Overview of Human Rights in Turkey

The human rights situation in Turkey is mixed. While the government shows it is willing to make some reform, there are very strong anti-reform elements at the helm of the judiciary, police, and military. The police and security forces in Turkey are corrupt and act with impunity. They are known to arbitrarily arrest and detain civilians and, once in custody, many are tortured, beaten, or otherwise ill-treated. Extra-judicial killings are often committed by members of these forces as well. Due to inefficiency in the judiciary there is often a lengthy pretrial detention, and even longer trials.  As well, prison conditions in Turkey are poor. It should also be noted that the government is responsible for some limits on the freedoms of speech, press, assembly, association, and religion. Other human rights issues include high levels of child abuse, child marriage, child labor, and human trafficking.

Human Development Index (HDI) Rank:

92nd out of 177

Note: Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite index that measures the level of well-being of nations in the world. It uses factors such as poverty, literacy, life-expectancy, education, gross domestic product, and purchasing power parity to assess the average achievements in each nation. It has been used in the United Nation’s Human Development Report since 1993.