00:00And Madam Sena Nur Çelik Kanat, the next on my list please.
00:04Yes Sena, the floor is yours.
00:05Greece's prolonged failure to implement the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights
00:10concerning the rights of the Turkish minority in West and Trace demands our attention.
00:16Tens of thousands of Greek citizens belonging to the Turkish minority
00:20have been denied their identity and religious and educational rights for decades.
00:25The leading Bekir Usta group of cases concerns refusals to register associations formed by the Turkish minority.
00:33Nearly two decades after the court found a violation of freedom of association,
00:38full implementation still remains outstanding,
00:41despite repeated expressions of concern by the Committee of Ministers.
00:46The Greek authorities invoke the Treaty of Lausanne's recognition of a Muslim minority
00:50rather than a Turkish minority as justification.
00:53However, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
00:58stated that Lausanne neither prevents recognition of other minorities
01:03nor bars ethnic self-identification.
01:06It warned that non-recognition could restrict rights concerning language, culture, religion, and association.
01:14Greek citizenship and Turkish ethnic identity are not mutually exclusive.
01:19Reports also describe serious infringements of right to education and freedom of religion.
01:25The closure of several minority schools, the absence of bilingual kindergartens,
01:30and the non-recognition of elected muftis must be addressed through genuine consultation with the minority.
01:36The report also cites civil society accounts of racist policing affecting Roma,
01:43the court's January 2025 finding of a systematic practice of pushbacks by Greece,
01:50and the persistent failures of accountability for these practices.
01:54The pressures of migration management cannot justify placing anyone beyond the Convention's protection.
02:01Dear colleagues, this Assembly should insist on a clear timetable
02:05for full implementation of the court's judgments and Greece's compliance with its Convention obligations.
02:11The same standards must apply to every member state without exception.
02:17Thank you.
02:17Thank you very much.
02:18Thank you very much.
