Webinar on conscientious objection to military service in Turkey

Update, the webinar has been moved to Saturday 21st November at 3pm CET

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Sat 21st NOV 2020 - 15:00

Date and time: November 21, 2020, 3pm CET

Conscientious Objection to Military Service in Turkey

This autumn the Conscientious Objection Association (Vicdani Ret Derneği) in Istanbul has launched a new project. The association would like to start a campaign and lobby work to gather international support for pushing the human right to conscientious objection in Turkey. The project also includes research and documentation of the particularly difficult situation of draft evaders and conscientious objectors (COs).

In Turkey, the right to conscientious objection is not recognised and COs face a lifetime persecution, with repeated charges. Alongside hundreds of thousands of draft evaders, conscientious objectors face “civil death”, which means they cannot work legally with social security, travel freely, vote in elections or stand for an office, as well as being charged with multiple fines for not attending the military. In other words, they are robbed off their civil rights. The situation hasn’t changed despite multiple decisions by the European Court for Human Rights prosecuting Turkey for its treatment of COs.

We invite you to participate in a webinar where we will discuss:

• The general situation of conscientious objectors in Turkey today,

• The project of the Conscientious Objection Association,

• How to develop and strengthen the campaign for COs.

Please register here (no later than 5th November): https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2020/registration-form-conscientious-objec…

This webinar is organised by Connection e.V., War Resisters’ International, Vicdani Ret Derneği, European Bureau for Conscientious Objection, International Fellowship of Reconciliation

Expressing Concern for Human Rights in Turkey

On September 14, during the 33 Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, IFOR's Main Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Derek Brett, expressed concern for the situation of Human Rights in Turkey. In his statement, Brett noted that:

"Even before the massive detentions and new restrictions on the freedom of movement, assembly and expression which followed the attempted military coup, we were deeply concerned about the deteriorating human rights situation in the country, and disturbed by the lack of attention which it has received in this Council. Our contacts on the ground report ongoing breaches of International Humanitarian Law and widespread human rights violations, particularly in the south-east of the country, including the targeting of civilians in military operations, extrajudicial executions, the demolition of towns and villages, leading to massive displacement, and the torture and long term detention of civilians, particularly in prisons in the cities of Urfa and Siverek." 

IFOR called on the Turkish authorities to heed the repeated appeal for unfettered access to the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the staff of his office, particularly to the South – East of Turkey.

IFOR also hosted a side event for diplomats and others featuring Peri Hevi, a journalist who spoke about the human rights situation in Turkey after the election of June 2015 and Ramazan Baytar, independent activist who spoke about the coup attempt and the aftermath.

IFOR maintains contact with many human rights activists in Turkey, particularly conscientious objectors. Derek Brett spoke about the situation facing conscientious objectors during the side event hosted by IFOR.