Avrupa Batı Trakya Türk Federasyonu Föderation der West-Thrakien Türken in Europa Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe Ευρωπαϊκή Ομοσπονδία Τούρκων Δυτικής Θράκης Fédération des Turcs de Thrace Occidentale en Europe NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations Member of the Fundamental Rights Platform (FRP) of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights Member of the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) Name of the Organization: Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) Name of (Main) Contact Person: Mrs. Melek Kırmacı Arık E-mail: melek.kirmaci@abttf.org, info@abttf.org Human Rights Council Forum on Minority Issues Sixth Session 26-27 November 2013 Item III: Protection of the existence of and prevention of violence against religious minorities Mme Chairperson, Mme Independent Expert, Distinguished delegates and colleagues, Recalling draft recommendation 17, which reminds all States that they should fully implement the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities with due and dedicated attention to the situation of religious minorities present in the country, Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) stresses that Governments have the primary responsibility for implementing the Declaration and other minority rights standards and instruments. All States should demonstrate their commitment to the protection of minority rights by ensuring that minority issues are consistently integrated into and reflected in governmental policies and practice. Though previous sessions of the forum demonstrated that a significant progress has been made in the implementation of the Declaration, there are many States which have not incorporated the provisions of the Declaration into their domestic legislation. There are important challenges that the States should confront in promotion and protection of the identity of religious minorities within territories. The Independent Expert on Minority Issues stressed in her last year’s speech that racism and xenophobia are on the rise in some countries inspired by a political and social discourse of “them and us” in which minorities, migrants and those with another faith, color, language or culture are portrayed negatively and faced with institutional discrimination or structural and administrative barriers to the enjoyment of their rights, the use of their language or the practice of their religion.1 The rise of far-right extremism in Europe is a great concern and the situation is all the more serious as extremist political parties have gained an increased influence in national parliaments and governments. Morten Kjaerum, the Director of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency, said that there are indicators that the situation in the EU is not improving, on the contrary, in the last few years, there is a continued and renewed violations of fundamental rights of people living in the EU through verbal abuse, physical attacks or murders motivated by prejudice. Nils Muiznieks, Council of Europe’s Commissioner of Human Rights recently published a comment that Europe has been 1 http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Minority/Pages/Session5OralStatements.aspx ABTTF Head Office • Wemerstr. 2, D-58454 Witten • Tel.: +49 (0) 2302 913291 • Fax: +49 (0) 2302 913293 ABTTF Brussels Office • Square de Meeûs 38/40, B-1000 Brussels • Tel.: +32 (0) 2 401 61 98 • Fax: +32 (0) 2 401 68 68 info@abttf.org • www.abttf.org