No: 50, 23 February 2016

The Federal Republic of Germany, holding the 2016 Chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the world's largest regional security organization with 57 participating States, has appointed Assoc. Prof. Bülent Şenay as the OSCE Special Representative on Combating Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims.

Turkey effectively contributes to the efforts towards achieving the goal of establishing a security community in the OSCE geography and to the activities of the organization with political-military, economic-environmental and humanitarian dimensions.

Turkey attaches special importance to providing support to the efforts of international organizations in the prevention of tendencies such as intolerance, xenophobia, racism and Islamophobia, which have grown in the context of the current challenges such as regional instability, irregular migration flows and increased terrorist threats.

We welcome the appointment of Assoc. Prof. Bülent Şenay as the Special Representative within the framework of our resolute stance in combating intolerance and discrimination against Muslims.