Human rights in Turkey

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The Republic of Turkey has entered into various human rights commitments--beginning with those of the Turkish Constitution, Part Two of which guarantees "fundamental rights and freedoms" such as the right to life, security of person, and right to property. In addition, Turkey has signed treaties including:

Furthermore, as a country currently in accession negotiations with the European Union, Turkey is obliged to ensure consistency of its laws with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

Nevertheless, Turkey's human rights record has long continued to attract scrutiny, both internally and externally. Violations are often cited in connection with the following areas:

  • Elements of the Turkish military police have been discovered murdering civilian noncombatants as recently as 2005 (when three perpetrators were caught with a list of names of intended victims, all Kurds). The resulting investigation was stymied by the refusal of the military to cooperate. [4]
  • Various restrictions on freedom of speech (e.g., Article 301 of the Turkish Constitution prohibits "denegrating Turkishness") and assembly, as well as arbitrary electoral and parliamentary barriers. Many of these are the result of (right-leaning) military influence on Turkish politics, and originally aimed at containing Communism.
  • Many "secularists" accuse the moderate religious party AKP of advocating an Islamic government, a charge which the AKP denies. Meanwhile, many observant Muslims complain that their religious freedom (e.g., to dress religiously), has been unfairly restricted by secularists.
  • Ethnic and religious minorities (such as the Kurds and Alevi, respectively) complain of violations of religious, cultural, and political rights arising from a widespread insistence that Turkey is a cultural as well as political unity. The issue of the Armenian genocide controversy, left over from the Ottoman era, complicates Turkey's external relations but also impacts the freedom-of-speech issue.
  • Various violations of women's rights (such as virginity tests [5] for women entering university) have been phased out, but many remain. Often the situation "on the ground" (particularly in rural areas) does not reflect that which is prescribed by law.
  • By some accounts, Turkey has the second largest population of internally displaced persons in the world, whose plight has attracted international concern. [6]

In 2005, there were 2302 applications lodged against the Republic of Turkey before the European Court of Human Rights and consequently 290 judgments on the merits have been issued affirming 270 violations and 9 non-violations.[7]

Contents

[edit] Individual rights

[edit] Right to life

There have been no applications of the capital punishment in Turkey since 1984 and the practice was formally abolished for offences during peacetime in 2002, and for offences during wartime in 2004.[8]

[edit] Gender equality

In the 1930s, Turkey became one of the first countries in the world to give full political rights to women, including the right to elect (in 1930) and to be elected (in 1934), to every political office.

Article 10 of the Turkish Constitution bans any discrimination, state or private, on the grounds of sex. Turkey was one of the first countries to elect a female prime minister, Tansu Çiller in 1995. It is also the first country which had a woman as the President of its Constitutional Court, Tülay Tuğcu. In addition, Turkish Council of State, the court of last resort for administrative cases, also has a woman judge Sumru Çörtoğlu as its President. Since 1985, Turkish women have the right to freely exercise abortions in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy and the right to contraceptive medicine paid for by the Social Security. This is in contrast with the policies of certain EU countries, such as Poland and Ireland, that ban abortion and deny the right to contraception to women. Modifications to the Civil Code in 1926 gave the right to women to initiate and obtain a divorce, a right still not recognized in Malta,[9] an EU country.

Nevertheless, in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia regions, older attitudes prevail among the local Kurdish, Turkish and Arab populations, where women still face domestic violence, forced marriages, and so-called honor killings.[10] To combat this, the government and various other foundations are engaged in education campaigns in Southeastern Anatolia to improve the rate of literacy and education levels of women.[11]

Recently, critics have pointed out that Turkey has become a major market for foreign women who are coaxed and forcibly brought to the country by international mafia to work as sex slaves, especially in big and touristic cities.[12]

[edit] Freedom of expression and freedom of the press

See also: Censorship in Turkey and Article 301

Article 26 of the Constitution guarantees freedom of expression. There have been particular concerns over the restrictions on the publication and diffusion of material relating primarily to highly sensitive political subjects. According to the International PEN, roughly 60 writers, publishers and journalists have had charges brought against them under the 301st Article of the Turkish Penal Code that states: "A person who publicly insults Turkishness, the Republic or the Turkish Grand National Assembly, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term of six months to three years." It also states that "Expressions of thought intended to criticize shall not constitute a crime". Even though certain high-profile cases (such as Orhan Pamuk or Elif Şafak, both about assertions related to theArmenian Genocide, an event that is disputed by Turkey) have ended in acquittals, the outcome of other cases are unclear. Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was convicted under Article 301 and given a suspended 6-month sentence, shortly before being assassinated on January 19, 2007.

