Human rights in Turkey are governed by the 1982 Constitution, domestic law, and the international human rights agreements to which Turkey is a party. The Constitution guarantees a range of fundamental rights and freedoms, while ratified international human rights treaties take precedence over conflicting domestic legislation. Turkey is a party to the European Convention on Human Rights and is subject to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The country's human rights record has nevertheless been the subject of longstanding domestic and international scrutiny, particularly concerning the right to life, torture and ill-treatment, prison conditions, and the freedoms of expression, religion, assembly and association. As of 2025, the Freedom House rated Turkey's human rights at 33 out of 100 (not free).Freedom House, 2022 report

Serious human rights violations have been documented during periods of political and armed conflict, including following the 1980 military coup and during the Kurdish–Turkish conflict. In the 1980s and 1990s, reported abuses included torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and forced displacement, particularly in predominantly Kurdish areas of southeastern Turkey. The ECtHR has repeatedly found Turkey responsible for violations of the Convention in cases involving the right to life, torture, freedom of expression and association, arbitrary detention and the treatment of Kurds. From the early 2000s, reforms associated with Turkey's efforts toward European Union membership abolished the death penalty and expanded some cultural and linguistic rights for minorities, including the use of the Kurdish language.

Human rights concerns intensified following the 2016 attempted coup, after which the government declared a state of emergency and carried out large-scale dismissals, arrests and prosecutions of people accused of links to the Gülen movement or the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Human rights organizations and international bodies have reported allegations of arbitrary detention, torture and enforced disappearance, as well as restrictions on journalists, political opponents, human rights defenders and media organizations. Turkish laws relating to terrorism, public order and expression have also been used to prosecute non-violent speech, while restrictions on peaceful demonstrations and political and civil-society activity have attracted criticism. The treatment of Armenians has also been a recurring human rights issue, involving discrimination and marginalization of Armenians, as well as repression and censorship around discussion of the Armenian genocide. Other issues addressed in Turkey's human rights record include the treatment and cultural rights of ethnic and religious minorities, discrimination against LGBT people, women's rights and violence against women, and the rights of conscientious objectors.

Overview

The Human Rights and Equality Institution of Turkey is the government body responsible for protecting human rights.

Acute human rights issues include in particular the status of Kurds in Turkey. The Kurdish–Turkish conflict has caused numerous human rights violations over the years. There is an ongoing debate in the country on the right to life, torture, freedom of expression as well as freedoms of religion, assembly and association.

In 2009, the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey released two reports detailing human rights abuses including torture, ill-treatment and isolation of small groups in prison. The reports documented 419 deaths in custody in a period of 15 years of military rule with 39 deaths recorded in prison in 2008 alone. Under the state of emergency powers, crackdown on the media freedom increased with several journalist arrested and held in prisons, media outlets shuttered or taken over by the state on the allegations of terrorism, “anti-state activities” and “denigrating Turkishness” or “insulting Islam”.

Turkey still keeps laws which are seen as undemocratic or authoritarian, such as prohibiting minorities to get a primary education in their mother tongue. The country's largest minority, the Kurds, which comprise 15% of the population, have no right to self-determination even though Turkey has signed the ICCPR. In March 2017, the United Nations accused the Turkish government of "massive destruction, killings and numerous other serious human rights violations" against the ethnic Kurdish minority.

Commitment to international human rights law The Republic of Turkey has entered various human rights commitments, some of which are expressed in the 1982 Turkish Constitution, Part Two of which guarantees "fundamental rights and freedoms" such as the right to life, security of person, and right to property. Human rights in Turkey are legally protected by a variety of international law treaties, which take precedence over domestic legislation, according to Article 90 of the 1982 Constitution.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) was not signed by Turkey until 2000. As of today, however, Turkey is party to 16 out of 18 international human rights treaties of the United Nations.The information was taken from a page of the University of Minnesota ; accessed on 10 September 2009

