WTMUGA participates in FUEN 2025 Western Balkans Communication network meeting

WTMUGA participated in the Western Balkans Communication Network Meeting organized by FUEN on March 6-7 in Skopje.

WTMUGA Participates in FUEN 2025 Western Balkans Communication Network Meeting

Representing BTAYTD, human rights experts Dr. Pervin Hayrullah and Kerem Abdurrahimoğlu attended the meeting.

The meeting commenced with an opening speech by FUEN President and MEP Loránt Vincze. The first panel, titled "Current Situation of Minorities in the Western Balkans," featured expert speakers providing insights into the legal frameworks and practices for the protection of minority rights in the region.

Following the panel presentations, Kerem Abdurrahimoğlu spoke on behalf of BTAYTD, emphasizing that minority rights issues are not confined to Western Balkan countries alone. He pointed out that the Turkish minority in Greece, an EU member state for over 40 years, continues to face serious challenges. He highlighted that while national minority councils exist within the normative framework in Western Balkan countries, Greece does not recognize the existence of any national minorities within its borders. He further stated that the ethnic identity of the Turkish minority in Western Thrace is not acknowledged, and the European Court of Human Rights' (ECHR) rulings on Turkish associations have remained unimplemented for 17 years. He also stressed that the Copenhagen Criteria for minority rights are only imposed on EU candidate countries, calling for a comprehensive and effective minority rights policy across Europe.

On the second day of the meeting, the second panel, titled "Combating Hate Speech," focused on the international legal framework for addressing hate speech, local mechanisms for combating Antigypsyism in the Western Balkans, and various examples of hate speech. Additionally, FUEN's "Silent Hate Speech" awareness campaign was introduced.

The panel was followed by a workshop outlining a roadmap and recommendations for combating hate speech.

The meeting continued with the third panel, titled "Education of Minorities and Education About Minorities," discussing the discrimination and challenges many minority groups face in the field of education.

The event concluded with a closing session where future steps and an overall evaluation of the meeting were discussed.