Euromed Rights Search

Turkey withdraws from the Istanbul Convention

20 Mar 2021

20 March 2021: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a presidential decree withdrawing Turkey from the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women. The Directorate of Communications of the Presidency declared in a statement on 22 March that the Convention “was hijacked by a group of people attempting to normalise homosexuality.” The withdrawal officially took place on 1 July.

See Politico, March 2021 and Turkish Presidency Directorate of Communications, March 2021.

Counter-response

#IstanbulConventionSavesLives
Open Letter from the European Coalition to End Violence Against Women and Girls
EuroMed Rights’ publication “Turkey: The Long Way Back to the Istanbul Convention”