Turkey issues circular on Human Rights Action Plan

ANKARA

Turkey’s president on Friday issued a circular on the government’s new Human Rights Action Plan, as published in the Official Gazette.

In the circular, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the plan, announced on March 2, is meant to raise human rights standards in line with the vision of "Free Individual, Strong Society; A More Democratic Turkey."

Erdogan added that the plan includes the activities of all ministries and state institutions and organizations.

Stressing that the process of strengthening democracy with a focus on public satisfaction will gain new momentum through raising standards for human rights and freedoms, he said the plan lays out concrete aims, goals, and activities for periods ranging from one-three months to two years.

A Monitoring and Evaluation Board has also been established to monitor and coordinate the work of ministries and state institutions and organizations in order to effectively implement and monitor the action plan, he added.

Under Erdogan's chairmanship, the board will include the vice president, justice minister, family and social services minister, labor and social security minister, foreign minister, treasury and finance minister, interior minister, and deputy chair of the Presidential Council for Law Policies, he said.

The board will convene every six months, he said.

"The Human Rights Action Plan Implementation Schedule will be published on the official Justice Ministry website. During the implementation of the Human Rights Action Plan, I request all ministries and state institutions and organizations to fulfill their duties and responsibilities precisely within the framework of the implementation schedule," said Erdogan.

On March 2, Erdogan announced the human rights plan, unveiling 11 main principles set to be carried out over the course of two years.

It is designed as a "broad-based" plan to strengthen rights protections, individual freedoms and security, judicial independence, personal privacy, transparency, and property rights, as well as protect vulnerable groups and enhance administrative and social awareness of human rights.

*Writing by Seda Sevencan