Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association Egnatias 75, 69100 Komotini-Greece Tel/Fax: +302531029705 E-mail: btaytd@otenet.gr URL: w w w .btaytd.com 7-••4-• •.,•• Human Rights Council Forum on Minority Issues Fourth Session Geneva, 29-30 November 2011 Contact Person: Pervin Hayrullah (Chairoula) chairoulapCi-Oahoo.com Minority Women and Effective Political Participation Western Thrace Turkish Minority Women in Political Life of Greece Madam Chairperson, Distinguished delegates, And civil society representatives, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Civic and Political Rights, European Convention on Human Rights, Declaration on the rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, and 1990 Copenhagen Document and other relevant documents, which Greece is a party, defined the right to political participation and representation of minorities. In line with all those documents the States shall respect the right to political participation and representation of minorities as well as the right to participation to decision making procedures. Also, States shall encourage full and effective political participation of minorities in order to develop a peaceful and democratic society. Moreover, CEDAW General Recommendation No. 23 (based on articles 7 and 8) advises states parties to identify and implement temporary strategies to increase women's political participation and equal representation, i.e. the targeted recruitment of female candidates; financial assistance and training of such candidates; amendment of electoral procedures; and appointment of women to public positions that hold significant decision-making abilities to affect society. The participation of Turkish Minority women in political and public life, however, is limited. There are only fifteen minority women elected for the municipal and local councils and just one for the Eastern Macedonia Thrace Regional Council. 2002 was the first year that a quota system implemented in the elections for local government, requiring that 30% of all candidates be women. However, no training seminars for women's participation in the elections or programs to help Greek society adapt to the quota system were organized, nor they encouraged by authorities to be candidates or to participate in public life. Today, for example in Western Thrace, the rate of the elected women is no more than five percent. Most of Greece's local administration is a closed circle. It is a male dominated system. As is known the rights and freedoms of the Turkish Muslim Minority in Western Thrace of Greece are safeguarded in particular in the Lausanne Peace Treaty of 1923, as well as in other relevant bilateral and 1i