Warsaw (AINA) — The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) held its annual conference from September 20 to 21 in Warsaw, Poland. Europe’s largest annual human rights and democracy conference, it is organized every year by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) as a platform for the 57 OSCE participating States, civil society, international organizations and other relevant actors.

Uzay Bulut, a writer for Gatestone Institute, also joined the conference, addressing diverse issues such as the Assyrian plight in Turkey and the Yazidi persecution in Turkey and the rest of the Middle East.

Assyrians

In her presentation on Assyrians, Ms. Bulut called attention to the Turkish genocide of Assyrians between 1915 and 1918, which claimed the lives of 750,000 Assyrians (75%) and the continuing denial of civil rights for Assyrians in Turkey to this day. Examples included illegal seizures of Assyrian lands and forced conversions to Islam through rape and forced marriage.

Yazidis

In her presentation on Yazidis, Ms. Bulut called attention to the ISIS invasion of Sinjar, Iraq in 2014 and the subsequent genocide against Yazidis and Assyrians, where “hundreds of defenseless Yazidi men and elderly women were murdered.” Ms. Bulut called attention to Turkey’s failure to grant migrant rights to Yazidis.