The launching ceremony of the Project on Improving the Effectiveness of Investigation of Allegations of Ill-Treatment and Combatting Impunity took place on 27 February 2018 in Ankara. The ceremony gathered approximately 270 representatives from various stakeholders involved in the fight against ill treatment and impunity, including representatives of the Turkish high courts, Council of Judges and Prosecutors, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of EU Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior, National Forensic Institution, Human Rights and Equality Institution, Bar Associations and non-governmental organizations.
The ceremony started with the opening speeches by Ms Genevieve Mayer, Head of the Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, Mr Anders Siegumfeldt, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Denmark in Turkey and Mr Mustafa Erol, Deputy Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice. These were followed by key note speeches on the ECHR standards on the effective investigation of ill-treatment allegations and the role of prosecutors and judges in implementing these standards at the national level, which were delivered by Mr George Tugushi, Former Member of the CPT and Mr Ergün Şahin, Chief Public Prosecutor of Ankara, respectively.
Following the opening ceremony, the first steering committee meeting was held, in order to discuss the up-coming project activities, such as working group meetings on the preparation of the needs assessment/recommendations report and development of a training module for judges and prosecutors.
The Project is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and Human Rights Trust Fund and implemented by the Council of Europe in partnership with the Human Rights Department within the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Turkey. It aims at contributing to the enhanced effectiveness of investigation of ill-treatment allegations and combating impunity in Turkey, through identifying potential legal amendments and necessary change of practice, increasing the capacities of judicial training and raising awareness of judges and prosecutors.
- Agenda of the activity (in English and Turkish)
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