On July 14, the Turkish Parliament’s Human Rights Committee made a decision to decline the establishment of a sub-committee to investigate allegations of human rights violations against Uyghurs. Instead, they chose to assign an existing sub-committee, which had previously focused on racism and Islamophobia during prior legislative terms, to address the matter.
Yüksel Selçuk Türkoğlu, a member of the Human Rights Committee from the İYİ (Good) Party, submitted a proposal highlighting that it is the committee’s responsibility, in accordance with international treaties to which Turkey is a party, to examine human rights issues and propose solutions. The proposal suggested the formation of a sub-committee dedicated to conducting research and investigations related to the allegations concerning the Uyghurstan (Officially) Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the ancestral homeland of Uyghurs. This sub-committee would focus on the allegations of forced placement of Uyghurs in camps, as well as the human rights violations that have drawn global attention.
However, the committee’s chairman and former minister, Derya Yanık, who is a member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), expressed the view that a special committee to investigate the Uyghur issue was unnecessary. Instead, Yanık proposed re-establishing the Sub-committee on Combating Islamophobia and Racism, which had been active in previous legislative terms. Yanık suggested that the recommendations put forth in Türkoğlu’s proposal could be addressed effectively by this existing sub-committee, and this suggestion was accepted by the other committee members. It’s worth noting that Türkoğlu was not present for the vote, and no objections were raised by other opposition members.
