EU Turkey Civic Commission

On 17 December 2004, the EU Council of Ministers decided to open accession talks with Turkey. The essential accession criteria for EU membership are the Copenhagen criteria, which state that new members must have achieved:

“stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities”.

On this basis, many civil society organisations in Turkey and Europe have considered it important to monitor the implementation by Turkey of European human rights standards and the rule of law in all phases of the accession negotiations.The undersigned organisations sponsored a conference in November 2004 on “The EU, Turkey and the Kurds”:

Rafto Foundation (Norway)
Kurdish Human Rights Project (United Kingdom)
Medico International (Germany)

The conference, held in the European Parliament in Brussels, passed a resolution to establish a standing civic commission. The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales has subsequently joined in sponsoring the establishment of the EU Turkey Civic Commission.

This EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) favours Turkish membership in the European Union. Provided the EU insists on full compliance, in law and in practice, with the Copenhagen criteria in all its aspects, Turkey will become a genuine democracy, with “respect for and protection of minorities”. This will resolve one of the most difficult political problems that Turkey has so far failed to even recognise and that has been a festering sore in Turkey for decades, namely the Kurdish problem.

The Commission wishes to contribute to the progress of Turkish membership of the EU. It will do this by spreading accurate, objective information both in Turkey and Europe about the progress made by Turkey, but also about any shortcomings which may still persist. The Civic Commission will have as one of its most important tasks to monitor Turkish compliance with the EU accession criteria

The EUTCC also wishes to contribute to a democratic, peaceful and lasting solution of the Kurdish problem. It believes that this can only be achieved through a dialogue between the parties concerned, in which also the EU must play its part. This will require not only further changes in legislation, but a change in the ideology and mentality at all levels of Turkish society. From a state seeing the expression of Kurdish culture and language as a threat to the state, Turkey must become a state that recognizes differences and sees cultural diversity and freedom as positive and necessary elements of a true democracy. The Commission will therefore focus particularly on this problem.