27/10/2022 | Writer: Aslı Alpar
In the 52nd General Assembly of the Istanbul Bar Association, the proposal for the LGBTI Commission to further continue their works has been rejected. Attorney Yasemin Öz tells us about the importance of the commission and the voting process against it.
In the 52nd General Assembly of the Istanbul Bar Association that took place in Haliç Congress Center yesterday, October 23, the proposal for the LGBTI Commission to further continue their works were rejected.
Yasemin Öz has told us that the voting was delayed until late hours and the voting took place with the few attorneys in the congress center.
Öz has stated that:
“As the management in the bar changes, the commissions formed under the previous administration are closed. For a commission to be formed, the decision of the general assembly is not a must and yet the proposal was made for the new administration to bring LGBTI right into their agenda. The voting took place at 10 p.m. when there were only few attorneys left, most of whom were conservative and homophobic.”
“The attorneys that were present in the congress center as the voting was in progress claim that Önce İlke Çağdaş, the new head of the bar, and Filiz Saraç from the attorney group also voted against the commission. If this is the case, the new administration’s attitude towards the human rights of the LGBTI community is quite worrying.
“LGBTI Rights Commission bears huge importance when the representation of LGBTI rights by the bar is in question”
Öz expands on the importance of the commission as follows:
“Unless such commissions exist within bars, any violation against LGBTI human rights remains unvoiced. In addition, what we need is more than those commissions, there is also a need for centers for the LGBTI community to seek for guidance and assistance when their rights have been violated. This would enable us to develop a more systematic and consistent approach to dealing with the violations. We will, therefore, apply to the administration for the commission and the center to be established. We already have a decision taken in favor of the center in the previous general assembly and that is still valid. The representation of LGBTI rights is a must for us to be able to speak of a pluralistic democracy.”
Translation: Kerem Selçuk
Tags: human rights
