Human Rights in Turkey Imperfect or non-existent? PTPI Conference series: Human rights in EE, Caucasus and Asia. Yana Popkostova April, 2007

Overview: Facts 1949: The Republic of Turkey was one of the first nations to ratify the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 1954: European Convention on Human Rights 1987: European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Punishment.

Overview: Reality In 2005: 2302 applications lodged against the Republic of Turkey before the European Court of Human Rights for acute abuse of freedom of expression, gender equality, and disrespect of minorities.

Human rights Individual Rights 1. Right to life 2. Gender equality 3. Freedom of expression 4. Freedom of the press 5. Freedom of religion 6. Disabled citizens Group rights Minority rights - religion - language - ethnicity

Individual rights in Turkey Right to Life - capital punishment - use of lethal force - torture and ill treatment at police stations

Individual rights in Turkey Gender Equality 1926: Turkish women are granted the rights to initiate divorce 1930s: Turkey grants full suffrage rights to women 1985: Turkish women are granted the right to do abortion and the right to contraceptive medicine paid by the SS

BUT… Southeast Anatolia - domestic violence - forced marriages - honor killings

Individual rights in Turkey Freedom of expression & Freedom of the press "A person who publicly insults being a Turk, the Republic or the Turkish Grand National Assembly, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term of six months to three years." Turkish penal code, art.301

Individual rights in Turkey Freedom of religion Art.3 Turkish Constitution “…the Republic of Turkey is a secular state without an official religion”

BUT… - Ban on religious symbols / head scarf, cross, etc./ - Ban on religious education - Heavy subsidization only of mosques and Islam religious communities!

Individual rights in Turkey Disabled citizens Complete abandonment… UsLLC8c

Group rights in Turkey Ethnic minorities According to the Article 66 of the Turkish Constitution, "everyone bound to the Turkish state through the bond of citizenship is a Turk". It considers that since all Turkish citizens have the same rights and benefits of citizenship, there is no such nomenclature as minority in Turkey, except for the three minorities recognized by the Treaty of Lausanne signed before the proclamation of the Republic: Greek, Armenian and Jewish minorities.

Group rights Kurdish minority s-1990s – displacement of 3 mln. Kurdish citizens - up till 2003 prohibition of Kurdish language in official sites - no rehabilitation of the destroyed n the 1990s Kurdish villages

Where are we going? International criticism EU – Accession negotiations – fostering respect for human rights ECHR – issued approximately 200 judgments against Turkey for torture, unfair trial, violations of free expression, extrajudicial execution, and other violations. Amnesty international Human rights watch UN - “great concern” about the fact that the new legislative safeguards against torture and arbitrary detention introduced in 2005 did not apply to individuals held on suspicion of terrorism related crimes, creating “in practice two criminal justice systems in Turkey.” UN – suicides among women

Where are we going?... The government of Prime Minister Recep Erdoğan failed during 2006 to implement key reforms necessary to consolidate the human rights progress of the past years. Entrenched state forces, including the military, continued to resist reform. Illegal armed groups, as well as rogue elements of the security forces, conducted violent attacks that threaten the reform process.

What the region needs? Human rights through peace and understanding! RaVYJh48

Thank you!