Articles 27 and 28 of the Constitution guarantee the "freedom of expression" and "unhindered dissemination of thought". Alinea 2 of Article 27 affirms that "the right to disseminate shall not be exercised for the purpose of changing the provisions of Articles 1, 2 and 3 of [the] Constitution", articles in question referring to the unitary, secular, democratic and republican nature of the state.

Since the liberalization of the audiovisual market in 1991, Turkey has developed an extremely vibrant and dynamic media. There are thousands of newspapers, TV channels and radio stations in the country, and they are guaranteed freedom in their editorial decisions by the constitution. The state-owned TRT has been broadcasting short programmes in a number of minority languages, including Bosnian and Kurdish, since 2003. For the Kurdish language programmes, this is rather symbolic in terms of the number of minutes of programmes per week.[citation needed] Independent observers note that even though the non-Turkish media enjoys the same freedom as their Turkish counterparts, this is not true for media in Kurdish.[citation needed]

Press freedom groups have raised concerns over the use of criminal defamation laws to punish those who criticise authorities.[13][14]

[edit] Freedom of religion

Main article: Freedom of religion in Turkey

Although its population is overwhelmingly Muslim, Turkey is a secular country per Article 3 of its constitution, and thus has no official religion. Secularism in Turkey originates from Atatürk's 'Six Arrows' of Republicanism, Populism, Laïcité, Reformism, Nationalism, and Statism.

Article 24 of the Turkish Constitution guarantees all residents of Turkey the right to adhere to any religion or philosophical belief, with some exceptions made for their expression in public spaces. The Constitutional Court has interpreted secularism in a way that doesn't allow for a person to wear religious symbols (e.g. a head scarf or a cross) in governmental and public institutions, and particularly while attending public schools and state universities. Nevertheless, in its decision on November 10, 2005, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights ruled that such a ban was "legitimate" to prevent the influence of religion in state affairs.[15]

Conforming with the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court and the Council of State on secularism, faith-based schools are banned and all schools must follow a secular curriculum. Religious education may only be given by appointed teachers who have studied at Turkey's secular universities. In practice, only Sunni theology is taught.

There is a de-facto domination of Sunni school of Islam within Turkish society, despite the protections offered by formal secularism. Sunni imams are nominated and paid by the state directorate of religious affairs. The Alevis pray in Cemevis, but the government funds only the building of mosques. Even though there have been attempts to expand state religious funding to Alevis, they are not considered a different Muslim school, but as part of the Sunni branch.

The situation of the non-Muslim minorities has also been open to criticism. The government doesn't nominate, nor pay for, any non-Muslim religious leaders. Turkey has been criticized by Greece, the European Union and several human rights NGOs for its refusal to recognize the Ecumenical title of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch in Istanbul and the closing of the Greek Orthodox theological school in Heybeliada (Halki), Istanbul in 1970s.

[edit] Gay rights

Main article: Gay rights in Turkey

Homosexual sexual relationships between consenting adults in private is not a crime in Turkey. The age of consent for both heterosexual and homosexual sex is eighteen. On the other hand, the criminal code has vaguely worded prohibitions on "public exhibitionism" and "offenses against public morality" that are sometimes used to discriminate against the LGBT community. As of 2006, Turkey neither has a law permitting homosexuals to get married, nor does it have a law against the discrimination of Turkey's LGBT community.

Homosexuals have the right to exemption from military service, if they so request, only if their "condition" is verified by medical and psychological tests, which often involves presenting humiliating, belittling graphic proof of homosexuality, and anal examination.[16]

[edit] Disabled citizens

In recent years, the Turkish parliament has approved certain major laws to fight against and end discrimination against the disabled. However, this has not shown the desired effects on the ground because of a lack of economic resources and the absence of awareness programs.

