President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a speech at the World Human Rights Day event in Istanbul. Expressing his pleasure to be with the participants of the event on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, President Erdoğan voiced his wish for the World Human Rights Day to lead to favorable developments for all humanity, particularly for the oppressed and victims. “THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS CONTINUES TO REMIND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY OF ITS RESPONSIBILITIES FOR 75 YEARS” Noting that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted 75 years ago with great hopes, President Erdoğan said: “Three quarters of a century on, this text still preserves its status as a critical document for the achievements of the humanity. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted with the ideal of a fairer, freer and more human-oriented world, continues to remind the international community of its responsibilities for 75 years.”  Stressing that the Declaration guides the efforts aimed at establishing global peace and stability, President Erdoğan stated: “Even though it couldn’t bring to an end the human rights violations, we see the Declaration as one of the cornerstones of the humanity’s struggle for an honorable life. We believe that the Declaration significantly contributes to the formation of a global sensitivity regarding the protection and advancement of human rights. Nevertheless, it is also a fact that we are meeting the December 10 Human Rights Day at a time when the human rights are being trampled on in many parts of the world.” “Islamophobia and xenophobia, which encircle Western societies like poison ivy, are among the top threats to human rights. The group most victimized by xenophobic, racist, discriminatory, and fascistic practices is without a doubt Muslims, who make up the majority of immigrants.  The terms, ‘terrorist’ and ‘terrorism’, have been made a cover for denigrating Muslims and slaughtering innocents. The attack in which our 51 brothers, who gathered for Friday prayer, were martyred 4.5 years ago in Christchurch, New Zealand shows the extent which Islamophobia could reach,” stated the President, further stressing that attacks against Muslims and migrants have further escalated in many parts of the world from Canada to the U.S., from Europe to Asia. Noting that statistics are just the tip of the iceberg, President Erdoğan said: “Since the beginning of the year, nearly 500 attacks in the form of burning the Holy Quran have taken place in front of the OIC member countries’ missions, mostly our embassies, in Europe. Almost all of these despicable acts against our Holy Book have been perpetrated with governments’ permission and under police protection.” “HATE CRIMES TARGETING MUSLIMS’ PLACES OF WORSHIP, WORKPLACES, NGOs AND ASSOCIATIONS ARE INCREASING DAY BY DAY” Underscoring that the number of hate crimes targeting Muslims’ places of worship, workplaces, NGOs and associations is increasing day by day, President Erdoğan said: “Muslims living in the west see their rights to worship, study and live according to their faith increasingly restricted. What is tragicomic about the issue is that these are all taking place in countries marketed as the cradle of democracy and human rights. There has probably been no other period when the difference between words and deeds have been this wide. Those who talk the talk when it comes to speaking display a textbook example of double standards, unscrupulousness and hypocrisy when it comes to taking actions. Apparently, these countries think that the rights recorded in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights are valid only for ‘acceptable human beings’. Again, in their view, ‘non-Westerners and non-whites’ are not entitled to benefit, wholly or partially, from these rights. Even though they do not say this openly, they reveal the West’s crooked mentality by turning a blind eye to cultural racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia.” President Erdoğan went onto say: “As I have stated recently, four of the five values on which the West has built its entire civilization are actually stolen elements that have nothing to do with them. Accordingly, its faith originates from Al-Quds-Nazareth, its philosophy from the Aegean and Western Anatolia, its law from the Mediterranean and Rome, and its science from Al-Andalus and the Eastern world. Only the barbarity as a character genuinely belongs to the West.” Drawing attention to the increasing frequency of the incidents attesting to the West’s barbaric character through the acts it directly commits or through the incidents it supports, President Erdoğan pointed out: “Crimes committed against humanity are by their nature eventually tried in the conscience of humanity and their perpetrators held to account before history. We see the increasing violent examples of barbarism and the rise of innocent