the field of human rights last week, the meeting was organized by the Prime Ministry’s Human Rights Presidency (İHB) and the Denmark Human Rights Institute.

However, yesterday (November 17), the rights defenders were informed of the cancellation of the meeting.

İHB: We are not aware of the meeting

On the other hand, the İHB representatives told bianet that they were not aware of such a meeting.  

Did Cemil Çiçek object to it?

According to the information bianet gathered, the reason for the cancellation of the meeting could  have been the objection of State Minister Cemil Çiçek, who is responsible for the topic Human Rights. It is thought that Çiçek might have found Denmark unacceptable since it refused to shut down the pro-Kurdish Roj TV.

International meeting

Head of the İHB Hasan Tahsin Fendoğlu, Acting President of Denmark’s Human Rights Institute Brigitte Kofod Olsen, Acting President of Germany’s Human Rights Institute Fraude Seidensticker, Vice President of the Human Rights Commission of the Council of Europe Markus Jaeger, administrator of the United Kingdom Equality and Human Rights Commission Anthony Robinson were going to participate in the program of the meeting to be held in Ankara’s Divan Hotel on November 21 as speakers.

İHB’s Fendoğlu and Hans Otto Sano of Denmark’s Human Rights Institute were among those invited.

Neither institution has any official information about the meeting in their internet sites.

Why the meeting and the national institution are important?

National human rights institutions are founded in accordance with the 1993 Paris Principles of the United Nations and are the most authorized institutions responsible for supporting and developing human rights in their respective countries.

In accordance with these principles, these institutions are fully independent of the state, should have in their ranks academicians, rights defenders and non-governmental organizations representing a wide spectrum, and the government representatives can only advise them, even when they are part of them.

The responsibilities and powers of these institutions are to  take part in the cases about the human rights violations, to establish the international conventions within the internal regulations of their respective countries, and to make reports and recommendations to their governments in the field of human rights. (TK/TB).