In one particular case, Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI), an advocacy group for people with mental disabilities, has criticized the treatment of the mentally ill in a report called "Behind Closed Doors: Human Rights Abuses in the Psychiatric Facilities, Orphanages and Rehabilitation Centers of Turkey".[17] As a result of this criticism, Turkey's largest psychiatric hospital, the Bakırköy state hospital in Istanbul, has announced that it has abolished the use of "unmodified" ECT procedures.[18]

[edit] Conscientious objectors

The issue of conscientious objectors is highly controversial in the country. Turkey and Azerbaijan are the only members of the Council of Europe that refuse to recognize the right to conscientious objection. In January 2006, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Turkey had violated Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights that prohibits degrading treatment in a case dealing with conscientious objection.[19] Another conscientious objector, Mehmet Tarhan, was sentenced to four years in prison by a military court in 2005 for refusing to do his military service, but he was later released in March 2006. In a related case, journalist Perihan Mağden was tried by a Turkish court for supporting Tarhan and advocating conscientious objection as a human right; but she was acquitted.

[edit] Group rights

[edit] Ethnic groups

Turkish society contains elements from every ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire. Some Turks are descended from non-Turkic Ottoman ethnic groups who adopted a Turkish identity and some of them also see themselves as still belonging to one of those minority groups, often as a sub-group within the main Turkish society.

According to Article 66 of the Turkish Constitution, "everyone bound to the Turkish state through the bond of citizenship is a Turk". The Constitution affirms the principle of the indivisibility of the Turkish Nation and of constitutional citizenship that is not based on ethnicity. Consequently, Turkish refers to all citizens of Turkey. It considers that since all Turkish citizens have the same rights and benefits of citizenship, there is no such nomenclature as minority in Turkey. Although the Treaty of Lausanne, before the proclamation of the Republic, guarantees some rights to non-Muslim minorities, in practise Turkey has recognised only Armenians, Greeks and Jews as minorities and excluded other non-Muslim groups, such as Assyrians and Yazidis, from the minority status and these rights.[20] Advocacy for protection of minorities' rights can lead to legal prosecutions as a number of provisions in Turkish law prohibits creation of minorities or alleging existence of minorites, such as Article 81 of the Law on Political Parties.

Until recent reforms, there were many legal restrictions on publishing in languages other than the only official one, Turkish, and publications in minority languages were not allowed. Since then, minorities have the right to publish and diffuse media, such as newspapers or audiovisual channels, in their own languages and operate private courses that teach any language spoken in Turkey. Turkish is still the only language that can be used in schools and universities as a first language. As concerns the Kurdish language, all such courses were closed down in 2004 by the owners. It must be noted, however, that those courses were shut down because of a grave lack of attendance and interest, and thus making the observers wonder the true extent of the demand for a separate Kurdish ethnic identity, rather than a Turkish one. Many buildings were rented for such courses by activists "in anticipation of a flood of students that never came." Kurdish language activists counter that the desire to learn Kurdish is there, but it must be taught in public schools.[21]

There have been certain calls by certain NGOs that Turkey should adopt the definitions of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. If Turkey were to become a signatory to this treaty, it would have to accept and subsidise the education of minorities in their own first languages, and that for at least all the period of mandatory education. However, it must be noted that, even France, a founding member of the European Union, has refused to apply this treaty within its territory following a ruling by its own Constitutional Court that has affirmed that doing so would be contrary to the principle of the indivisibility of the Republic and the nation affirmed in the First Article of the French Constitution. In addition to France, many other EU countries, namely Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland and Portugal have also refused to ratify this treaty. To this day only 21 member states of the Council of Europe out of 49 have proceeded with ratification.[22]

[edit] Kurdish people

For more details on this topic, see Human rights of Kurdish people in Turkey.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Turkey displaced a large number of its citizens in Southeastern Anatolia from rural areas, allegedly to protect them from guerilla violence of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)[citations needed], that is considered as a terrorist organization by the US, the European Union and many other states. Turkey has claimed that the actions of the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) included burning of 'deserted' villages in order for the PKK not to use them as outposts or hiding places.

Clashes between Turkish and PKK militants have resulted in some 30,000 casualties according a report by the United States Department of State titled "Terrorist Group Profiles". Estimates suggest that 3 million people remain internally displaced and unable to return to their villages.[citation needed]

It has been claimed that the scale and importance of those bombings and of the displacements of civil population were out of proportion for a state's peaceful policy towards its citizens[citation needed]. In several of its rulings, the European Court of Human Rights has condemned Turkey of human rights violations against its citizens of Kurdish origin.[citation needed]

Certain academics have tried to understand how successive Turkish governments have applied the program against PKK, aimed at their [[cultural rights][citation needed]. However, a minority view among historians, and is not endorsed by any nation or major organisation. Desmond Fernandes, a Senior Lecturer at De Montfort University, breaks down the policy of the Turkish authorities into the following categories:[citation needed]

[edit] Workers' rights

The Constitution affirms the right of workers to form labor unions "without obtaining permission" and "to possess the right to become a member of a union and to freely withdraw from membership" (Article 51). Articles 53 and 54 affirm the right of workers to bargain collectively and to strike, respectively. However, rates of membership in labor unions are quite low, due to the fact that Turkish economy still experiences difficulties with corruption and massive numbers of workers not declared to the Social Security.

