Conferences on the HRMT

Conference/s on the Human Rights Movement in Turkey (HRMT)

Since 1998 the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRFTHuman Rights Foundation of Turkey ) and the Human Rights Association (HRAHuman Rights Association ) jointly hold annual Conferences on the Human Rights Movement in Turkey. The results are usually published on 10 December, Human Rights Day, and distributed as leaflets. The papers prepared for the Conferences in 1998, 1999 and 2002 have been published as books and can be ordered at the HRFT. Leaflets and the books are only available in Turkish.

The summarized translations were made by the Democratic Turkey Forum (DTFDemocratic Turkey Forum ), the German Support Group of the HRFT. They should be taken as summaries and not a literal translation.

The Conferences between 1998 and 2003 are listed below. At the bottom of each report you can click on the category Conferences and find a list of all reports.

Date	Place	Subject
28-29.11.1998	Ankara	The HRMT in the 50th Year of the Universal Declaration: Experience and Perspectives
04.-05.12.1999	Ankara	The HRMT on the Edge to a New Century
25.-26.11.2000	Kızılcahamam	Subject: Minorities, IDP, Prisons, Media...
23.-25.11.2001	Belek-Antalya	To Handle Trauma and Human Rights
15.-17.11.2002	Ürgüp	Poverty and Human Rights
13.-16.11.2003	Mardin	War and Human Rights

The guiding principles of the Conference on the Human Rights Movement in Turkey are:

General Principles

1. The Conference defines human rights as principles of actions aiming at securing human dignity for everyone and norms that are based on these principles.
   1. The unity and non-transferability of human rights and equality of all members of mankind to take possession of these rights and human dignity are indispensable principles of the human rights movement.
   2. The highest principles that determine the activities of human rights defenders are human rights.
   3. The laws of States and practices of governments have to be determined and evaluated on the principles and norms of human rights.
2. The Conference stresses the principle that human rights are not confined to legal and political measures, but have to be the decisive factor in economy, social and cultural areas. Human rights activists are obliged to evaluate all developments in the global sphere and States from the effects on human rights and have to take a stand accordingly.
3. The Conference agrees that for the protection and development of human rights the pre-condition is to protect international and national peace and work for demilitarization and environmental conditions in the world.