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Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Part of FCDO Human Rights UK in Turkey

19th December 2012

Promoting LGBT Rights in Turkey Through KAOS

A guest blog by Peter Spoor, Head Press and Projects Team at the British Embassy in Ankara, Turkey

KAOS GL is a small but perfectly formed Turkish organisation which is seeking to overturn prejudice in Turkey on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LBGT) issues.  KAOS’ aim is to ensure that the country’s LGBT citizens can benefit from the same rights and freedoms that are granted to other Turks.

Resim2I was proud to represent the British Government at KAOS’ annual symposium last week. In a crowded conference hall in the basement of the Ankara Bar Association on Saturday morning, Turkish MPs, academics and trade unionists came together to relay a key message for Turkey’s EU accession prospects: that the lack of recognition for the rights of LGBTs is an obstacle to EU membership. The United Kingdom supports KAOS’ call for a reference to LGBT rights to be included in the draft constitution being debated within the Turkish Parliament.

Using our project funds this year and next, the British Embassy in Ankara will continue to support Turkish LGBT organisations seeking to make their voices heard. For too long, the cause of LGBT rights in Turkey has been in the shadows. KAOS and other committed organisations are determined to put an end to this. We’re keen to help. We see our involvement on this as an integral part of our overall approach to promoting human rights around the world.

1 comment on “Promoting LGBT Rights in Turkey Through KAOS”

  1. I was very pleased to read this. As a gay expat couple living in Oludeniz we have not felt any prejudice even though our circumstance is well known, if not really understood. We are not demonstrative in company or public and never were in the UK. We show respect and receive it.
    We are welcomed, and a part of the community.
    However, we understand that we have a, perhaps, privileged, exotic, position as ‘yabancis’ which is not afforded to gay Turkish nationals. We have heard some very sad stories and know that gay men at least, have a difficult if not traumatic time. Thank you for your support of LGBT equality here.

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About Leigh Turner

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of…

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of the UN and other organisations; stories here will reflect that.

About me: I arrived in Vienna in August 2016 for my second posting in this wonderful city, having first served here in the mid-1980s. My previous job was as HM Consul-General and Director-General for Trade and Investment for Turkey, Central Asia and South Caucasus based in Istanbul.

Further back: I grew up in Nigeria, Exeter, Lesotho, Swaziland and Manchester before attending Cambridge University 1976-79. I worked in several government departments before joining the Foreign Office in 1983.

Keen to go to Africa and South America, I’ve had postings in Vienna (twice), Moscow, Bonn, Berlin, Kyiv and Istanbul, plus jobs in London ranging from the EU Budget to the British Overseas Territories.

2002-6 I was lucky enough to spend four years in Berlin running the house, looking after the children (born 1992 and 1994) and doing some writing and journalism.

To return to Vienna as ambassador is a privilege and a pleasure. I hope this blog reflects that.

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