C. Turkey

Abstract

An amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material was approved by the Council of Ministers with a reservation and published in Resmi Gazete on 24 April. The reservation clause is as follows: It is the understanding of the Republic of Turkey that the term international humanitarian law in paragraph (a) and (b) of Article 2(4) of the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material refers to the legal instruments to which Turkey is already party. The article should not be interpreted as giving a different status to the armed forces and groups other than the armed forces of a state as currently understood and applied in international law and thereby creating new obligations for Turkey. The agreement between the Republic of Turkey and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) Concerning the Granting of the Status of Associate Member at CERN was approved by the Council of Ministers and published in Resmi Gazete on 28 April. It was accepted as a subsequent step of Turkey’s application to become a member state of CERN, which was expressed in 2009, as well as the relevant resolution of the CERN Council of 2010.