The 60th Human Rights Sessions of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council, which began on September 8 at the UN Office in Geneva and will continue until October 3, are proceeding with discussions on human rights violations around the world. In a written declaration submitted to the sessions, the Movement Against Racism and for Friendship Between Peoples (MRAP) drew attention to unlawful practices in Turkey and underlined the significance of the process initiated by Abdullah Öcalan for the country’s democracy.
Lausanne Treaty lays the foundation of discrimination
The text recalled the final results of Turkey’s second periodic review held in November 2024: “These results reveal that minorities in the country continue to face persecution and are not fully protected against all forms of discrimination. The Committee expressed particular concern about incidents of racist violence against the Kurdish community. During Turkey’s Universal Periodic Review on May 6, the government delegation rejected all allegations concerning minorities in Turkey and emphasized that minorities defined under the Lausanne Peace Treaty (1923) enjoy the same rights as the general population as Turkish citizens. However, the provisions of the 1923 Lausanne Treaty form the historical and legal basis for discrimination against various ethnic minorities, including the Kurdish people, as well as the repression carried out by Turkish authorities.”
War crimes committed
The declaration also recalled the human rights violations during the period of self-administration resistance: “The February 2017 report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) stated that around 1,200 people were killed in incidents between July 2015 and December 2016. OHCHR documented numerous violations, including excessive use of force, killings, enforced disappearances, torture, destruction of homes and cultural heritage, incitement to hate crimes, denial of access to emergency medical care, food, water and livelihoods, violence against women, and severe restrictions on freedom of expression.
The same report noted that 355,000 people were displaced as a result of operations conducted by Turkish security forces in the southeast, and that in Sur alone nearly 35,000 homes were destroyed. To date, Turkish authorities have taken no measures to address the grave human rights violations suffered by the victims.
The repression of the Kurdish people by Turkish authorities goes beyond Turkey’s borders: in the north of the Syrian Arab Republic, the regions of Afrin (Efrîn), Girê Spî (Tel Abyad) and Serêkaniyê (Ras al-Ayn) were fully occupied, displacing around 400,000 Kurds. Homes forcibly abandoned by Kurdish families were allocated to Syrian Arab families brought from refugee camps in Turkey. Some of the serious human rights violations committed by Turkish military forces in the Kurdish region may be considered war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
Racist practices and attacks raise concern
The declaration also drew attention to the recent rise in racist attacks targeting the Kurdish people in Turkey: “In its 2023 report, the Diyarbakır (Amed) Center for Socio-Political Studies highlighted racist attacks against Kurds, Alevis, and refugees, noting that at least 208 racist, exclusionary, and denialist news items were published in the media throughout the year. The report analyzed the discrimination faced by Kurds in stadiums, prisons, and major cities. It also addressed the problem of banning the Kurdish language in Turkish media. Kurdish cultural activities were frequently prohibited, and Kurds who sang and danced to traditional Kurdish music were arrested and punished.
Reports by the Human Rights Association (IHD), the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD), and the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TIHV) similarly documented frequent cases of physical assaults, threats, beatings, strip searches, ill-treatment, racist and discriminatory behavior, death threats, torture, and forced transfers to solitary confinement cells.”
Attacks on freedom of expression continue
The declaration further highlighted assaults on freedom of thought and expression: “Concerns persist over persecution, harassment, threats, and reprisals targeting human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers, Kurdish activists, environmental defenders, opposition political actors, academics, and members of civil society who criticize the government. Although the Constitution formally guarantees freedom of thought and expression, Articles 25–30 of the Constitution and paragraphs 5–6 of the Anti-Terror Law No. 3713 impose restrictions under the pretext of ‘crimes against the state’ and ‘terrorist propaganda.’
The United Nations, international and national civil society organizations, the Council of Europe, and the European Union have repeatedly stressed that Turkey must respect freedom of thought and expression. Since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power, nearly 1,000 journalists have been imprisoned. Pressure on freedom of thought is not limited to the press; members of political parties, parliamentarians, and associations and groups engaged in democratic activities have also been targeted. Posts on social media criticizing the presidency and the state administration are likewise subject to legal prosecution.”
The process is an opportunity for Turkey
In its declaration, the MRAP emphasized that the “Peace and Democratic Society” process led by Abdullah Öcalan represents an opportunity for Turkey’s democratization: “Since December 2024, Turkish authorities have initiated a dialogue with Abdullah Öcalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), who has been held in isolation on Imralı Island since 1999. Öcalan has previously issued statements calling for the dissolution of the PKK and an end to the armed struggle. Turkish authorities must seize this opportunity to put an end to the repression of the Kurdish people in Turkey and neighboring countries.”
Recommendations: establish a legal framework for the process
In its declaration, the MRAP concluded with the following recommendations to the Turkish government:
“-Quickly establish the legal and political framework and timetable for negotiations with Abdullah Öcalan and his associates.
Fully comply with the provisions of treaties to which Turkey is a party and implement the Committee’s recommendations.
Ensure an end to torture in detention centers and open independent and impartial investigations into all allegations of torture and other cruel or inhuman treatment.
Become a party to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and make the declaration provided for in Article 32.
End cross-border operations in northeastern Syrian Arab Republic and northern Iraq and withdraw from these areas.
Accede to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.”