No: 31, 26 January 2015

Turkey's human rights record will be reviewed in the framework of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 27 January 2015. During the review, Turkey will be represented by a delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister H.E. Bülent Arınç, The delegation will include the representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Family and Social Policies, the Ministry of the Interior and General Directorate for Foundations as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The UPR Mechanism, one of the most important forums of the United Nations, was launched in 2008 by the Human Rights Council. It involves the review of the human rights records of all UN Member States by other Member States with the participation of nongovernmental organizations and held once every four and a half years. The first review on Turkey was conducted on 10 May 2010.

The review which will be conducted tomorrow in Geneva will be based on the national report on the developments in the field of human rights in Turkey since the first cycle in 2010. This report was prepared under the coordination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the contributions of the relevant governmental institutions and by consulting the nongovernmental organizations. The report was submitted to the Human Rights Council on 24 October 2014.

Attaching importance to the UPR Mechanism and the work of the UN Human Rights Council, Turkey makes significant contributions to this UN platform both with its constructive engagement during the UPR as well as its comprehensive cooperation with other works of the Council.