REPRESENTATIVE OF SECRETARY-GENERAL ON HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS TO VISIT TURKEY

6 October 2004


The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights defenders, Hina Jilani, will undertake a fact-finding mission to the Republic of Turkey from 11 to 20 October 2004 at the invitation of the Government.
The Special Representative will assess the situation of human rights defenders, and examine in particular both the legal framework as well as any possible limitations on the right to defend human rights in the country.
The Special Representative has requested to meet, among others, with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Ministers of Interior and Justice, the Human Rights Inquiry Commission of the Grand National Assembly, the Presidents of the Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court, the General Prosecutor, and officials of the security forces including the police and the counter-terrorism branch. She will also meet with a wide range of representatives of civil society, including human rights defenders, the press and officials of the United Nations and of diplomatic missions in the country.
The Special Representative is scheduled to visit Ankara, Diyarbakir, Istanbul, and Izmir, where she has also requested to meet with relevant actors from within the local authorities and civil society.
Ms. Jilani will give a press conference in Ankara on the last day of her visit, at which she will present her preliminary findings. A report containing the Special Representative's complete findings and recommendations will be published early in 2005 and presented to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in April 2005.

Ms. Jilani, an advocate in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, was appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General in August 2000. The Republic of Turkey will be the seventh country she has visited officially since the Commission on Human Rights created her mandate in April 2000.