United Nation Reports

Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment on his mission to Turkey

December 2017 / (21 Pages)

The Secretariat has the honour to transmit to the Human Rights Council the report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, on his mission to Turkey from 27 November to 2 December 2016. During his visit, the Special Rapporteur was given access to locations of deprivation of liberty throughout the country and was able to conduct confidential interviews with detainees of his choosing, for which he expresses his appreciation to the Government of Turkey. Read More

Report on the impact of the state of emergency on human rights in Turkey, including an update on the South-East

March 2018 / (29 Pages)

The present report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) provides an overview of key human rights concerns in Turkey in the period between January and December 2017, with a focus on the consequences of the state of emergency on the enjoyment of human rights. The findings of OHCHR point to a constantly deteriorating human rights situation, exacerbated by the erosion of the rule of law. OHCHR notes with concern that the emergency decrees foster impunity and lack of accountability by affording legal, administrative, criminal and financial immunity to administrative authorities acting within the framework of the decrees. Read More

Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression on his mission to Turkey

June 2017 / (21 Pages)

In the aftermath of the coup attempt, the government declared a state of emergency, announced derogation under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, and adopted a series of decrees, which, it averred, were meant to address the security threats that gave rise to the coup attempt. Those decrees supplemented an already dense network of anti-terrorism laws and proscriptions on expression, such as expression critical of the president and other government officials. Cumulatively, the laws preceding the coup attempt and those that followed give authorities broad and increasingly unreviewable discretion to take measures against the press, writers, universities, jurists, civil servants, human rights defenders and many others. They have established one of the worst environments for freedom of expression in Turkey in decades, if not one that is unprecedented in its modern history. The Special Rapporteur urges the Government to release all those detained in recent years on the basis of their exercise of the right to freedom of expression. Read More

Report of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances on its mission to Turkey

July 2016 / (19 Pages)

Turkey has not come to terms with past-enforced disappearances in all relevant areas, namely truth, justice, reparation, and memory of the victims. There has been no comprehensive policy to address disappearances. Many families do not know the truth about what happened to their loved ones, there has hardly been a single case of criminal responsibility or civil liability for an act of enforced disappearance, there are no reparation programmes independent from the compensation that may be awarded by a court, nor any effective and accessible social or psychological support for families, and there is no public memorial site or symbolic place for the families — and for society as a whole — to remember the victims and pay tribute to them. This lack of measures to address disappearances results from a combination of factors: mainly the lack of clear political will in all spheres to seriously tackle the issue, combined with legal and other obstacles. Read More

Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns

May 2015 / (23 Pages)

During the period under review, killings due to excessive use of force by security officers and killings of members of vulnerable groups persisted. Some measures taken by the State, including a draft law that would increase the powers of the police to use force, appear to take regressive steps. The Government of Turkey has introduced measures in an attempt to reduce domestic violence, but efforts need to be further intensified and properly implemented. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons remain particularly vulnerable to violence and lack protection, in law and in practice. The fight against impunity remains a serious challenge and the effectiveness of investigations and the length of proceedings should be addressed. The effect of the application of the statute of limitations and the lack of fully independent mechanisms for accountability further aggravate the climate of impunity. Read More