Turkish Cabinet Adopts Bill on Establishment of Human Rights Agency

The Turkish cabinet adopted on Monday a bill on establishment of human rights agency.
Turkey's State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek said that the Council of Ministers adopted a bill on establishment of Turkish Human Rights Agency, The Journal of Turkish Weekly reported

"We are establishing such an agency to preserve and improve human rights, monitor national and international human rights developments, inform people and institutions about issues concerning human rights, examine human rights complaints, and prevent human rights violations," Cicek, who is also the government spokesman, told reporters after the cabinet meeting in Ankara.
Cicek said that the agency would be autonomous, which he defined as important for Turkey and the European Union (EU) membership process.
In order to improve human rights consciousness, to protect human rights, to investigate and examine human rights violations, to investigate and examine the social, political, legal and administrative reasons which cause obstacles for the enjoyment of human rights and freedoms and to develop proposals to solve them, Prime Ministry Human Rights Presidency was established in 2000.