Warning to Greece at the UN: Stop Discrimination Against Turks in Western Thrace and the Oniki Adalar (Dodecanese) Immediately!
Türkiye’s Permanent Representative to the UN has called on the international community to be sensitive to Greece’s ongoing human rights violations against Turks for the past 20 years.
Türkiye protested to Greece at the UN Security Council with an official letter, due to Greece’s discriminatory policies against the Turkish minority in Western Thrace and the Oniki Adalar and its persistent disregard for ECtHR rulings. Turkey’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Yıldız, called on the international community to be sensitive to these human rights violations that have persisted for 20 years.
The Republic of Türkiye has once again brought to the attention of the world, within the framework of the United Nations, Greece’s systematic violations of rights against the Turkish and Muslim minority in Western Thrace and the Oniki Adalar, and its attitude of ignoring the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rulings.
With the signature of Türkiye’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Ahmet Yıldız, the official letter submitted to the Presidency of the UN Security Council on 1 August 2025, in fact, constitutes a response to Greece’s unfounded allegations in the previous session. However, the real emphasis in the letter was placed on Greece’s concrete and proven practices violating the rights of the Turkish minority within its own territory.
Persistence despite ECtHR rulings for 20 years
The official letter underlined that Greece insists on not recognizing even the most basic rights of the Turkish minority. In particular, despite the fact that the ECtHR has convicted Greece in four separate rulings for refusing the registration of associations with the words “Turkish” and “minority” in their names, the Athens administration has stubbornly refrained from implementing these rulings for almost 20 years. This situation directly questions Greece’s alleged commitment to international law and human rights.
Problems in Western Thrace and the Oniki Adalar listed one by one
Turkey’s official letter conveyed striking details of Greece’s practices to the international community. In the letter submitted to the Security Council with the signature of Türkiye’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ahmet Yıldız, the following points regarding rights violations against Turks in Western Thrace and the Oniki Adalar stood out:
Violation of Religious Freedom: The Turkish minority is deprived of the right to elect their own religious leaders due to systematic political discrimination.
Obstruction of the Right to Education: Demands for the establishment of special bilingual (Greek-Turkish) kindergartens for Turkish children are rejected by Greek authorities.
Neglect in the Oniki Adalar: The basic needs of the Turkish minority living on the islands of Rhodes and Kos, such as Turkish-language education and places of worship, are deliberately not met by the Greek state.
Clear call from Türkiye: We expect concrete steps
Through the official letter, Türkiye once again formally conveyed to the international community that it expects Greece to take concrete steps to immediately improve the situation of the Turkish and Muslim minority in the said regions and to implement the ECtHR rulings without delay. This call points to urgent actions that Greece must take in order to clear this black stain in its human rights record.
The letter also referred to the Greek representative’s attempt to divert the agenda in the previous session, reminding of the legal bases of the cooperation between the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the TRNC. Yet the main message was that Greece, instead of being busy with “provocative allegations abroad,” should focus on solving the serious human rights problems within its own borders.
Ambassador Yıldız requested that this official letter be distributed within the framework of Security Council documents.
