{"id":97,"date":"2019-11-11T23:52:39","date_gmt":"2019-11-11T22:52:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eutcc.net\/?page_id=97"},"modified":"2019-11-21T23:01:06","modified_gmt":"2019-11-21T22:01:06","slug":"2005-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/eutcc.net\/?page_id=97","title":{"rendered":"2005"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Final Resolution of the 2nd Annual EUTCC Conference<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Second International Conference of the EUTCC brought together MEPs, other politicians, human rights defenders, writers, academics, lawyers and experts on the Kurdish issue to exchange ideas and generate dialogue on the Turkey-EU accession process.\u00a0 The two-day conference was held at the European Parliament and supported by members of the Council of Europe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EUTCC was established in November 2004 as\nthe outcome of the first international conference on \u2018The EU, Turkey and the\nKurds\u2019 held in the European Parliament in Brussels 22-23 November 2004. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aim of the EUTCC is to promote the accession\nof Turkey as a member of the EU, and to help to guarantee respect for human and\nminority rights and a peaceful, democratic and long-term solution to the Kurdish\nsituation.  To this end, the EUTCC will monitor and conduct regular audits\nof the European Commission\u2019s performance in ensuring Turkey\u2019s full compliance\nwith the accession criteria, as defined within the meaning of the accession\nagreements.  It will also make recommendations of measures that could\nadvance and protect human rights; act as a point of contact and exchange\ninformation with the institutions of the EU and other governmental and\nnon-governmental organizations; and raise public awareness of issues affecting\nthe EUTCC\u2019s work or mandate. 
\n 
\nThe Second Conference of the EUTCC was called to evaluate developments in\nrespect of the EU-Turkey accession process since the decision of the European\nCouncil to enter into accession negotiation on 17 December 2004. The Conference\nnoted with alarm the escalating military conflict in the Southeast region of\nTurkey and the failure of certain State institutions to adhere to its\nobligations under the European Convention on Human Rights in accordance with\nthe spirit and terms of its own recent reform packages and commitments given\nunder the Accession process. The indictment of Orhan Pamuk is but one\ndisturbing example. However, the Conference supported the important recent\ndeclaration of 12 August 2005 made by the Prime Minister of Turkey concerning\nthe need for further democratic reform. It also welcomes the positive response\nof the Kurds to this declaration. The Conference also expressed its concern\nover the tenor of recent debates concerning Turkey\u2019s proposed admission to the\nEU articulated during the recent referendums. The Conference reiterated its\nsupport for the creation of a multi-cultural Europe and called upon leading\nEuropean politicians to lead the debate in this regard. In particular, the\nConference called upon the British Presidency of the EU to ensure that talks\nwith Turkey are opened as planned on 3 October 2005 and to urge Turkey and\nother Member States to help foster a climate of peace so that a democratic\nplatform for dialogue can be established between Turks, Kurds, and other\nconstituent peoples and minorities who are resident in Turkey.
\n 
\nFINAL RESOLUTION
\n<\/strong> 
\nPursuant to the presentation of Conference papers and interventions made by\ndelegates, this Conference has unanimously resolved to adopt the following\ndeclarations concerning the EU-Turkey Accession Process and initiate the\nfollowing calls for action to be undertaken by the EUTCC and other relevant\nparties. 
\n 
\nThe Conference issues the following\ndeclarations:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. This Conference reaffirms its\nconditional support for the EU Turkish Accession Process as declared in the\nFinal Resolution of the First Conference in 2004;<\/li>
  2. The Conference declares its\nfurther support for the opening of negotiations on 3 October 2005 and calls\nupon all member state governments to support this process;<\/li>
  3. The Conference acknowledges\nthe Turkish Government\u2019s progress on reform, but expresses its concern over\nlack of implementation and other developments in the sphere of human rights\nsince 17 December 2004.  The Conference urges the Government to renew the\nreform process with the commencement of accession negotiations, and to fully\nimplement legislative reforms so far enacted;<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Human Rights and Accession<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    • The Conference supports the\nundertakings by the EU that reform in the area of fundamental rights, democracy\nand the rule of law must be strengthened in the course of accession\nnegotiations and welcomes the commitment by the Commission expressed at this\nConference to continue to monitor the reform process; <\/li>
    • The Conference maintains the\nview that Turkey has not yet fulfilled the political elements of the Copenhagen\nCriteria, and reiterates that its support for the accession process is\ndependent upon the institutions of the EU robustly enforcing accession\nstandards.  There should be no further compromises on membership criteria\nakin to the EU decision to allow Turkey access to the negotiating table for\n\u201csufficiently\u201d fulfilling the Copenhagen Criteria;<\/li>
    • The Conference specifically\ncalls upon both the Turkish Government and the EU to ensure that Turkey fully\ncomplies with its human rights obligations in relation to torture, the plight\nof internally displaced people, and protection of women and children.<\/li>
    • The Conference also calls upon\nTurkey to ratify the Framework Convention on the Protection of Minorities as\nwell as other UN Instruments concerning minorities and to respect the existing\ncultural and minority rights of all groups, including the rights of the\nAssyrian minority in Turkey.
