A/HRC/45/13/Add.7 1. The Turkish Government would like to submit its comments in respect of the followup report regarding the visit conducted by the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances to Turkey from 14 to 18 March 2016 and the Government kindly asks the Secretariat to include below mentioned comments as an Addendum to the final report. 2. At the outset, the Government would like to underline that in addition to our contribution to the follow-up report, comments submitted in respect to the advanced version of the report in 2016 are still valid. 3. The Government would like to recall that, in accordance with the Methods of work of the Working Group adopted on 7 February 2014, the follow-up report should be strictly limited to the observations and recommendations formulated in the initial report issued within the scope of the visit. By bringing forward allegations concerning events that occurred after its visit such as the 15 July coup attempt perpetrated by the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) and measures adopted within the scope of the State of Emergency (the SoE) as well as the Operation Peace Spring, the Working Group is manifestly overstepping its mandate. The scope of the follow-up report is expanded so as to write almost a new report solely based on “NGO” contributions. This is unacceptable. The Government would like to emphasize that all actions taken during the aforementioned events are in line with Turkey’s international human rights and humanitarian obligations. 4. Moreover, the Government would like to bring to the Working Group’s attention that some of the “civil society organizations” that have contributed to the follow-up report of the Working Group are FETÖ affiliated persons and entities, deliberately abusing UN mechanisms and asserting false allegations against Turkey. FETÖ is employing the strategy of presenting itself as the victim of human rights violations to hide its own crimes. Its members deliberately try to deceive and manipulate international public opinion by spreading false accusations against Turkey. These include unfounded claims of arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and even enforced disappearances while its members go in hiding at the orders of their leader. In fact, it is FETÖ itself that perpetrated grave human rights violations in Turkey, including cold bloodedly killing innocent civilians thus violating the very fundamental right to life of hundreds of Turkish citizens. So-called “cases of abductions and enforced disappearances” referred to in the follow-up report by FETÖ affiliated persons and entities are in reality situations where they go in hiding or where third countries decided to deport members of FETÖ because they considered them as threats to their national security. The relevant governments decided to revoke residence permits of Turkish nationals and send them back to Turkey because of their membership to a terrorist organization and their unlawful activities causing a threat to their public security. 5. Turkey will continue to expand human rights and freedoms and maintain its longstanding cooperation with international organizations. However, members of FETÖ should not be given the opportunity to abuse UN human rights mechanisms by asserting baseless allegations. 2