The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission conducted a significant hearing in Washington DC, scrutinising Turkey’s human rights record. The event highlighted substantial abuses ahead of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s impending visit to the United States.
Witnesses at the hearing shed light on various human rights violations under the current Turkish administration, with particular emphasis on unlawful detentions and alleged torture.
🔴 Testifying at the US congressional hearing by the Tom Lantos Commission, Nadine Maenza (@nadinemaenza) highlighted the severe human cost of Turkish cross-border operations and Turkish war crimes in northern Syria.#WarCrimes | #US | #Turkey
🔗 https://t.co/0U2T3G8gJe pic.twitter.com/Q0F691F8oj
— MedyaNews (@medyanews_) April 17, 2024
Nadine Maenza, president of the IRF Secretariat and former chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, pointed out specific areas of concern. “Turkey is on a watch list concerning violations of religious freedom, with rising anti-semitism and the abuse of laws under claims of insulting President Erdoğan,” she stated.
Honored to testify about conditions for religious & ethnic minorities in #Turkey & areas they occupy (like #Syria) at @TLHumanRights Congressional Hearing hosted by Rep Chris Smith & @RepMcGovern with powerful testimony from @EnesFreedom & @ahamitbilici.
Recommendations:
Put… pic.twitter.com/gaHIFFfft2— Nadine Maenza (@nadinemaenza) April 16, 2024
Further addressing the geopolitical implications, Maenza urged, “The US must push Turkey to settle the Kurdish question and go back to negotiations with the PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party], eliminating Erdoğan’s excuse to continue to marginalise his own Kurdish population.”
The US State Department’s 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices provided a backdrop to the hearing, detailing egregious human rights abuses ranging from the recruitment of child soldiers to attacks on judicial independence. The hearing, accessible to Congress members, staff, the public and media, was also live-streamed.
Chaired by Representatives James P. McGovern and Christopher H. Smith, the bipartisan commission aims to foster a robust US response to international human rights issues. The outcome of the hearing is poised to influence the agenda for Erdoğan’s upcoming visit in terms of the focus on Turkey’s human rights practices.
The now Co-Chair of Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, Rep. Chris Smith, led a resolution in 1996 advocating for peace talks between Turkey and the PKK, including calls for mutual ceasefires and the release of all political prisoners.
