Turkish minister chides 'inert' states on human rights

By Satuk Bugra Kutlugun

ANKARA

Turkey’s foreign minister used Friday’s UN-backed Human Rights Day to criticize the “regrettable” failure of some states to stand with Turkey after the defeated July 15 coup attempt.

Mevlut Cavusoglu said: “In 2016 our world has witnessed the continuation of grave human rights violations in different geographies and assaults on humanitarian values."

He went on to say that “many countries failed both to comprehend the barbaric [July 15] attack on human rights and the democratic order of the Turkish people”.

Cavusoglu said some countries had also remained “indifferent and inert in standing up for others’ rights”.

Friday marks the 68th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Cavusoglu described as "a landmark in the process of the development of human rights in history".

This year's theme for Human Rights Day is "stand up for someone's rights today".

Cavusoglu continued: "As a respectable member of the international community, we will continue to protect and promote human rights, which are among our key foreign policy principles; to work resolutely for the improvement of democracy and rule of law both in our country and the world, and to stand up against violations of rights wherever they happen."

The foreign minister also recalled how the defeated July 15 coup attempt claimed 248 lives and injured 2,193 others.