Press Release: Annulment of the Istanbul Convention

The "Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence", known publicly as the Istanbul Convention, has been annulled by Presidential Decree No. 3718. We support this decision and wish it to be beneficial for our nation.

Subject to controversy since its initial public announcement due to controversial articles and sharp, divisive language referencing concepts unacceptable to our core values such as "gender" and "sexual orientation", the convention in this negative form had formed the basis for major domestic legislative regulations regarding the family.

Over time, contrary to expectations regarding "violence against women", the convention regrettably fostered a climate where violence against family members—particularly women—increased, families dissolved, and youth became reluctant to establish families, outcomes no person of sound mind could approve.

As if this polarization were not enough, perverse groups directly linked to terror organizations, such as LGBTI-like entities lacking sensitivity toward national values, attempted to exploit open-ended articles and concepts within the convention under the guise of "human rights" as an international political pressure tool, further inflaming existing societal tensions.

On the other hand, similar debates are taking place in EU nations. Although ratified in 34 member states at various dates, 13 EU countries either never brought the convention into force or placed reservations on the signature text. The existence of nations like ours that initiated legal processes to withdraw after witnessing negative consequences demonstrates that the agreement failed to deliver expected results, as evidenced by harassment and violence statistics against family members across numerous regions.

As UNIW, together with 354 member NGOs across 66 countries, we believe family-centered studies must be conducted to protect and cherish the family—the cornerstone of society—through a fresh approach formulating appropriate solutions around our cultural and civilizational values as well as universal shared values, benefiting our entire geography and the world.

Our culture and civilization—which sustain society, enabled glorious achievements in culture, art, science, and philosophy, carry strong family codes like affection, mercy, love, and tranquility, and evaluate rights and responsibilities together—possess ample resources to solve our social problems. As members of a geography with an ancient civilization, we believe we have no need to be party to imported Western regulations containing concepts and approaches directly opposed to our societal values.

In this framework, we hope that new legislative arrangements will utilize the manifesto text titled "International Family Charter", formulated under the UNIW International Family Institute in cooperation with the International Union of Muslim Scholars, presenting our perspective on the family according to our authentic values.

Turkey must filter all family-related legislation without delay from a perspective that upholds core references capable of preventing violence against women within its own legal system and value judgments—setting an example for many Islamic nations—erasing negative traces of the annulled convention and reorganizing this domain across all institutions.

Respectfully announced to the public.

UNIW