+ International Bill of Human Rights International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 15 Aug 2000 (s) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 15 Aug 2000 (s) 23 Sept 2003 (r) Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 3 Feb 2004 Key: s for signature; r for ratification; a for accession + Women's Human Rights Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 20 Dec 1985 (a) Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women 8 Sep 2000 (s), 29 Oct 2002 (r) United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime 13 Dec 2000 (s), 25 Mar 2003 (r) Key: s for signature; r for ratification; a for accession + Protection from Torture, Ill-Treatment and Disappearance European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 11.01.88 (s), 26.02.88 (r) Protocol No. 1 to the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment list2 = 10 May 1995 (s), 17.09.97 (r) Protocol No. 2 to the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment 10 May 1995 (s), 17.09.97 (r) Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 25.01.88 (s), 02.08.88 (r) Key: s for signature; r for ratification; a for accession + Terrorism and Human Rights International Convention Against the Taking of Hostages 15.08.89 (a) International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombing 20 May 1999 (s), 30 May 2002 (r) International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism 27.09.01 (s), 28.06.02 (r) International Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft 16 Dec 1970 (s), 17.04.73 (r) International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against International Protected Persons 6 Mar 1998 (r) Key: s for signature; r for ratification; a for accession + Regional Conventions [European] Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 4 Now 1950 (s), 18 May 1954 (r) Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 20 Mar 1952 (s), 22.06.53 (r) Protocol No.2 to the 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 6 May 1963 (s), 25 Mar 1968 (r) Protocol No.3 to the 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 6 May 1963 (s), 25 Mar 1968 (r) Protocol No.4 to the 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 19 Oct 1962 Key: s for signature; r for ratification; a for accession + Protocols 5–8 of the ECHR Protocol No.5 to the 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 14 May 1971 (s), 20 Dec 1971 (r) Protocol No.6 to the 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 15.01.03 (s) Protocol No.7 to the 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 14 Mar 1985 Protocol No. 8 to the 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 04.02.86 (s), 19.09.89 (r) Key: s for signature; r for ratification; a for accession + Protocols 9–12 of the ECHR Protocol No. 9 to the 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 6 Now 1990 (s) Protocol No. 10 to the 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 28.02.96 (s), 5 May 1998 (r) Protocol No. 11 to the 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 28.02.96 (s), 5 May 1998 (r) Protocol No. 12 to the 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 04.11.00 (s) Key: s for signature; r for ratification; a for accession

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1949.Report of State Party – Turkey by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights, 2001 – See section 84

The European Convention on Human Rights (1954) places Turkey under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). In 1987, Turkey accepted the right to apply individually to the ECtHR (Article 25 of the European Convention on Human Rights = ECHR) and 1990 recognised the compulsory jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights under Article 46 of the ECHR.

In October 2009 the European Commission on Enlargement to the European Union attested regarding Turkey that

On October 18, 2017, Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland called for the release of human rights activists detained in Turkey in a telephone call with Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül.

European Court of Human Rights judgments

Number of judgments made by the ECtHR with at least one violation.The year is not representative for the human rights situation in that year, as cases may date back for many years. Year Decision 2001 169 2002 54 2003 76 2004 154 2005 270 2006 312 2007 319 2008 257 2009 341 2010 228 2011 159 2012 117 2013 118 2014 94 2015 79 2016 77 2017 99 2018 104 2019 96

Turkey's human rights record has long continued to attract scrutiny, both internally and externally. According to the Foreign Ministry, Turkey was sentenced to 33 million euros in 567 different cases between 1990—when Turkey effectively allowed individual applications to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)—and 2006.Duvakli, Melik. JİTEM's illegal actions cost Turkey a fortune, Today's Zaman, 27 August 2008; reprinted by Info Turk edition 360, August 2008 . Most abuses were done in the South-East, in the frame of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict.

In 2007, there were 2830 applications lodged against the Republic of Turkey before the ECtHR and consequently 331 judgments on the merits have been issued affirming 319 violations and 9 non-violations.Cases against Turkey before the ECtHR in 2007 In 2008, Turkey ranked second after Russia in the list of countries with the largest number of human rights violation cases open at the European Court of Human Rights, with 9,000 cases pending as of August 2008. In 2011, the ECtHR issued 159 judgments that found violations by Turkey, the most of any country, with Russia coming second at 121 judgments.