      \n 
      \nThe Centrality of the Kurdish Question<\/strong>
      \n <\/li>
    • The Conference asserts that\nthe resolution of the Kurdish conflict is essential to the establishment of a\nstable, democratic and peaceful Turkey capable of entering the European\nUnion.  True democratic reform can only occur if Turkey undertakes new\npolitical reform to its state institutions and banishes adherence to ethnic\nnationalism which is the root cause of the conflict and Turkey\u2019s endemic instability;<\/li>
    • This Conference therefore\nasserts that the Kurdish people and their representatives should be given a\nparticipatory role in the accession process and in any debate over Turkey\u2019s democratic\nconstitutional future;<\/li>
    • The Conference acknowledges as a positive step Prime Minister\nErdogan\u2019s   historic 12 August 2005 acknowledgement of the existence\nof the Kurdish question;<\/li>
    • The Conference welcomes as a positive step the month-long ceasefire called\nby Kongra-Gel in response to the Prime Minister\u2019s recent initiative;<\/li>
    • However, the Conference further asserts that more must and can be done on\nboth sides and calls for the following confidence building measures to be\nadopted;
      \n 
      \nConfidence Building Measures<\/strong>
      \n <\/li>
    • The Conference hereby calls upon all relevant parties involved in the armed\nconflict to forthwith stop all hostile military operations in the region and to\nhenceforth pursue non-violent resolutions to the conflict;<\/li>
    • Further, the Conference calls upon all political parties in Turkey to help\nfoster the conditions within Turkey for a democratic platform for dialogue;<\/li>
    • Pursuant to any extension of a ceasefire, the Conference calls upon the\nEuropean Commission to endeavor to use its good offices to actively develop a\ndemocratic platform whereby the constituent elements of Turkey, including the\nKurdish people and their representatives, can freely enter into dialogue and\ndebate with the Government over possible reform to the Constitution;  <\/li>
    • In this respect the Conference recalls the following declaration in the EU-\nCommission\u2019s 1998 report that:
      \n
      \n<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cA civil and non-military\nsolution must be found to the situation in the Southeast Turkey particularly\nsince many of the violations of civil and political rights observed in the\ncountry are connected in one way or another with this issue\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      1. The Conference further recalls the EU Parliamentary Committee on Foreign\nAffairs in December 2004 urged:
        \n \u201call parties involved to put an immediate end to the hostilities in the\nSoutheast of the country\u201d and invited \u201cthe Turkish Government to take more\nactive steps to bring reconciliation with those Kurdish forces who have chose\nto abandon the use of arms.\u201d<\/li>
      2. The Conference also calls upon the Turkish Government to fully and\nunconditionally comply with all international instruments concerning human and\nminority rights guaranteed by the European Convention of Human Rights, in\nparticular, the rights concerning freedom of expression and association without\ndiscrimination, in order to ensure that such a democratic debate can take\nplace;<\/li>
      3. In particular, the Conference calls upon the Turkish Government to ensure\nthat all legally constituted Kurdish democratic parties are allowed to engage\nin peaceful political activity without interference or constant threat of\nclosure, in accordance with Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention of\nHuman Rights.<\/li>
      4. The Conference further calls upon the Turkish Government to fully comply\nwith all judgments of the European Court of Human Rights particularly in\nrelation to those that pertain to the Kurdish conflict. The conference notes\nthe European Commission\u2019s 2004 Report\u2019s particular citation of the ECHR case of\nAbdullah Ocalan in Turkey in this regard;<\/li>
      5. In this respect the Conference calls upon the Turkish Government to begin a\npublic debate about the constitutional recognition of the existence of the\nKurdish people within Turkey;<\/li>
      6. The Conference also urges all member states of the European Union to\nindividually assist in the creation of a democratic platform for dialogue\nbetween Turkey and the Kurds and fully comply with their own obligations under\nArticles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights in respect of\nthose Kurdish organizations and individuals resident in Europe who are\nconcerned to promote the same. <\/li>
      7. The Conference endorses the recommendations of the Council of Europe\u2019s\nrepresentative at this Conference regarding the creation of a Committee for\nReconciliation;<\/li>
      8. To assist this process, the Conference hereby agrees to set up its own\nembryonic Committee for National and Cultural Reconciliation under the auspices\nof the EUTCC consisting of leading European, Turkish and Kurdish politicians\nand representatives, NGOs, academics, intellectuals and human rights activists;\nand<\/li>
      9. Finally, the Conference mandates the EUTCC, its directors and committees,\nto engage and campaign on both a political and civic level across Europe in\nsupport of Turkey\u2019s accession bid to join the European Union on the basis as\noutlined in this Resolution<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        The European Parliament, 20 Sep 2005<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        The Final Resolution of the 2nd Annual EUTCC Conference The Second International Conference of the EUTCC brought together MEPs, other politicians, human rights defenders, writers, academics, lawyers and experts on the Kurdish issue to exchange ideas and generate dialogue on… Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":22,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-97","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/eutcc.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/97","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/eutcc.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/eutcc.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eutcc.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eutcc.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=97"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/eutcc.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/97\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eutcc.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/eutcc.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=97"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}