The European Union criticized Turkey’s deteriorating human rights and democratic standards during a major session of the United Nations Human Rights Council on Tuesday, calling on Ankara to respect international law and release jailed civil society figures including Osman Kavala.
Speaking on behalf of the 27-member bloc during the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, the EU delegation delivered a wide-ranging statement addressing rights violations across the globe. Turkey was singled out for what the EU described as continued repression of civil society, political opposition and judicial independence.
The EU said it remains “seriously concerned about the deeply worrying situation and continued deterioration” of democracy, rule of law and fundamental freedoms in Turkey.
The statement criticized the government’s ongoing targeting of political parties, elected mayors, human rights defenders, journalists, academics, LGBTI individuals and minority communities, often through criminal proceedings and detention.
Turkey’s treatment of civil society and democratic institutions, the EU said, does not meet the standards expected of an EU candidate country and a member of the Council of Europe.
The bloc reiterated its demand for Turkey to respect judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), specifically citing the continued imprisonment of Osman Kavala, a prominent philanthropist and civil society figure despite a binding ECtHR ruling for his release.
“In this context, in line with Article 46 of the ECHR, we call on Türkiye to comply with the judgements of the European Court of Human Rights, including regarding the release of Osman Kavala,” the EU said.
Turkey has faced growing criticism from European institutions over its defiance of ECtHR decisions, including a 2019 ruling that found Kavala’s detention to be politically motivated and ordered his immediate release. Instead, Turkish courts issued new charges, merged indictments and ultimately sentenced Kavala to life in prison in 2022.
In response to Ankara’s persistent refusal to comply, the Council of Europe launched rare infringement proceedings in 2022 — only the second time such action has been taken in the body’s history — a process that could ultimately lead to Turkey’s suspension from the Council.
Just a day earlier, a coalition of rights organizations including Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists and the Turkey Human Rights Litigation Support Project issued a joint briefing urging EU institutions to confront Turkey over what they described as “systematic defiance” of ECtHR rulings and a wholesale dismantling of judicial independence.
The briefing warned that Turkey’s failure to implement key rulings — including in the high-profile cases of Kavala, Selahattin Demirtaş and Yüksel Yalçınkaya — reflects a broader rejection of supranational legal authority and threatens the integrity of the Council of Europe system.
The EU also expressed concern over Ankara’s handling of minority rights, emphasizing the need to uphold “property rights of persons belonging to minorities and legal entities representing minorities.”
“Human rights are non-negotiable and will continue to be an integral part of EU–Turkey relations,” the statement concluded.
The comments were part of the EU’s intervention during the Interactive Dialogue on the annual report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, an agenda item of the Human Rights Council’s ongoing 59th session.
Turkey’s government, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has long dismissed international criticism of its rights record as politically motivated. However, the country has faced sustained scrutiny from UN mechanisms, European institutions and human rights organizations, particularly since a 2016 coup attempt was followed by mass purges and a severe crackdown on dissent.