Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul issued a statement Sunday marking International Human Rights Day on 10 December, noting that 2006 represented a high point in Türkiye's participation in international human rights agreements.
Gul recalled that the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, now in its 58th year, first established human rights as a matter of international concern. Türkiye, he noted, was among the original 50 nations to adopt the declaration as one of the UN's founding members.
The minister credited nine reform packages, including broad constitutional amendments, with demonstrating the government's commitment to transparency and expanded civil liberties. He described the reform effort as resting on three pillars: revising domestic legislation, enforcing those changes properly, and joining international human rights bodies and mechanisms.
Gul said Türkiye is now a party to all core UN human rights conventions, calling compliance with international standards on democracy and rule of law essential to a country's standing in the global community. He pledged the government would continue pursuing policies aimed at raising the rights and freedoms of citizens to the highest attainable level.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in December 2006, in its own words.