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United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child - States Parties Reports |
UNITED
NATIONS |
|
CRC
|
|
Convention on the Rights of the Child |
Distr. GENERAL CRC/C/51/Add.4 8 August 2000 Original: ENGLISH |
COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
CONSIDERATION OF
REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER ARTICLE 44 OF THE
CONVENTION
Initial reports of States parties due in 1997
[7 July 1999]
GE.00-43829 (E)
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
I. PROFILE OF TURKEY 1
- 44 6
A. Geography 1 - 2 6
B. History 3 -
4 6
C. Administrative structure 5 - 9 6
D. Economic
structure 10 - 17 7
E. Demographic structure 18 -
25 8
F. Labour relations 26 - 38 9
G. Human rights 39 -
44 10
II. LEGAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL ASPECTS OF
CHILDREN’S
RIGHTS IN TURKEY 45 - 562 12
Introduction 45 -
54 12
A. General implementation measures 55 -
81 14
1. Writing the State report 57 - 58 14
2. Promoting
the Convention on the Rights of the Child 59 - 81 15
B. Definition of
the child 82 - 174 17
1. Definition of the child in general 82 -
86 17
2. Age of marriage 87 18
3. Definition of the child
in terms of legal capacity 88 - 104 18
4. Compulsory education 105
- 106 21
5. Definition of the child in labour legislation 107 -
174 21
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
C. General principles
175 - 189 30
1. Non-discrimination (art. 2) 175 -
179 30
2. Best interests of the child (art. 3) 180 -
184 30
3. The right to life, survival and development (art. 6) 185 -
186 31
4. Respect for the child’s opinion (art. 12) 187 -
189 32
D. Civil rights and freedoms 190 - 220 32
1. Name
and nationality (art. 7) 190 - 199 32
2. Preservation of identity
(art. 8) 200 - 201 34
3. Freedom of expression (art. 13) 202 -
203 34
4. Access to appropriate information (art. 17) 204 -
209 35
5. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (art. 14) 210
- 212 35
6. Freedom of association and peaceful assembly (art. 15)
213 - 216 36
7. Protection of privacy (art. 16) 217 -
218 36
8. The right not to be subjected to torture, inhuman
or
degrading treatment or punishment (art. 37 (a)) 219 -
220 37
E. Family environment and alternative care 221 -
295 37
1. Parental guidance and the child’s evolving
capacities (art. 5) 221 - 223 37
2. Parental
responsibilities (art. 18, paras. 1-2) 224 - 228 37
3. Separation
from parents (art. 9) 229 - 241 38
4. Family reunification (art. 10)
242 40
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
5. Recovery of
maintenance for the child (art. 27, para. 4) 243 -
251 40
6. Provision of special assistance and protection
services
to children deprived of a family environment (art. 20) 252 -
271 41
7. Adoption (art. 21) 272 - 277 45
8. Illicit
transfer and non-return (art. 11) 278 - 279 46
9. Protection of
children from violence, abuse and neglect
and the treatment of victims
(art. 19, paras. 1-2 and
art. 39) 280 - 288 46
10. Periodic
control of children placed in a different
environment for their
protection and care (art. 25) 289-295 47
F. Basic health and welfare
of children 296 - 391 48
1. Living standards (art. 27, paras. 1-3)
296 - 298 48
2. Survival and development (art. 6, para. 2) 299-
304 49
3. Disabled children (art. 23) 305 -
351 50
4. Legal basis of health services (art. 24) 352-
372 57
5. Social security (art. 26) 373 - 381 60
6. Child
care services and facilities (art. 18, para. 3) 382 -
391 61
G. Education, leisure and cultural activities (art. 28) 392 -
457 63
1. The Turkish national education system 392 -
428 63
2. Leisure and social activities (art. 31) 429 -
437 73
3. Cultural activities 438 - 454 75
4. Cultural
education 455 - 457 77
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
H. Special protection
measures 458 - 562 78
1. Children in situations of emergency 458 -
475 78
2. Children in conflict with the law 476 -
514 80
3. Children in situations of exploitation 515 -
558 87
4. Children belonging to minority groups (art. 30) 559 -
562 95
I. PROFILE OF TURKEY
A. Geography
1. Situated at the crossroads of three continents where east meets west and
north meets south, Turkey is a European, Balkan, Caucasian,
Middle Eastern,
Mediterranean and Black Sea State all at once.
2. Ninety-seven per cent
of the territory of Turkey, a country with a surface area
of 774,815 square kilometers, is in the Asian continent
and the
remaining 3 per cent is in Europe.
