Turkey marks International Human Rights Day

ANKARA 

Respect for human rights is part of Turkey's deep-rooted state tradition, the Turkish foreign minister said Tuesday.

Mevlut Cavusoglu cited the famous words, "Peace at home, peace in the world", uttered by the country's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in a Human Day Address, according to an online statement released by Turkey's Foreign Ministry.

Turkey's fight against terrorist groups that violate one of the most fundamental human rights, the right to life, is necessity to "adhere to the concept of the rule of law, democratic values and international obligations," said Cavusoglu.

"Respect for human rights is embedded in our deep-rooted state tradition, our understanding of tolerance for centuries and our foreign policy built upon the philosophy of 'Peace at home, peace in the world'," he added.

He urged the international community to act together against the "rise of xenophobia, Islamophobia, intolerance, discrimination, hate speech and extremism", in order to secure "peace and prosperity" for humanity, underlining Turkey's policy to stand alongside oppressed across the globe.

Referring to the roughly 3.6 million refugee population in Turkey -- the highest in the world -- the minister said: "Regardless of their religion, language, culture and origin, we always keep our doors open to those who flee from war and violence in their countries.

"We mobilize all our resources to ensure that people we are hosting benefit from the best living conditions," he added.

International Human Rights Day has been observed every year on Dec. 10 since 1948, when the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.