Turkey came under heavy scrutiny during the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review on Tuesday, as dozens of countries raised concerns over the erosion of judicial independence, shrinking civil space and restrictions on free speech.
The Universal Periodic Review is a peer-review mechanism under the United Nations Human Rights Council in which all UN member states are regularly reviewed on their human rights record. Each state undergoes a review every four to five years, during which other countries can raise concerns, offer praise and make formal recommendations aimed at improving rights protections. The reviewed state can accept or note each recommendation, and progress is assessed in subsequent cycles.
During Tuesday’s review at the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, numerous UN member states criticized Turkey’s continued imprisonment of journalists and political figures, misuse of anti-terror laws and failure to implement European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rulings.
Delegations from countries such as Finland, Ireland, France and the Netherlands called on Turkey to uphold the rule of law and ensure the independence of the judiciary.
Some member states voiced concern about the criminalization of dissent and widespread restrictions on media and civil society, urging Turkey to repeal laws that have been used to prosecute critics and opposition voices.
Estonia and Iceland both raised the alarm about declining democratic standards and called for protections for online freedom of expression and the rejoining of the Istanbul Convention.
Sweden criticized Turkey’s use of administrative and judicial pressure on opposition figures and recommended reviewing domestic laws to protect a free media landscape.
Ireland expressed concern over the misuse of counterterrorism laws to silence journalists and civil society and urged Turkey to bring such legislation in line with international human rights obligations.
Finland, Liechtenstein and Lithuania pressed for concrete reforms to protect peaceful assembly and guarantee space for civil society, lawyers and human rights defenders.
France called for the end of impunity in human rights violations, pointing to cases where court rulings have not been implemented.
Cyprus denounced Turkey’s continued military presence in northern Cyprus and accused it of human rights violations, urging full compliance with ECtHR decisions and the restoration of displaced persons’ rights.
The Netherlands, Switzerland and Canada also raised concerns over politically motivated detentions and the erosion of judicial impartiality.
Despite Turkey’s emphasis on its Fourth Judicial Reform Strategy and its claims of high compliance with ECtHR judgments, many states challenged the credibility of those reforms, pointing to the continued targeting of judges, journalists and opposition figures.
Turkey defended its record by citing geopolitical instability, terrorism threats, the refugee crisis and the 2023 earthquakes, arguing that its legal system includes checks and remedies for rights violations.
Yet, the sheer volume and consistency of criticism indicated a growing international consensus that Turkey’s democratic backsliding is undermining its credibility in global human rights fora.
Recommendations Turkey failed to implement from previous UPR cycle
In a submission to Tuesday’s UPR review, a coalition of human rights organizations said Turkey has failed to implement most of the human rights reforms it pledged to carry out during its previous UPR cycle.
The report was submitted by the Italian Federation for Human Rights, the Arrested Lawyers Initiative, the Institute for Diplomacy and Economy and Human Rights Solidarity.
Turkey had supported 216 of the 321 recommendations it received in its last review in 2020, but has fully implemented only six, according to the coalition.
It found that Turkey partially implemented 118 recommendations, failed to implement 89 and left three recommendations unmeasurable.
The coalition based its findings on reports from UN treaty bodies, the European Commission, the Council of Europe and international human rights groups.
It warned that Turkey has experienced serious backsliding in the rule of law, democracy and fundamental freedoms since its last review.
The European Commission’s 2023 Türkiye report said judicial reforms failed to address structural deficiencies and indicated continued executive interference in the judiciary.
Amnesty International criticized Turkey’s 2021 Human Rights Action Plan as vague and ineffective, saying it failed to address police violence, arbitrary detentions or political trials.
In 2024 Amnesty raised concerns about the “8th Judicial Package,” saying it again fell short of international standards and failed to comply with key Constitutional Court rulings.
The UN Committee Against Torture also found that Turkish courts sometimes admit evidence obtained through torture, despite legal prohibitions.
The coalition noted that Turkey’s highest appeals court refused to implement Constitutional Court rulings in the case of opposition MP Can Atalay.
It also cited Turkey’s refusal to comply with the European Court of Human Rights’ 2023 ruling in the Yüksel Yalçınkaya case.
Of 106 recommendations related to democracy and justice, Turkey fully implemented only two, according to the submission.
The report said Turkey failed to address systemic violations of freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and judicial independence.
On women’s rights, the coalition found 13 of 45 recommendations were not implemented at all, including those on domestic violence and marriage rights.
It called on Turkey to rejoin the Istanbul Convention and take concrete steps to protect women from abuse.
On children’s rights, Turkey failed to comply with two of seven recommendations and only partially implemented the rest, including measures on child marriage and exploitation.
The rights of people with disabilities saw partial compliance on all recommendations, but no full implementation.
In other areas such as education, health and human rights training, the report found that 41 of 46 recommendations were only partially or not implemented.
The coalition urged Turkey to release political prisoners, reform laws that criminalize dissent and restore judicial independence.
It also called for stronger protections for journalists, lawyers and civil society groups facing harassment or shutdowns.
The coalition warned that Turkey’s failure to follow through on its commitments undermines its credibility and violates the principle of pacta sunt servanda — the obligation to honor international agreements.
It recommended that Turkey establish a transparent monitoring mechanism with civil society input to track implementation of future UPR recommendations.