COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD STARTS CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF TURKEY ON EFFORTS TO IMPLEMENT CHILD RIGHTS

CRC
27th session
23 May 2001
Morning



Turkey Asked to Withdraw Reservations
on Three Articles of Convention



The Committee on the Rights of the Child this morning started its consideration of an initial report of Turkey on how that country implements the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Introducing the report, Murat Sungar, Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said his country placed utmost importance to the protection of and care for children, who were considered to be the insurance for the future of the country. The priority given to the rights of the child could be better understood taking into consideration the fact that 38.4 per cent of the total Turkish population was eight years old or younger in 2000.

Over the course of their consideration of the report, a number of Committee members requested the Government delegation to withdraw the reservations Turkey had made on some of the articles of the Convention. They stressed that the three articles of the Convention were among the important provisions of the treaty with regard to the child's education. According to article 30, for example, a child belonging to ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities or who was indigenous should not be denied the right to enjoy his or her own culture, to profess and practise his or her own religion, or to use his or her own language.

The delegation told the Committee that the reservations put on the articles of the Convention did not have a negative impact on the purpose and subject of the Convention; and within the framework of the long-standing interpretation of the term "minority" adopted by Turkey, the reservations put on articles 17, 29 and 30 of the Convention would not be reviewed.

The Turkish delegation was also made up of Mehmet Ozdal, Director-General of the Social Services and Child Protection Agency; Rifat Kose, Director-General at the Ministry of Health; Sema Kut, Member of the Advisory Committee of the Social Services and Child Protection Agency; Kadriye Yurdakok, of the Hacettepe University; Ertan Kahramanoglu, of the Hacettepe University and Member of the Advisory Committee of the Social Services and Child Protection Agency; and Mehlika Aytac, a Judge at the Ministry of Justice.

Also, Emin Zararsiz, Planning Expert at the State Planning Organization; Leyla Ilik, Head of Department at the Social Services and Child Protection Agency; Birnur Fertekligil, Head of the International Political Organizations Department at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs; Ahmet Mutluoglu, Counsellor for Education Affairs at the Turkish Embassy in Bern; Orhan Sever and Fatih Yamac, from the Ministry of Interior; Erdogan Iscan, Deputy Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations Office at Geneva; and Halit Oyman, Counsellor for Labour and Social Affairs at the Permanent Mission of Turkey in Geneva.

Turkey is among the 191 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and as such it must prepare periodic summaries on its efforts to implement the provisions of the treaty.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m., it will conclude its discussion with the delegation of Turkey.


Report of Turkey

The initial report of Turkey (document CRC/C/51/Add.4) enumerates the various steps taken by the State with the view of complying with the obligations of the Convention with regard to the promotion and protection of children's rights. In its introduction, the report says that throughout its history, Turkey has been a country cognizant of child care and protection. The affection and mercy engrained in Turkish culture has made children's rights the focal point of family behaviour. In 1923, the Society for the Protection of Children was established by Ataturk and 23 April had been declared Children's Day; and for almost eight decades, the Day has been celebrated as such.

The report notes that Turkey is one of the few countries which has made every effort to further extend rights and freedoms, while struggling against one of the most vicious terrorist campaigns directed against its territorial integrity and national unity. Terrorism is an international scourge and at the same time it is a direct assault on one of the basic human rights, the "right to life" of people, including of innocent children, all around the world.

With regard to compulsory education, the report says that the Turkish law on primary education repeats the constitutional provision to the effect that primary education is compulsory and free for all citizens and declares the 6-14 age bracket as the compulsory primary education period. The last two years of the education curriculum include civic and human rights courses. As the project covers 10 million students, it has required the mobilization of immense financial and human resources. The World Bank also participated in this project.

The report further says that under the labour law, it is forbidden to employ children under 15 years of age, with the exception that employment in light work may be permitted for 13-year old children if it will not adversely affect their health, school education or vocational training. However, 12 years of age was set to be the lower age limit; and efforts are under way to deal with such disparities. In addition, night work in industry is forbidden for male children under 18 years of age and for females of all ages.

The employment of young girls and women in casinos, bars, music halls and other similar places where alcoholic beverages are served was forbidden, the report notes. Police will deny access to places where alcoholic beverages are served to persons under 18 years of age, even if they were accompanied by adults. Alcohol and tobacco sales to persons under 18 years of age have been prohibited.


Presentation of Report

MURAT SUNGAR, Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations Office at Geneva, stressed that his country placed the utmost importance to the protection of and care for children, who were considered to be the insurance for the future of the country. The priority given to the rights of the child could be better understood taking into consideration that 38.4 per cent of the total Turkish population was eight years old or younger in 2000.

Mr. Sungar recalled that the designation of 23 April, the day of the inauguration of the Turkish Grand National Assembly in 1920, as Children's Day was an outcome of that understanding. April 23, which had been celebrated as Children's Day for almost eight decades, has become an international event with the participation of children from all around the world since 1979.

