ANKARA
United Nations Special Rapporteur Christof Heyns has said that Turkey had made significant progress in securing the right to life in recent years.
Speaking at a press conference after completing his five-day official visit to Turkey in order to examining the current level of unlawful killings and death treats in the country, Heyns stated that Turkey had made a considerable improvement on those issues.
"Turkey has made significant strides in securing the right to life in recent years, and continues to take further positive measures in this regard. However, impunity remains the main outstanding challenge that needs to be addressed urgently and in order to consolidate the progress," he said.
Since his last visit to Turkey in 2001 to observe the same issues, Heyns noted that institutional and legal changes had been made, and were being still made, which, if fully implemented, have the potential to address many of the remaining concerns related to the right of life.
"There is wide recognition that the main obstacle to a higher level of protection for the right to life is impunity for perpetrators," he said.
At the end of his visit to Turkey, Heyns conveyed a series of preliminary recommendations to address the challenge of impunity in Turkey.
