Human Rights Watch (HRW) has raised serious concerns about a recent Turkish government proposal that would criminalise individuals within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, describing it as ‘one of the most alarming rollbacks of rights in decades.’ According to a leaked draft of the 11th Judicial Package, the government plans to amend the Turkish penal and civil codes with provisions targeting LGBTQ+ people. These proposed changes include prison sentences of up to three years for anyone engaging in ‘attitudes or behaviours contrary to biological sex and general morality.’
The draft also seeks to raise the minimum age for gender-affirming medical care from 18 to 25, mandate permanent infertility for such procedures, and impose penalties of up to seven years in prison on healthcare professionals providing gender-affirming treatments. HRW has condemned these measures as profound violations of human dignity that would leave LGBTQ+ individuals in constant fear of arrest and prosecution.
This legislative move by the Turkish government is in line with a broader pattern of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and policies that have marked recent years under the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Reports from HRW’s 2023 World Report on Turkey detail the state’s endorsement of anti-LGBTQ+ hate speech, including multiple public speeches by the interior minister targeting the community. The government has also repeatedly banned Istanbul Pride events, with hundreds of individuals arrested trying to participate. Moreover, the state broadcasting regulator endorsed content describing LGBT people as harmful to families. This socio-political climate has contributed to heightened societal polarisation and discrimination against sexual and gender minorities.
The proposed law faces significant potential legal challenges at the international level. Turkey is a party to numerous international treaties, including the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), both of which guarantee rights to privacy, freedom of expression, and non-discrimination. Jurisprudence from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) offers relevant precedent in this context, notably through the landmark 2017 Bayev and Others v. Russia case. The ECtHR struck down Russia’s ‘gay propaganda’ law, which banned promoting homosexuality among minors, ruling it violated freedom of expression under Article 10 of the ECHR. The court determined that laws embodying a predisposed bias against homosexual minorities are incompatible with fundamental human rights protections. This ruling constitutes a clear benchmark that similar laws, such as those proposed in Turkey, could be successfully challenged as discriminatory and regressive.
Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia Director, Hugh Williamson, has directly called on the Turkish government to withdraw the draft legislation, stressing its incompatibility with international law and the extreme harm it would cause to LGBTQ+ people in the country. He also urged the European Union, Council of Europe, and their member states to employ all available diplomatic and political measures to prevent the law from being adopted. The draft’s provisions, if enacted, would not simply curtail rights but institutionalise state-sanctioned oppression that undermines principles of human dignity and equality under the law.
While the Turkish government has yet to formally respond to the backlash against the draft, the domestic and international human rights communities have united in warning against the devastating impact such legislation would have. The move to criminalise gender identity and sexual orientation represents a sharp escalation in an already oppressive environment for LGBTQ+ individuals in Turkey, leaving many fearful for their safety and future. Should the government proceed, the law is likely to face vigorous legal opposition, drawing on established international human rights standards and the precedent set by the ECtHR.
Source: Noah Wire Services
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