Today we are inaugurating an important symposium organised jointly by the Istanbul Bar Association and Amnesty International. It is a meaningful coincidence that this symposium, which is held on the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is organised at the same time that we are celebrating the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Turkish Republic. I trust this symposium to evaluate these two important occasions in the best way possible. Various issues pertaining to human rights shall be presented and discussed by academics, experts, representatives of non-governmental organisations and defenders of human rights.