Turkey was taking steps towards becoming a party to various international instruments pertaining to the rights of the child, Mr. Sungar continued to say. It had also ratified 38 International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions, six of which were directly related to the children. As part of the comprehensive process for the protection and promotion of the rights of the child in line with the Convention, substantial results had been achieved in many fields and efforts to disseminate awareness of the rights of the child had been intensified.

Mr. Sungar said that in order to make possible the access of every segment of the society to social services more efficiently and rapidly, provincial social services had been established in 81 provinces and in several sub-districts. As the infant, child and maternal mortality rate was decreasing, new programmes to improve child maternal health and to decrease morbidity, such as promotion of adolescent health and nutritional programmes, had been launched. Positive improvements had also been observed in the services provided to disabled children.

The problem of the children who survived in the streets was closely linked to the agenda of Turkey and multi-directional efforts were pursued to overcome that problem, Mr. Sungar said. As many as 22 new centres were opened for the children who lived and were employed in the streets with the cooperation of non-governmental organizations. Through those centres, such children were enrolled in schools, professional or vocational programmes, and their nutrition and health problems were solved.


Discussion

Following the introduction of the report by the Turkish delegation, Committee members raised a number of questions. An Expert said that it was a pity that the Government of Turkey had made reservations on education which was reflected in articles 17, 29 and 30 of the Convention, asking if the Government was in the process of reviewing its position. Among other things, article 29 was on the development of the child's personality, talents and mental and physical abilities, while article 30 stipulated that a child belonging to ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities should not be denied the right to his or her identity. The resources allocated to education and other social affairs were less than many other budgetary expenditures.

An Expert said that in Izmir, children were employed as shoe makers and other activities which did not observe the minimum age for employment fixed by the Convention. The Expert asked why Izmir was different in that matter.

The report had said that the Convention had been made as integral part of domestic law, another Expert said, asking if the provisions had already been invoked in courts or other juridical instances. The Expert also wanted to know, since Turkey had a number of migrant workers abroad, if the Government was ready to ratify the Convention on the Protection of Migrant Workers and Their Families. Did the Government make known the provisions of the Convention? Why was there no national human rights commission in Turkey?

The existing legislative provisions in Turkey allowed the marriage of 14-year old girls, an Expert said. However, such young girls could not elect or participate in other responsibilities which an "adult" was expected to perform.

In response, the delegation said that with regard to the issue of minorities, the rights of persons belonging minorities in Turkey were embodied in the Lausanne Treaty of 1923, according to which there were Greek, Armenian and Jewish minorities in Turkey. In the country, constitutional citizenship was a fundamental principle upon which the State was founded. All individuals were equal without any discrimination before the law, irrespective of language, race, colour, sex, political opinion, religion and sect or any such considerations. There were Turkish Kurds in the country, but the Constitution treated all citizens as equals.

Turkey signed and ratified the Convention making reservations on articles 17, 29 and 30 with the right to interpret and implement those articles in accordance with the spirit of the Turkish Constitution and the Treaty of Lausanne, the delegation said. Turkey's approach on minority issues was shaped by the Treaty of Lausanne. The reservation put on the articles of the Convention did not have a negative impact on the purpose and subject of the Convention. Within the framework of the long-standing interpretation of the term "minority" adopted by Turkey, the reservations put on articles 17, 29 and 30 of the Convention would not be reviewed.

The Convention was reprinted in easy-to-understand language for primary school pupils with the title "My Rights" and distributed on a mass scale, the delegation said. In addition, the Ankara University had integrated the subjects of children's rights, human rights and basic democratic institutions into their graduate programmes. The same University's faculty of educational science had established a museum for toys in 1990. Further, a "child culture, research and implementation centre" was established at Ankara University in 1994.

Since last February, Turkey had been faced with an economic crisis which led to the restriction of public expenditure, the delegation said. The Government, in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, was attempting to rehabilitate the economy by implementing development projects. At present, out of the $ 48 billion national budget, more than 4 billion was allocated to education.

The age of marriage for both sexes was fixed at 18 years of age, the delegation said. However, with the consent of the parents, that limit could be 17 years for boys and 15 for females. Further, a judge might permit the marriage of a 15-year-old male with a 14-year-old female for important reasons and under exceptional circumstances. Cultural values were also taken into consideration with regard to marriage.

Turkey had no ombudsman for the time being, the delegation said; however, the idea of setting up an Ombudsman’s office would be considered in the future development plan in which legal arrangements would be envisaged.

Committee members continued to raise questions on such issues as the low age of marriage; the situation of disabled children; the status of Roma children; the existence of capital punishment; the Government policy on the practice of "honour" killings; allegations of disappearances, torture and extra-judicial killings; police brutality; corporal punishment; child abduction; and non-registration of births, among other things.

An Expert said that the attitude of police in dealing with some children was of a concern to the Committee. Children held by police were allegedly tortured and they were kept under police custody without their parents being informed about the whereabouts of their children.

Another Expert said that students had no right to establish councils, which indicated the restriction of freedom of expression. In addition, children were not allowed to join trade unions before the age of 16 years, while the minimum age for taking employment was fixed at 12 years. What measures had been taken to protect children from violence?





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