In cooperation with our Faculty and the Management and Politics Student Society, a panel titled “Discussing Human Rights in Today’s World of Wars” was organized.
The panel, held at the FEAS Prof. Dr. Sabri Bektöre Conference Hall, was attended by the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences (FEAS), Assist. Prof. Dr. Ali Balkı, as well as academic and administrative staff and students.
The panel was moderated by Prof. Dr. Mustafa Fişne, Dean of Afyon Kocatepe University Bolvadin Faculty of Applied Sciences and Head of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at FEAS. The speakers of the panel were Lecturer Dr. Hulusi Nusret Özsoy and Assist. Prof. Dr. Atahan Demirkol.
“Human rights are among the foundational elements of our civilization”
In his opening remarks and as the moderator of the session, Prof. Dr. Mustafa Fişne emphasized that the concept of human rights is a deeply rooted value that cannot be confined solely to modern Western democracies or European Union criteria. Highlighting that human rights also have historical and intellectual foundations within Turkish-Islamic civilization, Fişne stated that this concept constitutes an inseparable component of a governance approach centered on human dignity.
Describing the contemporary international system as a “world of wars,” Prof. Dr. Fişne noted that conflicts in regions such as Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, Yemen, Syria, and Libya reveal a profound contradiction between the ideal of human rights and realities on the ground.
“The problem of double standards in human rights discourse”
The first speaker of the panel, Lecturer Dr. Hulusi Nusret Özsoy, addressed the historical development of human rights discourse and its contradictions in practice in his presentation titled “The Scope of Human Rights, Their Historical Development, and the Problem of Universality.” Özsoy criticized the double standards observed particularly in the Western world in the context of current wars, arguing that the claim of universality in human rights is undermined in practice by a hierarchical perception of humanity.
Noting that the history of human rights cannot be read solely through a progressive narrative, Özsoy emphasized that this history is also marked by exclusion, discrimination, and contradictions.
“International Humanitarian Law is being systematically violated”
The second speaker, Assist. Prof. Dr. Atahan Demirkol, evaluated the issue within the framework of International Humanitarian Law. Referring to the fundamental principles of the law of armed conflict—distinction, proportionality, and the obligation to protect the civilian population—Demirkol underlined that events taking place in Gaza, in particular, constitute clear violations of the 1949 Geneva Conventions.
Demirkol stressed that even when legitimate military objectives exist, disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks against civilians amount to war crimes, drawing attention to the increasing ineffectiveness of international law in practice.
The panel concluded with a question-and-answer session, followed by the presentation of certificates of appreciation to the speakers.
