In a letter dated 17 December to the Permanent Representative of Türkiye to the Council of Europe, the President of the Conference of INGOs and the President of its Expert Council on NGO Law react to the recent court ruling that dissolved the Young Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Youth Studies and Solidarity Association (Young LGBTI+ Association) in Izmir against its will and that of its members.
The activities conducted by this association “are entirely consistent with the values of the Council of Europe, coming, in particular, within the rights protected by the European Convention on Human Rights and the standards elaborated in Recommendation CM/Rec(2007)14 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the legal status of non-governmental organisation in Europe.
We understand that the dissolution ruling was taken on grounds of obscenity and supposed promotion of encouragement to be LGBTI+, which does not at all reflect the nature of activities being undertaken by the association.
We also understand that the dissolution ruling is subject to appeal. We hope, therefore, that in these further proceedings it will be possible to ensure that there is a proper appreciation of the legitimate nature of the association’s activities so that the ruling is reversed and the commitments of Türkiye as a member of the Council of Europe are fully respected.”