Turkey has had a standard state-run pensions system based on European models since the 1930s. Furthermore, since 1996, Turkey has a state-run unemployment insurance system, obligatory for all declared workers.

[edit] International criticism

Turkey has been criticized by a number of international human rights NGOs for its violations of certain rights of its citizens.[23] The European Union has been the biggest critic of Turkey's human rights record and this has hindered Turkey's accession process to join the EU. The European Court of Human Rights has also issued many rulings highly critical of Turkey's human rights record and other NGOs, such as the Amnesty International and the Human Rights Watch, have also been critical of Turkey.[24]

The current AKP-led government has tried on certain occasions, but failed, to strengthen legal provisions that are more restrictive, such as making adultery a criminal offence that is in line with orthodox Islamic teaching. Proponents of the proposal however, claimed that the law in question would have prevented the practice of polygamy, which can still be encountered in remote rural areas[citation needed]. In any case, in the light of the recent jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court that had struck down a similar provision for being unconstitutional in 1992, all jurists agree that it would have done so again, even if it were to become law.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/0/e00415d0170ee8a5c1256b3a0051eb22/$FILE/G0144925.pdf Report of State Party - Turkey by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights, 2001 - See section 84
  2. ^ http://www.coe.int/T/E/Com/About_Coe/Member_states/e_tu.asp#TopOfPage Ratification of ECHR by Turkey on 18 May 1954
  3. ^ http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/0/e00415d0170ee8a5c1256b3a0051eb22/$FILE/G0144925.pdf Report of State Party - Turkey by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights, 2001 - See section 86
  4. ^ In Turkey's Kurdish southeast, pock-marked hope | csmonitor.com
  5. ^ WLUML: Calls for Action
  6. ^ U.S. Committee for Refugees, World Refugee Survey 1998, p.9.
  7. ^ http://www.coe.int/T/E/Com/About_Coe/Member_states/e_tu.asp#TopOfPage Cases against Turkey before the ECHR in 2005
  8. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3384667.stm Abolishment of the capital punishment in Turkey, 2002 for peacetime offences, 2004 for wartime offences
  9. ^ John Paul's people: Malta | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited
  10. ^ http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-honor9jan09,1,3502531.story?coll=la-headlines-world
  11. ^ "Turkish girls in literacy battle", British Broadcasting Corporation, 2004-10-18. Retrieved on 2006-12-11. 
  12. ^ Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery - Turkey
  13. ^ http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=10265&Valider=OK Reporters without Borders - Turkey - 2004 Annual report
  14. ^ http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=13732&Valider=OK Reporters without Borders - Turkey - 2005 Annual report
  15. ^ http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?item=1&portal=hbkm&action=html&highlight=Leyla%20%7C%20%u015Eahin&sessionid=9593217&skin=hudoc-en The Leyla Şahin v. Turkey Case Before the European Court of Human Rights
  16. ^ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Directorate for Movements of Persons, Migration and Consular Affairs - Asylum and Migration Division (July 2001). Turkey/Military service (PDF). UNHCR. Retrieved on 2006-12-27.
  17. ^ European Union Calls on Turkey to Improve Rights of People with Mental Disabilities
  18. ^ http://www.mdri.org/PR/033106_MDRIPR.pdf
  19. ^ http://www.echr.coe.int/Eng/Press/2006/Jan/Chamberjudgment%C3%9ClkevTurkey240106.htm "Chamber Judgement Ulke vs. Turkey", Accessed June 7, 2006
  20. ^ Nurcan Kaya and Clive Baldwin, Minorities in Turkey: Submission to the European Union and the Government of Turkey, July 2004, Minority Rights Group International
  21. ^ Turkey's Kurdish-language schools fold, The Christian Science Monitor
  22. ^ http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/ChercheSig.asp?NT=148&CM=3&DF=10/11/2006&CL=ENG Ratifications of European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages by the members of the Council of Europe
  23. ^ Turkey, Human Rights and the International Law
  24. ^ TIME Europe | Turkey: Human Rights Leave Chopper Deal in a Spin | 5/22/2000

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