Turkish ambassador named OSCE special envoy to combat anti-Muslim hatred

A senior Turkish ambassador has been appointed special envoy for combating intolerance and anti-Muslim hatred for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Evren Dagdelen Akgun has been appointed by Malta, which holds the 2024 OSCE chairpersonship, as the “Personal Representative of the Chairpersonship on Combating Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims," said the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Thursday.

The ministry welcomed the appointment of a Turkish national to this role once more, highlighting Türkiye's "active" and "resolute" commitment to combating intolerance and discrimination against Muslims, the statement said.

Akgun, a 30-year veteran of the Turkish foreign service, has served in important posts including Brussels – as envoy to the European Union – as well as in Washington, Uzbekistan, and Thailand.​​​​​​​

"Intolerance and discrimination against Muslims are not new, but manifestations of these phenomena appear to have been on the rise in recent years," the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights has said.

The organisation in 2002 acknowledged the danger of growing public intolerance against Muslims in a Ministerial Council decision that renounced such discrimination. Participating States have since expressed their commitment to combating intolerance against Muslims.