QA-24, 14 July 2016

International human rights organizations can visit the South-Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey without any impediment. Recently, in March 2016, the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances in April 2016, Nils Muižnieks, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe and in May 2016, Co-Rapporteurs of Turkey from the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly visited South-Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and held various contacts.

Being party to the main UN Conventions in the field of human rights, Turkey maintains its uninterrupted constructive cooperation with all UN mechanisms on human rights including treaty-based bodies and special procedures.

As one of the 116 countries that offered open invitation to the UN special procedures since 2001, Turkey cooperates closely with the thematic rapporteurs. In this context, Turkey has accepted all recent visit requests, and necessary scheduling has been made for each one. In addition, our invitation extended on 10 May 2016 to Mr. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit Turkey including the South-Eastern Anatolia is a standing one.

The comments made by Mr. John Kirby, the Spokesman of the US Department of State, in his press briefing on 12 July 2016 to the effect that Turkey prevented the investigations in South-Eastern Anatolia Region do not reflect a thorough knowledge of all these aspects and constitute a clear misrepresentation of realities.