The draft law of the Human Rights Council of Turkey that had been accepted in the cabinet on 18 May 2009 was submitted to the Presidency of the National Assembly on 28 January 2010. This is the third attempt for the establishment of the Human Rights Council of Turkey since 2004 and human rights organisations showed intensive reactions to the previous attempts due to the fait accompli way of the preparation process of the draft law. As on previous occasions the 60th Government excluded human rights organisation which should be the main actor of the process and claimed that the institution that would be established with this draft law is consistent with the Paris Principles.
The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey prepared this report to inform the public on the latest attempt to establish the Human Rights Council of Turkey a situation that not only concerns human rights organisations but also general public opinion. In this report, we try to display the fait accompli way of preparation process and also the problems in the draft law itself. If the draft will become law as such the Human Rights Council of Turkey will be indifferent from the existing institutions which themselves are dysfunctional and problematic. Moreover, the Human Rights Council of Turkey which will become an important addressee on the international level once it is established will be wasted for narrow political interests. |