The European Language Equality Network (ELEN), of which the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) is a member submitted a written contribution regarding the issues faced by the Turkish community in Western Thrace and the human rights violations they endure, in connection with Greece’s country report to the (UN) Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism, specifically within the fourth cycle (2022–2027).
In its written contribution, ELEN noted that Greece has not ratified the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM) or the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML), emphasising that these two binding treaties serve as cornerstones for the protection of national and linguistic minorities.
According to the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne , ELEN indicated that Turkish schools belonging to the Turkish community in Western Thrace are under the ownership of the Turkish community and possess autonomous status. ELEN noted that the operation and administration of these private and autonomous Turkish schools are the responsibility of boards of trustees consisting of three members elected by parents, but that their authority has been progressively restricted over the years.
ELEN highlighted that, under the pretext of lack of sufficient number of pupils, Greek authorities have been closing Turkish primary schools in the Western Thrace region one by one every year since 2010, noting that the number of Turkish elementary schools, which stood at 188 in 2011, had dropped to 83 by the 2025–2026 school year.
Noting that Greece has prioritised the public school system over improving private and autonomous Turkish schools to create equal educational opportunities in line with the demands of the Turkish community in Western Thrace, ELEN explained that this aims to weaken the Turkish school system in the long term and ultimately eliminate it.
ELEN asked what concrete steps Greece plans to take to ensure that members of the Turkish community in Western Thrace are granted the right to self-determination regarding their identity, and what steps will be taken to ensure that children from the Turkish community have equal access to quality education in the Turkish language.
ELEN demanded that Greece re-establish the educational autonomy of the Turkish community in Western Thrace, which was recognised by the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne but has since been largely eliminated through legal changes and arbitrary practices.
Calling on Greece to immediately ratify the FCNM and ECRML, ELEN demanded that Greece ensure the full protection of national and linguistic minorities within the country, as required by Article 2 of the Treaty of the European Union (EU), of which Greece is a member.
