“Petitioning the European Parliament for the Protection of Human Rights of the Greeks of Constantinople”

The paper examines the legal basis, procedural framework, and effectiveness of the European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions in addressing issues concerning the protection of human rights and minority rights within the EU, with particular reference to the Greeks of Constantinople. It analyses the right of petition enshrined in Article 227 TFEU and Article 44 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, emphasizing its role as a democratic guarantee enabling individuals and communities to pursue redress within the Union’s structure. Within this framework, the paper delineates individuals entitled to petition the European Parliament concerning violations of property, inheritance, and religious-freedom rights as a result of the 1955 Turkish Pogrom (Septemvriana), the 1964 expulsions, and Turkey’s ongoing violation of the Copenhagen Criteria on minority protection. It also considers European Commission Reports, European Parliament Resolutions, and Parliamentary Questions confirming that these matters fall within the Union’s fields of activity. The paper concludes that the Committee on Petitions provides a political forum for individuals who have experienced displacement, discrimination, and dispossession, such as the Greeks of Constantinople, while simultaneously serving as a safeguard that reinforces the EU’s rights, values, historical memory, and solidarity.