B. History
3. The Selchuk Turks, who settled in the Anatolian peninsula after the Battle
of Malazgirt in 1071, reigned over the area for approximately
200 years.
The Ottoman Empire, founded in the beginning of the fourteenth century in
Anatolia, was one of the main powers of its
era for a long time. Following the
withering away of this Empire, the Turkish Republic was founded on 29
October 1923. With the
successful reforms of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the
founder of the Republic, Turkey has emerged as a modern State. Since its
foundation
the Turkish Republic has always pursued a policy of peace.
Maintaining friendly and mutually beneficial relations with all countries,
promoting regional and international cooperation schemes, seeking to resolve
conflicts through peaceful means and contributing to
regional and international
peace, stability and prosperity have always been the basic principles guiding
Turkish foreign policy.
4. Turkey is a member of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Economic
Cooperation
and Development, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Economic
Cooperation
Organization and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization all at the same
time. It is also an associate member
with a view to full membership of the
European Union.
C. Administrative structure
5. The Republic of Turkey is a democratic, secular and social State governed
by the rule of law. Its administrative structure consists
of legislative,
executive and judicial organs in accordance with the principle of the separation
of powers. The legislative power
is used by the Turkish Grand National Assembly
(which will hereinafter be referred to as the “Parliament”) on
behalf
of the Turkish nation. The executive power is exercised by the President
of the Republic and the Council of Ministers, while the
judicial power is
exercised by the independent courts of justice. The constitutional provisions
are the basic rules of law which
are binding upon the legislative, executive and
judicial organs, the administration and all other bodies and
individuals.
6. The Parliament has 550 deputies elected by the people
every five years through direct balloting. The President of the Republic
is
elected by the Parliament. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President of
the Republic from among the members of the Parliament.
The Ministers are
nominated by the Prime Minister and approved by the Parliament.
7. The
central organization of the administration is made up of the President of the
Republic, the Prime Minister and the Ministers.
8. Judges are independent
in the discharge of their duties. No organ, authority, office or individual may
give orders or instructions
to courts or judges relating to the exercise of
their duties.
9. The Supreme Court acts as the court of appeals. The
Juvenile Courts were introduced in 1979.
D. Economic structure
10. A variety of development strategies have been adopted by the Republic of
Turkey since its foundation. A largely agriculture-based
economic policy was
followed in the initial years of the Republic. However, successful programmes
were carried out in the field
of industrialization when the State began to
intervene more extensively in economic life.
11. The first Five-year
Development Plan was introduced after 1960 and the first economic development
plan was put into effect in
1963. Accordingly, a policy of import substitution
was followed. The liberalization of international capital movements and the
drive for the restructuring of the public sector have been the major economic
policies since 1989.
12. Turkey has achieved a remarkable transformation
from a State with an introvert economy based on import substitution, to a State
with an extrovert economy integrated with the rest of the world in almost all
sectors. In the process of this striking transformation,
the foreign trade
regime was completely overhauled and simplified. Import quotas were entirely
removed, while the list of restricted
import commodities was limited to
munitions and drugs. Incentives for exports were extended by the adoption of a
daily determination
of foreign exchange rates. Parallel to the drastic change
in the foreign trade regime, major reform in the financial sector was
initiated.
13. Liberalization of the foreign trade regime played an
important role in transforming Turkey from an agricultural commodity exporter,
mainly trading with its neighbours, to a worldwide trader, exporting mainly
industrial goods. The volume of trade rose from US$
11 billion in
1980 to US$ 68 billion in 1996.
14. Turkey has become a country producing
primarily industrial goods.
15. The average growth rate of the economy
also increased in the new era. During 19711980, the average growth rate of
the gross national
product was 4 per cent per year. It rose to 5.3 per cent in
the 1981-1990 period, and was 4.8 per cent from 1991-1997. Per capita
income
also rose from US$ 1,200 in 1980 to US$ 3,000 in 1997.
16. The new
economic programme targets a substantial reduction in the inflation rate
to 50 per cent by the end of 1998 with a real
GNP growth rate of 3 per
cent.
17. Different capabilities, features and problems witnessed in
different regions of the country brought forth the need to plan models
embodying
new approaches in which the sectoral preferences would figure together with the
regional analyses. In this context, the
State aims at reducing the
interregional differences, raising the welfare level in the less developed
areas.
