FUEN TAG participates in international NGOs Conference: Issues of Western Thrace and Meskhetian Turks raised on global platform
The Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) Working Group of Turkish Minorities/Communities (TAG) took part in the Autumn General Assembly of the Conference of International Non-Governmental Organizations (CINGOs) of the Council of Europe. The hybrid-format meeting was held from October 13–16, with TAG Secretariat members Deniz Servantie and Melek Kırmacı participating online.
During the session, CINGOs President Gerhard Ermischer and Chair of the Expert Council on NGO Law Jeremy McBride discussed their ongoing work on the registration of NGOs and the specific challenges faced by NGOs representing national minorities.
The assembly addressed the shrinking civic space, pressures on civil society, and restrictions targeting NGOs in several Council of Europe member states, with Georgia and Greece among the countries examined.
Meskhetian Turks’ Right of Return Highlighted
Within the framework of NGO registration challenges in Georgia, the World Union of Ahıska Turks (DATÜB)—a CINGOs member—raised the long-standing issue of the Meskhetian Turks, who were forcibly deported under the Soviet regime and continue to face obstacles in returning to their homeland.
Melek Kırmacı from the TAG Secretariat noted FUEN’s instrumental role in making the repatriation of Meskhetian Turks one of the conditions for Georgia’s accession to the Council of Europe. TAG pointed out that the 2007 Georgian law failed to ensure effective return and stressed the need to keep the issue on the EU agenda, referencing a recent event in Brussels organized by FUEN member organization VATAN – International Society of Meskhetian Turks to raise awareness at the European level.
Registration of Western Thrace Turkish Associations Criticized
Regarding Greece, CINGOs President Gerhard Ermischer criticized the non-implementation of European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rulings in the “Bekir Usta and Others” case group, which concerns the refusal to register Turkish associations in Western Thrace. He announced that CINGOs plans to conduct an official visit to Greece, where discussions will be held with both government officials and civil society representatives regarding NGO registration practices.
Melek Kırmacı also recalled the June 2025 ECHR judgment in the “Sağır and Others” case, in which the Court found that Greece’s refusal to register the Turkish Women’s Cultural Association of Xanthi—due to its use of the word “Turkish” in its name—constituted a violation of freedom of association.
Kırmacı noted that Greece appears unwilling to implement the judgments in the Bekir Usta case group, instead delaying the process as much as possible. TAG underlined that the upcoming Council of Europe monitoring session in December, as well as the planned CINGOs mission to Greece, hold significant importance for addressing these persistent issues of minority rights and association freedoms
