Human rights in Turkey to face scrutiny by UN treaty body

GENEVA (11 October 2012) – The human rights record of Turkey will, for the first time, face the scrutiny of the United Nations Human Rights Committee on Wednesday 17 October and Thursday 18 October in meetings that will be webcast live on the Internet.

As one of the 167 state parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which is one of the primary international human rights treaties, Turkey is required to undergo regular examinations of its human rights record before the Human Rights Committee. This will be Turkey’s first review before the Human Rights Committee.

In meetings which will take place on Wednesday 17 October from 10h00 to 13h00 and from 15h00 to 18h00 and Thursday 18 October from 10h00 to 13h00 Geneva time, the Committee, which is composed of 18 independent experts, will engage in a dialogue with the delegation of Turkey on questions relating to the promotion and protection of human rights in the country.

The list of issues that are likely to come up in the dialogue can be found on:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/docs/CCPR.C.TUR.Q.1.pdf and http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/docs/AdvanceVersions/CCPR.C.TUR.Q.1.Add1.doc.

The Government of Turkey has already submitted a State report on implementation of its human rights obligations to the Committee and a number of non-governmental organisations have also sent reports for the Committee’s consideration.

A live webcast of the session can be viewed on http://www.treatybodywebcast.org/.

The concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee on Turkey will be made available at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/hrcs106.htm on Thursday 1 November, after which interviews can be arranged with Committee members.

To arrange for an interview with a Committee member, please contact Sindu Thodiyil (+41 22 917 9261/ sthodiyil@ohchr.org)
To learn more about the Human Rights Committee, visit: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/index.htm

To learn more about the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, visit: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm

For additional information and media requests, please contact Ravina Shamdasani (+41 22 917 9310 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org)
UN Human Rights, follow us on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unitednationshumanrights
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UNrightswire
Google+ gplus.to/unitednationshumanrights
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/UNOHCHR