Advancing Justice for Minorities in Türkiye
My first major assignment has been a thrilling, rewarding process to see through this past month. I partnered with Laura, the other William and Mary intern, to draft a proposal to be submitted to the European Union for funding a new IBJ program—Advancing Justice for Minorities in Türkiye (AJMT). This program would build upon IBJ's experience in the region. IBJ began working in Syria in 2017 to respond to the prevalence of human rights abuses in the criminal justice process and the lack of quality training for lawyers to meet the needs of the moment. By conducting trainings for defense lawyers, conducting rights awareness activities, facilitating roundtable events with key stakeholders, and building the capacity of civil society organizations, the Syria program has successfully promoted the rule of law amidst conflict. IBJ then began working in Türkiye in 2020 to address many challenges faced by Syrian refugees in the country. This is indicative of the organization's holistic approach—it seeks to leave none out of the scope of its work.
Now, IBJ hopes to leverage the success of the past Türkiye program to target all minority groups and to provide them with interdisciplinary services. The Turkish government is generally not supportive of minority groups because of their perceived threat to its national identity. Since religion is the only recognized criteria for a minority, the government is able to implement blind policies that do not account for their particularized needs, and minority groups are denied positive rights. The earthquake in February of this year struck the southeastern region, where most minority groups are centralized. Thus, their plights have been exacerbated by a lack of aid for the devastation of their society. The existing Türkiye program is based in three southeastern Turkish cities; AJMT would expand this to seven. IBJ would partner with radio stations and television programs to disseminate rights-awareness materials in the minority groups' respective languages and with a nonprofit that specializes in providing psychosocial support to victims of trauma. Moreover, IBJ hopes to collaborate with national human rights organizations, doctors associations, and bar associations for case referrals and for utilizing their networks and experience. AJMT, if approved, would be supported by the largest grant given to IBJ yet. Its comprehensive nature would be groundbreaking for IBJ as an organization and for Turkish society.
Laura and I worked with the Geneva director, the director of the Turkish country program, two Turkish JusticeMakers, and other Turkish nationals to create the proposal. To familiarize myself with the project, I first read through the concept note and a recent proposal that IBJ submitted to the EU. The first major step was to obtain letters of support from civil society organizations, for these would be represented to the European Union to bolster the proposal. I helped draft letters to bar associations and nonprofits, which would be sent to our partners after being translated into Turkish. I then began researching minority groups in Türkiye, which framed my perspective of the demographics and their present challenges. Kurds, as the largest minority group in Türkiye and the largest stateless people group, are relatively well-known. An example of a minority group I knew little about before is the Doms, who currently face the most discrimination. My findings were used in outlining the initiative's activities because it was important to know the languages, cultures, and interactions of the groups in order to visualize a plan.
The sustainability section was the first section of the narrative I tackled. This showed the EU that AJMT was built to be sustainable politically, institutionally, and environmentally. Politically, it is sustainable insofar it seeks to bring government officials into the work and to influence policy by doing so. It is institutionally sustainable because the framework is premised on empowering local organizations and individuals, leaving a legacy of change. AJMT would ensure environmental sustainability by measures such as reducing physical waste wherever possible and combining activities where feasible to reduce emissions. It is critical that any project funded by the EU is sustainable in all aspects.
We had multiple video calls with the Türkiye team to solidify plans, clarify ambiguities, and gather updates on each person's progress. I have cherished feeling like I had a valued role on this outstanding team of passionate and dedicated individuals. Later in the month, I enjoyed working on the methodology section because it allowed me to apply some of my skills from my political science degree and to make graphs to make the lengthy document more readable. At the end of this week, the first draft of the proposal was sent to a consultant for review. Once we receive their comments next week, we will have a couple of days to make edits and finishing touches. This project has taught me a lot about international nonprofits' funding processes, IBJ's program development, the European Union, and Türkiye in particular. Though the European Union's decision will not be released until I am back in Virginia, I am hopeful that IBJ's vision for this project will be realized in the coming years!