§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether Turkey is bound by Article 4 of the Council of Europe Convention on Transfrontier Television; and if so whether they will remind the Government of Turkey of their obligation not to jam transfrontier broadcasts; and
Whether Turkey is bound by Article 10 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms to ensure freedom of reception of transfrontier broadcasts; and what remedies are available if non-compliance can be shown.
§ Lord McIntosh of HaringeyTurkey has ratified both the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the Convention on Transfrontier Television, and thus is bound by the provisions of both conventions. Allegations of violations of the Human Rights Convention, Article 10 of which concerns the right to freedom of expression, are referred to the European Commission of Human Rights. The nature of any remedy, should the violation be upheld, is for whichever of the convention's institutions deals with the complaint.
The procedures for dealing with alleged violations of the Transfrontier Television Convention are set out in Articles 24 and 25 of the Convention. If there were firm evidence of jamming of transfrontier broadcasts of a UK broadcaster by any state party to the convention. then the Government would take appropriate action in accordance with those provisions of the convention.