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Journals / Public and Private International Law Bulletin / 2024 / Cilt: 44 Sayı: 2

The Right of Meskhetian Turks to Return to Their Country

Ahıska Türklerinin Ülkelerine Geri Dönme Hakkı

Ceren Zeynep Pirim(Galatasaray University, Faculty of Law, Department of Public International Law)0000-0001-6680-6494
Akif Emre Öktem(Galatasaray University, Faculty of Law, Head of the Department of Public International Law)
Pages
433–486
Publication Date
2025-03-01
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

It is proposed that the Human Rights Committee, the supervisory body of the 1966 United Nations Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, would serve as the most effective mechanism for enabling Meskhetian Turks to reclaim their right to return to their homeland.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:Meskhetian Turks were deported from the Meskhetian region of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic in November 1944, following the State Defence Committee of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics’ decision No. 6279 (July 31, 1944).
📊
Key Findings & Data:In 1989, just two years before the collapse of the Soviet Union, a significant number of Meskhetian Turks residing in Uzbekistan’s Fergana region were forcibly relocated by the Soviet administration to various parts of the Soviet Union, resulting in a second wave of deportation.
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Conclusion & Impact:It is proposed that the Human Rights Committee, the supervisory body of the 1966 United Nations Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, would serve as the most effective mechanism for enabling Meskhetian Turks to reclaim their right to return to their homeland.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Ahıska Türkleri · Geri dönme hakkı · Medeni ve Siyasi Haklara İlişkin Uluslararası Sözleşme

Abstract

Meskhetian Turks were deported from the Meskhetian region of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic in November 1944, following the State Defence Committee of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics’ decision No. 6279 (July 31, 1944). In 1989, just two years before the collapse of the Soviet Union, a significant number of Meskhetian Turks residing in Uzbekistan’s Fergana region were forcibly relocated by the Soviet administration to various parts of the Soviet Union, resulting in a second wave of deportation. Today, Meskhetian Turks live not only in the former Soviet territories but also in several States, notably Türkiye and the United States of America. This article explores the legal pathways that could enable Meskhetian Turks, now dispersed globally, to return to their ancestral homeland in the Meskhetian region of present-day Georgia. The first section focuses on the history of the Meskhetian Turks, detailing their deportation and subsequent efforts to return to their country. The second section examines the definition, scope, and nature of the ‘right of return,’ explores whether Meskhetian Turks possess this right under the law of state succession, and studies the legal remedies available to them. It is proposed that the Human Rights Committee, the supervisory body of the 1966 United Nations Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, would serve as the most effective mechanism for enabling Meskhetian Turks to reclaim their right to return to their homeland.

Özet

Ahıska Türkleri, Sovyet Sosyalist Cumhuriyetler Birliği’nin Devlet Savunma Komitesinin 31 Temmuz 1944 tarihli ve 6279 sayılı kararı uyarınca 1944 yılının Kasım ayında Gürcistan Sovyet Sosyalist Cumhuriyeti’nin Ahıska bölgesinden Orta Asya’ya tehcir edilmiştir. 1989 yılında, yani Sovyet Sosyalist Cumhuriyetler Birliği’nin çöküşünden iki yıl önce, Özbekistan’ın Fergana bölgesinde yaşayan önemli sayıdaki Ahıska Türkü, etnik şiddete maruz kalmaları nedeniyle, Sovyet yönetimi tarafından Sovyet Sosyalist Cumhuriyetler Birliği’nin başka bölgelerine tahliye edilmişler ve böylece ikinci bir tehcir daha yaşamışlardır. Ahıska Türkleri, günümüzde, eski Sovyetler Birliği coğrafyasının yanısıra başta Türkiye ve Amerika Birleşik Devletleri olmak üzere çeşitli devletlerde yaşamaktadır. Bu makale dünyanın muhtelif yerine dağılmış Ahıska Türklerinin, anavatanları olan ve günümüzde Gürcistan Devleti sınırları içinde kalan Ahıska bölgesine geri dönme haklarının bulunup bulunmadığını tartışmakta, ülkelerine geri dönmelerine imkân sağlayacak hukukî yolları incelemekte ve değerlendirmektedir. Bu çerçevede, makalenin ilk bölümü Ahıska Türklerinin tarihine, sürgün edilme süreçleri boyunca yaşananlara ve ülkelerine geri dönme çabalarına ayrılmıştır. Çalışmanın ikinci bölümünde ise uluslararası hukuk altında “geri dönme hakkı”nın tanımı, kapsamı ve niteliği incelenmekte, Ahıska Türklerinin halefiyet hukuku altında geri dönme hakkına sahip olup olmadıkları tartışılmakta, bu hakkı kullanabilmek için başvurabilecekleri hukuki yollar üzerinde durulmakta ve bu hukuki yollar içinde en etkili mekanizmanın 1966 tarihli Birleşmiş Milletler Medenî ve Siyâsî Haklar Sözleşmesi’nin denetim organı olan İnsan Hakları Komitesi’ne başvuru mekanizması olduğu tespiti yapılmaktadır.

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Cite This Article

Pirim, C. Z., Öktem, A. E. (2025). The Right of Meskhetian Turks to Return to Their Country. Public and Private International Law Bulletin, Cilt: 44 Sayı: 2, 433–486. https://doi.org/10.26650/ppil.2023.44.2.1494095

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