130,000 divorces every year ‘terror’: Human rights institution official
Erdinç Çelikkan – ANKARA
Some 130,000 couples are getting divorced ever year and this is “terror,” the head of the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Turkey, Süleyman Arslan, has said.
“Because of this, the society is falling apart. Of the 500,000-600,000 marriages every year, 130,000 divorces occur. This is a violation of children’s rights. It is terror,” he told reporters in Ankara on Dec. 4.
“This means unrest in 130,000 families. A major problem in Turkey is education in human rights. Families are unable to be protected,” he added.
Also speaking about debates on prisons and nursing homes, he said, “There seems to be no torture in prisons, the only problem arising from prisons is crowded spaces.”
But he added that the number of prisons increases as a consequence of societal issues. “We cannot achieve anything by building more prisons. These places are really crowded,” he said.
Arslan said violence occurs due to societal deterioration. “Violence has no gender. It is possible for people who uphold humanitarian values to turn to violence,” he added.
“Protecting and improving human rights is the duty of the individual and society as well as the state,” he said.
Within the context of the protection and promotion of human rights, the International Human Rights Symposium will focus on the theme “Rethinking Human Rights.” The symposium will be conducted to mark Dec. 10 World Human Rights Day.
Besides local academics working on human rights, academics from 12 different countries will attend and present their papers. During the two-day symposium, participants are expected to discuss matters such as human rights, security and terrorism.
