2nd Extended Secretariat Meeting with Arab Origin Members in Turkey

UNIW met with Arab origin NGOs located in Turkey, hosted by our member organization Bevol Platform. The meeting began with the recitation of the Holy Quran by Mokhtar El Ashry. The President of Bevol, an important social media platform, Mr. Bashar al-Haraki gave a presentation about their activities. Atty. Ali Kurt who talked about UNIW current activities also briefly shared information about the Yemen Session held in 3rd International NGO Fair and about the visit of the Deputy Minister of Interior, the Head of Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) and the General Coordinator of UNIW to Yemen. After sharing information about the draft program content of the International Conference of African NGOs, which was the main agenda of the meeting and the pre-list of the participants, the participants shared their views in turn. Following the considerations, Atty. Ali Kurt continued as follows: “At the moment, 15 young people in Egypt were executed by a decision in a political court, which is human rights issue. Our objection to the UN, here is not to participate in politics. All non-governmental organizations should have a very clear stance on this issue. We will invite political structures to respect human rights. I agree with the sensitivity of the Vision Political Development Center on this issue. We are not a political entity, but we also know that all problems in Syria, Egypt, East Turkestan and Yemen are based on politics. We have to claim and protect our brother’s rights. NGOs should facilitate pressure over political decision mechanisms.” At the end of the meeting, Mr. Kurt thanked the participants and announced that the next meeting’s subject will be the International Academy of Civil Society Organizations.