Rights Groups Urge Turkish Parliament for Sweeping Justice Reforms to Protect Human Rights

International Rights Groups Advocate for Justice Reforms in Turkey

Istanbul, Turkey – Three leading international human rights organizations have formally urged a Turkish parliamentary commission to endorse comprehensive legal and institutional reforms aimed at safeguarding human rights for the Kurdish community and all other groups in the country. On Thursday, November 6, 2025, Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Turkey Human Rights Litigation Support Project (TLSP), and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) submitted a joint briefing to the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission, emphasizing the necessity of these changes for achieving a lasting, rights-based peace.

The parliamentary commission was established in August 2025, following the Kurdistan Workers' Party's (PKK) announcement of its intention to disarm and disband. This development came after efforts by the Turkish government and jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan to conclude a four-decade-long conflict. The commission's mandate includes strengthening social integration, consolidating national unity, and advancing freedom, democracy, and the rule of law.

Key Recommendations for Legal and Institutional Change

The joint briefing, titled 'Advancing Human Rights, Justice and Democracy for Kurds and All Other Communities in Türkiye,' draws on years of litigation, monitoring, and documentation of human rights violations and attacks on judicial independence in Turkey.

The organizations highlighted several critical areas requiring reform:

• Repealing or fundamentally revising Law No. 3713 (Anti-Terror Law) to ensure full compliance with international human rights law, including the European Convention on Human Rights.
• Reforming the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations to guarantee the right to peaceful assembly, treating public demonstrations as a normal aspect of democratic participation.
• Ending the misuse of criminal law against elected officials and political dissent, particularly concerning speech protected under international human rights law.
• Reinstating removed elected officials and abolishing the trustee regime.
• Abolishing aggravated life sentences that preclude any prospect of release, and introducing a system for sentence review after 25 years, subject to fair and periodic review.

Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at HRW, stated, 'Bringing an end to the four-decade Kurdish conflict requires not just ending fighting but concrete steps to change laws that have long been used to bring criminal charges against and incarcerate Kurds and other groups for nonviolent political activity and speech.' He added that the cross-party commission has a 'unique opportunity to help shape a post-conflict society and should make bold recommendations to repeal abusive laws used to silence and marginalize people.'

Context of Human Rights in Turkey

The call for reforms comes amidst a broader context of human rights concerns in Turkey. Reports from various human rights bodies have consistently pointed to issues such as the erosion of judicial independence, restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly, and the disproportionate targeting of Kurdish journalists and activists under anti-terror laws.

Temur Shakirov, Europe and Central Asia program director of the ICJ, emphasized, 'To fulfill its mandate, the commission should go beyond symbolic recommendations by addressing the structural injustices and discriminatory legal frameworks that have sustained decades of conflict, repression and impunity.'

The groups also stressed the importance of ensuring accountability for human rights violations and establishing mechanisms for truth-telling and justice as essential conditions for building a rights-based and democratic future for everyone in Turkey.