Turkic States’ Ombudsman Association ‘to be established’

ANKARA

Under the leadership of Turkey, the Turkic States’ Ombudsman Association will be established in March, the chief ombudsman in Turkey has announced.

“All the protocols are ready. We are waiting for an ombudsman in Kyrgyzstan. In March, we will set up the Turkic States’ Ombudsman Association,” Şeref Malkoç told daily Miiliyet on Feb. 23.

The Ombudsman Institution in Turkey was established in 2012 to follow all developments in society. Regardless of religious, cultural and ethnic affiliation, the institution evaluates complaints of any individual or legal entity and submits them to the administration.

“Turkic states that act together on many areas like the economy, social services and military will have an ‘ombudsman organization,’ too,” Malkoç added.

When asked what the organization will do, Malkoç said, “We will try to find solutions to common social problems like women’s and children’s rights, or the right to legal remedies in public institutions.”

According to Malkoç, the system will work in two steps.

People living in Turkic states will be informed about their rights in society and public institutions. When having a problem, the people of these Turkic states will apply to the ombudsman in their countries. The ombudsmen of the countries will, from time to time, gather to act together in finding solutions to the problems or helping each other.

“The organization will lead the way on a legal basis,” Malkoç added.

The Ombudsman Institution, which serves purposes of “protecting and promoting fundamental rights and freedoms,” recently took action against Greece after the country was accused of the pushbacks of migrants, with one incident leading to the death of 19 migrants.

In letters to the United Nations and its various organizations, the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the Turkish Ombudsman Institution urged Western countries to “be fair and have conscience.”

“The institution will translate its report on the pushed-back migrants’ deaths into various languages and will send it to all organizations defending humanity,” the daily reported.

Born in 1960 in the Black Sea province of Trabzon, Malkoç graduated from the faculty of law at Istanbul University in 1982. He served two parliamentary terms as a lawmaker.

He has a book titled “The New Constitution and the Presidential System in 40 Questions.”

Malkoç was elected as chief ombudsman o Nov. 15, 2016 and re-elected on Nov. 11, 2020.

He is also the president of the Organization of Islamic Countries’ Ombudsman Association (OICOA) and has been a member of the board of directors of the Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA) since 2019.