Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a message marking Human Rights Day on December 10.
In his message, President Erdoan noted the following:
On the 72nd anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, I congratulate all of humanity on December 10, International Human Rights Day.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted 72 years ago for a more just, free and human-oriented world, remains an important document that reminds the international community of its responsibilities.
“We have elevated our country to a higher level in the field of rights and freedoms compared to what it was 18 years ago.”
As a state that established its administrative system on the principle of “Let the people live so that the state will live,” we have removed many obstacles that restrict the rights and freedoms of our citizens with the reforms we have implemented.
By strengthening our democracy, speeding up the work of the law, and broadening the avenues for seeking redress, we have taken our country to a much higher level in terms of rights and freedoms than it was 18 years ago.
In line with the demands and expectations of our nation, we continue our will to reform with resolve in the context of the new needs that emerge.
“We see that obstacles to the exercise of indispensable rights are increasing.”
The greatest threat to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights today is cultural racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia.
With the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic in Western societies, we see that the obstacles to the use of inalienable rights, especially freedom of belief and worship, have increased.
We are facing a terrible picture, where the basic freedoms of billions of Muslims are trampled, from the right to life to the right to a fair trial, insulting sacred values under the guise of freedom of expression, and the language of hatred is encouraged at the level of the media and the president.
We express these threats in all the international forums of which we are members, and we fight for the full implementation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, regardless of race, religion or language.
In this regard, we find it very accurate that the United Nations has defined the theme of this year’s Human Rights Day as “better protection of human rights”.
In the world that will be reshaped after the Covid-19 pandemic, all policies must be structured around a human rights axis, and effective mechanisms must be developed to eliminate grievances.
“Turkey will remain a ray of hope for millions of people”
With these thoughts, I congratulate December 10 on human rights once again and hope that the coming days will bring health, peace, prosperity and tranquility to the entire world.