victims' cries as signs that we are approaching a tipping point. Today, the place where the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights is blatantly violated is Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories.” “TWO OUT OF EVERY THREE PALESTINIANS BRUTALLY MURDERED BY ISRAEL ARE EITHER WOMEN OR CHILDREN” “Every kind of rights of the Gazan people, first and foremost their lives, are being recklessly usurped by the occupying Israeli forces since October 7,” underlined President Erdoğan. Noting that over 18 thousand Gazans have been martyred in Israel’s indiscriminate attacks so far, President Erdoğan said: “In Ramallah, nearly 300 Palestinians died a martyr’s death due to the attacks of the terrorists, called settlers, and the Israeli security forces. Two out of every three Palestinians brutally murdered by Israel are either women or children. Innocent infants whose white shrouds their fathers and mothers hug in tears have been ingrained in our memories as the symbols of Israel’s atrocities. The brutality of the oppression and massacres committed in Gaza by the Israeli administration, which receives unlimited support from Western countries, would make all humanity feel ashamed. All the civilian settlements, from places of worship to schools, from hospitals to refugee camps, from homes to marketplaces, which should not be touched even during wartime, are being maliciously bombarded by Israel. Two thirds of the buildings in Gaza have either been totally destroyed or severely damaged, or rendered uninhabitable.” “ALL THE HUMANITARIAN VALUES ARE BEING MASSACRED IN GAZA” Stating that Israel has condemned millions of people to starvation and death by cutting off Gazans’ water, food, electricity and communication, President Erdoğan said: “Not only children, women, elderly people and journalists but all the humanitarian values as well are being massacred in Gaza today. International institutions and human rights organizations unfortunately take no concrete action in the face of these atrocities to prevent the violations.” Reiterating that the World is bigger than five, President Erdoğan stated: “What happened yesterday? Five permanent members and the non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council… The ceasefire was unfortunately rejected with the U.S. veto alone. Is this justice? Can such a world be fair? What do we say? A just world is possible, but not with the U.S. That is so because the U.S., with all its wealth and weaponry, sides with Israel. Hey America, how are you going to answer for this? The humanity will no longer describe the U.S. as a country upholding the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” “The biggest so-called achievement of all those renowned media outlets, from BBC to CNN, which camped out and broadcast live for hours during the Gezi incidents in our country and during the occupation of Ukraine, is just to hide the perpetrators and conceal the oppression,” said the President, adding that over 70 journalists, including a member of Anadolu Agency have been killed in Gaza. President Erdoğan continued his remarks as follows: “We have already lost our hope and expectation from the United Nations Security Council. Since October 7, the Security Council, whose mission is to protect global peace and stability, has turned into a ‘Council for the Protection and Defense of Israel’. Neither the will of the 121 countries calling for the immediate cessation of the hostilities, nor the United Nations Secretary-General’s endeavors, nor the sincere efforts of the non-permanent members have been able to make the permanent members of the Security Council take action.”  “In last night’s vote, a ceasefire resolution couldn’t be adopted due to U.S. veto. The result unfortunately didn’t change even though 13 countries, including some permanent members, voted in favor of the draft resolution. It has once again been proven that the World is bigger than five,” stressed the President, adding that it is a must for the United Nations Security Council to be reformed, and that it is impossible for the world to make any progress with the current structure of the Security Council. “THE ‘BUTCHERS OF GAZA’ MUST STAND TRIAL IN INTERNATIONAL COURTS FOR THEIR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY” President Erdoğan added: “We believe that this incapable and dysfunctional structure of the United Nations will be questioned by the entire world with the atrocities in Gaza. Let me talk frankly, nothing in Gaza can continue as they are. The oppression, brutality and barbarity displayed in the occupied Palestinian territories mush definitely be punished both in the conscience of humanity and before law. The ‘Butchers of Gaza’ must stand trial in international courts for their crimes against humanity and, Allah willing, they eventually will. We will follow up on this issue. We will do so on behalf of all humanity and the innocent Gazans to prevent the occurrence of similar tragedies.”