Country context

According to different sources the percentage of the Alevi population changes from 10 to 40.[1] Greek Orthodox, Armenian Catholic, Gregorian, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Assyrian, Yezidi, atheist and agnostic constitute 3 per cent of the population.[2]

The ethnic composition of the country is very mixed; however most of the population identifies her/himself as a Turk. Surveys report that from 60 to 75 per cent identify themselves as Turks. About 12 per cent of the population constitutes Kurds. Kurds are the largest linguistic and ethnic minority in Turkey. According to various sources, the estimated numbers range from 10 to 23 per cent of the population in Turkey. The majority of the Kurds are Sunni Muslims while a significant numbers are Alevis. The Laz population are of Caucasian origin and their estimated number range from 750.000 to 1,5 million. The number of the Roma in Turkey is estimated around million, according to a recent study. The majority of the Roma is Muslim. Various other ethnic and linguistic groups in Turkey are Arabs (Alevi, Sunni and Christian), Bulgarians, Bosnians, Pomacs and Albanians.[3]

Turkey recognizes as “minorities” only groups of persons defined and recognized as such on the basis of the Lausanne Peace Treaty of 1923. According to this Treaty, Turkish citizens belonging to non-Muslim minorities fall within the scope of the term “minority”. Religious minorities, not recognized by Turkey as minorities under the Lausanne Treaty are among the most vulnerable groups. They neither have the right to establish their own schools, places of worship, nor the right to teach their language and religion. Certain religions are not even recognized as religion. Despite explicit provisions of the Lausanne Treaty prohibiting discrimination, non-Muslim minorities are also vulnerable to discrimination. There are many problems, including the restrictions on the training of clergy and on the right to property. Although in recent years the situation has improved, there are still problems in practice. Roma population and Kurds also suffer from widespread discrimination.

Neither of these groups is recognized as minorities. Both groups suffer discrimination in education, employment, health and housing. National Unity and Brotherhood Project, the democratic initiative in short, inaugurated by the Government has three components: the Kurdish opening, the Alevi opening and the Roma opening. Particularly the Alevi and Roma opening take NGOs into consideration where the Government runs meetings and workshop with them for dialogue and consultation, but the participation is limited to certain groups and it is hard to measure the impact of these opening since it is an early stage. The preliminary draft of the Law on Combating Discrimination and Establishment of an Equality Council was prepared through consultative meetings with a group of representatives of a number of NGOs. The draft law was sent to various universities and NGOs, in order to get their opinions on the draft. A number of meetings were organized for the discussion of the preliminary draft.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender persons are among the most vulnerable groups. The Turkish legislation does not refer to sexual orientation at all. Most anti-discrimination provisions are open-ended. Thus, it can be argued that discrimination based on sexual orientation is also covered by the legislation. In any case, the scope of the legislation is too narrow to provide an effective protection. Especially transsexuals and transvestites are forced to sell sex as employment opportunities do not exist.

The relation between human rights organisations and the central government was weak in previous years. This climate began to change with Turkey’s EU accession process. However, there is still a significant degree of polarisation between the political parties and amongst the public on the Kurdish issue and issues regarding secularism and religion. Finally, denial of the existence of discrimination is widespread, not only in the general public, but also in most political parties and the Government. This is reflected in the reports submitted by the State to the United Nations Human Rights Committees.