The UN special rapporteur on violence against women on Wednesday July 27 in Ankara urged the Turkish government to reconsider its decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, an international treaty that protects women.
“
I deeply regret that Turkey has left the Istanbul Convention.
(...) I really urge the Turkish government to reconsider this decision
”, affirmed Reem Alsalem while presenting his preliminary conclusions of a report on the situation of women's rights in Turkey.
The UN rapporteur also sounded the alarm on the risks of regression of women's rights in Turkey.
"
Turkey has made important reforms to prevent violence, but they remain insufficient
," she said.
“Huge disappointment”
According to Reem Alsalem, Turkish women are seeing setbacks in many areas even though these rights exist on paper, such as more difficult access to abortion and sexual health.
Feminist NGOs, for example, have been prosecuted for “
immoral activity
”.
According to the rapporteur, the withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention has weakened the enforcement of existing laws, encouraging violent men and putting women at greater risk.
Turkey's Council of State last week confirmed Turkey's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, the first international treaty to set legally binding standards to prevent violence against women.
Demonstrations bringing together thousands of people had broken out at the announcement of the abandonment of the treaty in March 2021, which had also earned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan strong criticism from Europe.
Read alsoThe condition of Turkish women is deteriorating
The Turkish government had justified its decision by accusing him of encouraging homosexuality and threatening the traditional family structure.
The UN rapporteur was attending a meeting with Turkish feminist NGOs when she learned of the decision of the Council of State on July 19.
“
I witnessed their immense disappointment.
I was very disappointed myself
,” she told AFP.
According to the “
We Will Stop Feminicide
” platform, 236 women have been killed since the beginning of this year in Turkey, the majority of them by family members.
The tally of victims of femicide last year stood at 423.