Kurdish Human Rights Project - Fifth International Conference on the EU, Turkey and the Kurds Opens at European Parliament

Visit Our Online Shop

Online Shop

List All Products
Product Search Advanced Search
Show Cart
Your Cart is currently empty.

Contact Details

KHRP
11 Guilford Street London
WC1N 1DH UK
Tel: 00 44 20 7405-3835
Fax: 00 44 20 7404-9088
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

header_image1.jpg

Latest News from KHRP and the Kurdish Regions

KHRP Calls for Greater Efforts to Secure Equal Rights and Opportunities of Women in Kurdish Regions [8/03/2010]
KHRP Highlights Ongoing Abuses against Kurdish Women in Turkey to UN CSW [1/03/2010]
KHRP Accepting Applications for Fellowship Position [24/02/2010]
A letter from Mr. Muharrem Erbey from the Diyarbakir High Security Prison [19/02/2010]
KHRP Supports Joint NGO Appeal for Reform of the European Court of Human Rights [19/02/2010]
KHRP Raises Ongoing Human Rights Concerns in Iraq Prior to its Assessment by the UPR [15/02/2010]
KHRP Draws Attention to Widespread Human Rights Abuses Ahead of UPR Review of Iran [12/02/2010]
Sixth Annual EUTCC Conference Concludes at the European Parliament [4/02/2010]

Fifth International Conference on the EU, Turkey and the Kurds Opens at European Parliament

Thursday, 29 January 2009

Speeches get underway at the conference

The Fifth International Conference on the EU, Turkey and the Kurds was launched at the European Parliament in Brussels today, with opening remarks by Kariane Westrheim, the Chair of the EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) which hosts the event.

Comments followed from, among others, Vice President of the European Parliament Luisa Morgantini and EUTCC patron and 1995 Sakharov Prize winner Leyla Zana.

KHRP Executive Director Kerim Yildiz opened the first session on 'EU/Turkish accession: International Perspectives' by reviewing the progress of Turkey's accession bid. He urged the EU to 'play a more constructive role in assisting Turkey’s reform, leading it to become a country which lives up to European standards of human rights protection, democracy and the rule of law.'

Sessions later in the day included discussion of the role of Europe in promoting democratic changes and the prospects for long-term socio-economic development through the EU accession process. The conference continues with two further sessions tomorrow on human rights, the rule of law and the ongoing conflict.

The EU-Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC), formed in 2004, aims to both promote and provide suggestions for Turkey’s bid for EU accession, and to help guarantee respect for human and minority rights and a peaceful, democratic and long-term solution to the Kurdish situation. Founding members of the EUTCC include the Kurdish Human Rights Project, the Bar Human Rights Committee, Medico International and the Thorolf Rafto Foundation for Human Rights.

A translation of this press release into Arabic and Sorani is available here.

Recommend this Kurdish Human Rights Project article to your favourite social bookmark networks: