Human Rights in Turkey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Human Rights in Turkey - Essay Example In 2007, there were about 2830 applications lodged against the Republic of Turkey at the ECHR, and consequently, the court handed down 331 judgments on the merits issued confirming 319 contraventions and 9 non-violations (European Commission 4). Turkey remains under the control of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) as per Article 46 of the ECHR. The international human rights laws represent the body of international laws structured to foster and safeguard human rights at domestic, regional, and international levels. The international human rights law comprises of treaties agreements struck between states fashioned at binding legal effect between parties as per the norms in international law (White 71). The republic of Turkey has entered into diverse human rights commitments, some of which remain well elaborated in the Turkish Constitution. Part Two of the Turkish constitution guarantees â€Å"fundamental rights and freedoms† such as right to property, security of person , and right to life. Turkey has ratified several treaties including International Bill of Human Rights, Regional Conventions, Terrorism and Human Rights, Protocol 5-8 of the ECHR, Protocol 9-12 of the ECHR, Protection from Torture, III-Treatment and Disappearance, and Women’s Human Rights (European Commission) (Straw 104). Current situation and conflict in Turkey with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Turkey is home to a considerable Kurdish population comprising of 15% of Turkey’s 73 million people. Close to half of the Kurdish population lives within cities within the western Turkey. The Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan (PKK)/ Kurdish Workers’ Party (established in the late 1970s) has been waging a guerrilla war for Kurdish sovereignty or autonomy within southeastern Turkey since... This essay stresses that Human rights in Turkey are safeguarded by a series of international law treaties that take precedence over domestic legislation as per Article 90 of the constitution. The issue of human rights is of significance for Turkey’s negotiations with the European Union (EU). Acute human rights issues that feature in Turkey’s case entail the status of Kurds within Turkey. The Kurdish-Turkish conflict has yielded to numerous human rights violations over the years. Presently, there is an ongoing debate within Turkey based on guaranteeing fundamental human rights such as freedom of expression, right to life, and protection against torture, as well as freedoms of assembly, religion, and association. Much of the promised constitutional and other legal reforms have not yet taken place. Moreover, thousand of the prosecutions presented under the flawed anti-terrorism have largely failed to pass fair trial standards. This paper makes a conclusion that the violent crackdown by the police to quell the protests through the use of tear gas against peaceful protesters has been accompanied by massive violation of human rights. The use of violence by police on a large scale appears to be fashioned to refuse the right to peaceful protest and encourage others from engaging in peaceful protests. Tear-gassing of the protesters assembled in Taksim Square is unlikely to end the crisis, and if Turkey is to be considered as a rights-respecting country, the police brutality has to end, and the government should engage the protesters.