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Turkey
Women hold a banner with the picture of Deniz Poyraz, killed in an attack at HDP's Izmir headquarters, during a rally against Turkey's withdrawal from Istanbul Convention in Istanbul, on June 19, 2021. Photo: Bulent Kilic/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Turkey formally withdrew from an international treaty to prevent and combat violence against women on Thursday, three months after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his intention to quit the landmark agreement. The move drew criticism from a pro-Kurdish opposition party and international rights monitors.
Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention has been published in the Official Gazette, reported local media Mezopotamya Agency.
The 2011 Istanbul Convention, signed by 45 countries and the European Union, requires governments to adopt legislation prosecuting domestic violence and gender-based abuse as well as marital rape and female genital mutilation.
"Turkey's shameful withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention today will put millions of women and girls at greater risk of violence," Amnesty International said on Wednesday.
Conservatives within Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party pushed for the withdrawal, claiming the convention damaged family unity, promoted divorce and acceptance of the LGBT community.
The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) called the decision illegal, noting widespread protests against leaving the treaty.
“Thousands of women have been on the streets against the decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention," a decision that was made “unlawfully and with the signature of one man,” HDP’s Ankara deputy Filiz Kerestecioglu said in a press conference on Wednesday.
"Facing the seizure of their basic right, the women all together say 'the Istanbul Convention will stay alive,'" she added.
A Turkish monitoring group, the We Will Stop Femicide Platform, reported 17 femicides and 20 suspicious deaths of women in the month of May.
Ankara announced its intention to withdraw from the convention with a presidential decree in March that drew international condemnation from the United Nations, women’s rights activists, and world leaders, including US President Joe Biden.
Officials from top European human rights bodies have also spoken out against the departure.
"This move is a huge setback to these efforts and all the more deplorable because it compromises the protection of women in Turkey, across Europe and beyond," said Marija Pejcinovic Buric, secretary-general of the Council of Europe.
Turkey is the first and only country in the Council of Europe to have withdrawn from an international human rights convention. Thirty-four of the 47 Council of Europe countries have signed and ratified the Istanbul Convention, according to Amnesty.
Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention has been published in the Official Gazette, reported local media Mezopotamya Agency.
The 2011 Istanbul Convention, signed by 45 countries and the European Union, requires governments to adopt legislation prosecuting domestic violence and gender-based abuse as well as marital rape and female genital mutilation.
"Turkey's shameful withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention today will put millions of women and girls at greater risk of violence," Amnesty International said on Wednesday.
Conservatives within Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party pushed for the withdrawal, claiming the convention damaged family unity, promoted divorce and acceptance of the LGBT community.
The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) called the decision illegal, noting widespread protests against leaving the treaty.
“Thousands of women have been on the streets against the decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention," a decision that was made “unlawfully and with the signature of one man,” HDP’s Ankara deputy Filiz Kerestecioglu said in a press conference on Wednesday.
"Facing the seizure of their basic right, the women all together say 'the Istanbul Convention will stay alive,'" she added.
A Turkish monitoring group, the We Will Stop Femicide Platform, reported 17 femicides and 20 suspicious deaths of women in the month of May.
Ankara announced its intention to withdraw from the convention with a presidential decree in March that drew international condemnation from the United Nations, women’s rights activists, and world leaders, including US President Joe Biden.
Officials from top European human rights bodies have also spoken out against the departure.
"This move is a huge setback to these efforts and all the more deplorable because it compromises the protection of women in Turkey, across Europe and beyond," said Marija Pejcinovic Buric, secretary-general of the Council of Europe.
Turkey is the first and only country in the Council of Europe to have withdrawn from an international human rights convention. Thirty-four of the 47 Council of Europe countries have signed and ratified the Istanbul Convention, according to Amnesty.
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