Urgent appeal to Council of Europe against withdrawal from İstanbul Convention

"İstanbul Convention saves lives" (by Zeynep Kuray)

Click to read the article in Turkish

Women's Platform for Equality (EŞİK), an umbrella organization of over 340 women's and LGBTI+ organizations, has appealed to the Council of Europe against Turkey's withdrawal from the İstanbul Convention.

"The withdrawal of Turkey from İstanbul Convention by a decision of the President contradicts the legal framework of the Republic of Turkey and violates the Constitution," the urgent appeal has read, briefly adding:

'There is no public support'

"As the Decision of the President did not offer any basis for the 'withdrawal', originally the reasons of such a Decision were not known to the public.

"The justification was provided later, on 21st March, by the Directorate of Communications of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey. The statement claimed that 'the Convention, originally intended to promote women's rights, was hijacked by a group of people attempting to normalize homosexuality – which is incompatible with Turkey's social and family values.'

"This was not surprising for the women's and LGBTI+ movements in Turkey, as similar statements have continuously been made in the past few years by some government representatives.

"In fact, contrary to this claim, the decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention lacks public support. According to the Metropoll Strategic and Social Research Center's survey, 'Turkey's Pulse,' conducted in July 2020, 64% of respondents disapprove of withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention, 19% express no opinion, and only 17% express clear support. A month later, the latter figure declined to 7%, largely due to the awareness-raising campaigns led by the women's movement.

'A crucial, historical defining point'

"As pointed out in EŞİK's statement, this act could pave the way for Turkey's renunciation of other critical conventions, such as the Lanzarote Convention, CEDAW, or even the European Convention on Human Rights, and consequently the fundamental human rights protected by these instruments.

"Indeed, the same small but politically effective circles that have been instrumental in this Decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, have also been advocating against the Lanzarote Convention and CEDAW. Clearly, such action would not only be a devastating blow to the rule of law, and the future of democracy in Turkey but it could also have a serious negative impact, on member states' allegiance to the foundational principles of the Council of Europe and the international human rights regime.

"Withdrawals from multilateral international conventions must follow the national legal procedures and processes that were followed when signing and ratifying those conventions. Thus, Turkey's action may be without precedent: a state withdrawing unilaterally from an international treaty that concerns fundamental human rights, in clear violation of its own Constitution.

"Furthermore, based on consultations with prominent international law professors, the provisions foreseen in Part V of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, which make it difficult for any state to unilaterally renounce vital international human rights treaties such as the Istanbul Convention, could be invoked.

"We are disappointed to see that the Council of Europe accepted the withdrawal notification of Turkey without investigating into the legality of this Decision, which was done without the approval of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. We urge the Council of Europe, to look into the process and to investigate the legality of this act, as well as its implications regarding international law." (EMK/SD)

* Click here for the full appeal