Destination Risk Register

Turkey is a constitutional republic with an executive presidential system and a unicameral 600-seat parliament (the Grand National Assembly). In presidential and parliamentary elections in 2018, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe observers expressed concern regarding restrictions on media reporting and the campaign environment, including the jailing of a presidential candidate, that restricted the ability of opposition candidates to compete on an equal basis and campaign freely. Under broad antiterror legislation passed in 2018, the government continued to restrict fundamental freedoms and compromised the rule of law. Civilian authorities maintained effective control over law enforcement officials, but mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and corruption remained inadequate. Members of the security forces committed some abuses.
The government took limited steps to investigate, prosecute, and punish members of the security forces and other officials accused of human rights abuses

• impunity remained a problem. The government took limited steps to investigate allegations of high-level corruption. Clashes between security forces and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party terrorist organization and its affiliates continued and resulted in the injury or death of security forces, terrorists, and civilians. The government did not release information on efforts to investigate or prosecute personnel for wrongful or inadvertent deaths of civilians linked to counterterrorism operations.

The overall score indicates that there are substantial risks of potential human rights violations in this country. This may also include the tourism sector. Relevant risks for the tourism sector are, e.g.:

• Severe restriction of freedoms of assembly, association and movement
• Gender-based violence
• Violence against members of national/racial or ethnic minority groups
• Violence against LGBTQI+ persons