Monitoring and ReportingSubmissionsUN Submissions
Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee
On 16 September 2024, we submitted a detailed report to the United Nations Human Rights Committee (the Committee) ahead of its 142nd session, in relation to Türkiye’s second periodic report focusing on Türkiye’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The submission highlights critical issues related to freedom of religion or belief, minority rights, hate crimes, and more.
The submission focused on the following key areas and recommendations:
- Article 27 and minority rights: The submission urges Türkiye to withdraw its reservation to Article 27 of the ICCPR, emphasizing the need for enhanced protection of ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities, including public funding for minority schools.
- Hate crimes: The Committee is urged to recommend reforms to combat hate crimes in Türkiye, including comprehensive legislation aligned with international standards and improved data collection on such crimes.
- Conscientious objection: Türkiye’s failure to recognize conscientious objection to military service and its wide-ranging human rights implications for conscientious objectors remain a critical issue. The submission calls for legislative reforms to recognize conscientious objection to military service.
- Challenges to acquiring place of worship status: Alevis, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Protestant communities face systematic obstacles to acquire place of worship status, leaving them vulnerable to administrative interference and closure. The Committee should urge Turkish authorities to establish a non-discriminatory process through legislative and administrative reforms for the recognition of places of worship.
- Associative rights of non-Muslim community foundations: The submission documents shortcomings in Türkiye’s new regulation on the elections of minority foundations. The Committee is urged to ask Turkish authorities to remove legal obstacles to the freedom of association, grant legal personality to minority groups and implement measures that will guarantee de facto equality.
- Compulsory Religious Culture and Ethics (RCE) course: The RCE course which includes Islamic religious instruction, in Türkiye constitutes substantial interference in the protection of freedom of religion or belief. The submission calls for a non-discriminatory exemption mechanism that does not require students or parents to disclose their religion or belief and revision of the RCE course approach and content to bring it in line with international human rights law standards.
- Travel bans and deportations of non-Turkish Protestants: The submission documents the travel bans and deportations of non-Turkish Protestants, which have affected around 250 individuals since 2019. The Committee is urged to ask Türkiye to end these discriminatory practices and review unjustified entry bans under international human rights law.
