International Mechanism Submissions

This report addresses Türkiye’s compliance with its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) with respect to restrictions to women’s right to freedom of expression, association, equality under marriage, support as migrants, and reproductive care. The information in this report was compiled from a review of current laws and policies, along with materials, reports, and analyses produced by the authors, as well as international, regional, and domestic governmental and non-governmental organizations. This report makes a number of recommendations that the State Party should adopt to be in better compliance with the Convention.

These recommendations include:

(1) refraining from the persecution, intimidation, harassment or imprisonment of civil society representatives who peacefully exercise, among other rights, their freedom of expression, (2) amending Article 187 of Türkiye’s Civil Code to ensure that all women can exercise their freedom to keep their maiden name without any substantive or procedural errors, (3) adhering to international non-refoulment standards and domestic laws regarding deportation appeals (4) ensuring migrant women are treated equally to Turkish women when seeking help from domestic violence shelters, and (5) ensure the right of every woman and girl to have full control over matters related to their reproductive health, including eliminating all legal barriers to accessing abortion services.