Migrants and the Mediterranean, next stop: Turkey UN expert continues study on EU external borders

GENEVA (21 June 2012) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, François Crépeau, will visit Turkey from 25 to 30 June as part of his yearlong study on the management of the external borders of the European Union, which will take him to key transit countries and entry points into the EU.

“Given its land border with Greece, Turkey has become a key transit country through which migrants pass on their journey to Europe,” the human rights expert said.

During his five-day mission to Turkey, Mr. Crépeau will meet with a range of government officials, EU institutions present in the country, international organisations, and migrants themselves, to discuss the complex management of the Turkish border.

The UN Human Rights Council’s envoy will also visit the border crossing with Greece. He will also meet with relevant national authorities responsible for border control and migration, as well as civil society organisations.

Mr. Crépeau’s visit to Turkey is the third stage in his special study on the management of the EU external borders. He visited Brussels in May, and Tunisia earlier in in June, as another key transit country for migrants to Europe. Late in the year he will visit the two main entry points into the EU, Greece and Italy.

At the end of the mission, the UN Special Rapporteur will share his preliminary conclusions at a press conference on 29 June at 15h00, at the UNDP offices, UN House, Birlik Mahallesi, 2. Cadde No:11, 06610 Çankaya, Ankara.

The project launched by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants will result in a special thematic report which will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2013.

François Crépeau (Canada) was appointed Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants in June 2011 by the UN Human Rights Council, for an initial period of three years. As Special Rapporteur, he is independent from any government or organization and serves in his individual capacity. Mr. Crépeau is also Full Professor at the Faculty of Law of McGill University, in Montréal, where he holds the Hans and Tamar Oppenheimer Chair in Public International Law and is scientific director of the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism. Learn more, log on to: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Migration/SRMigrants/Pages/SRMigrantsIndex.aspx

Check the Address by the Special Rapporteur to the UN General Assembly (21 October 2011): http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=11523&LangID=E

Read the International Convention for the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cmw.htm

UN Human Rights, Country Page – Turkey: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/ENACARegion/Pages/TRIndex.aspx

For more information and media requests, please contact:
Ahmet Parla (+ 90 312 454 1051 / Cell: + 90 533 500 1497 / ahmet.parla@unic.org)
Christel Mobech (+41 79 752 0483 / cmobech@ohchr.org) or write to migrant@ohchr.org

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts:
Xabier Celaya, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org)

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