E. Demographic structure
18. The first census in Turkey was held in 1927, followed by the second in
1935. They were repeated thereafter at five-year intervals.
The 1927
population of 13 million rose to 56.5 million in 1990 and to 62.5 million in
1997. In terms of population, Turkey is the
largest country in the Middle East,
holds the fifth rank in Europe and figures among the top 20 in the world.
Population growth
rate was 1.51 per cent in the 1990-1997 period.
19. A
population policy introduced in the 1960s entrusted the Ministry of Health with
the task of encouraging family planning. Accordingly,
abortions were allowed
and a new approach was introduced to combine the family planning services with
those of mother and child care.
20. As a result of the rapid population
growth rate, Turkey has acquired a young population, with more than one third of
its population
under 15 years of age. There is, however, an overall decline in
the birth rate in Turkey, as confirmed by a drop from 48.9 per 1,000
in 1960 to
20.8 per 1,000 in 1997. A decline is also observed in the death rate in Turkey.
This rate, which was 19.8 per 1,000 in
1960, decreased to 6.5 per 1,000 in
1997. According to the Turkish Demographic Survey which was conducted by the
State Institute
of Statistics (SIS) in 1989, the infant mortality rate also
declined.
21. The average size of the household population is 4.5
persons.
22. The marriage rate is 7.76 per cent in accordance with data
pertaining to 1996. The average age at first marriage is 25.8 for
men and 22.1
for women. A great part of the marriages in Turkey (84.92 per cent) are both
official and religious ceremonies. Since
religious marriages alone are legally
void, the official marriage ceremony has been encouraged through administrative
and judicial
measures.
23. The literacy rate has increased in the last 55
years almost three times for men and seven times for women. Compulsory
primary
education has been directly instrumental in this result. The rate of
illiteracy was 19.5 per cent in 1990.
24. The period from 1945 to 1950
witnessed the first major influx from rural areas to large commercial centres
and cities like Istanbul,
Izmir and Adana and to the capital, Ankara. The
second wave of migration was between 1965 and 1970. Nevertheless, the
subsidization
policies of agriculture introduced after 1975 and the high
inflationary trend which is felt more in the cities slowed this
movement.
25. According to the 1997 data, there are 1.3 million Turkish
citizens working overseas, a figure that rises to 3.4 million when their
dependents are taken into account.
F. Labour relations
26. According to the 1996 figures, 6.1 per cent of the total workforce of
22.2 million are unemployed. Compared with the figures
for 1995, this indicates
a decrease from 6.9 per cent, although unemployment among the educated groups,
mostly in urban areas, increased
to 27.0 per cent among men and
35.8 per cent among women.
27. The rate of participation in the labour
force is 49.9 per cent for the whole of Turkey (70.6 per cent for men
and 29.4 per cent
for women); 58 per cent of the agrarian labour force is
from the unpaid family workers group of which females make up 72 per
cent.
28. Gender Statistics Series prepared by the State Planning
Organization in 1994 points to an overall rate of 7.9 per cent of families
that
are headed by females. These rates are 8 per cent in rural and 7.9 per cent in
urban areas.
29. The Turkish social security schemes essentially support
employees and their dependants. The public and private social insurance
systems
introduced social security programmes in the last decade to those paying their
premiums regularly despite being unemployed.
Housewives may also benefit from
these social insurance systems.
30. The social security services are
provided depending on the nature of the workplace, by four social security
agencies: the Retirement
Administration (RA), the Social Security
Administration (SSA), the Organization for Social Insurance of Independent
Workers and private
insurance bodies.
31. At the end of 1996, there were
10.9 million persons under the RA, 28 million persons under the SSA, 13.7
million persons under
the Organization for Social Insurance of Independent
Workers and 308,000 persons under private insurance bodies. Thus, nearly 52.6
million persons are under coverage, representing 83.6 per cent of the total
population.
32. Children under the social insurance coverage are
generally supported until they complete their eighteenth year of age or until
they complete their education if they are over 18. Females over 18 are covered
until they get married. If they do not marry, they
can benefit from their
coverage for their entire lives.
33. The RA supports public servants and
other State employees as well as their spouses and children on retirement,
disablement and
death; 9.6 per cent of those covered are retired, widows and
orphans, while 72.3 per cent are dependants.
34. A provision, introduced
in 1986, has enabled men and women, at the ages of 60 and 55 respectively, to
retire. Furthermore, an
amendment made by Law No. 3774 enacted
on 27 February 1992 allows men and women to retire at the end of 25 or
20 years in service,
respectively.
35. The SSA coverage is available to 16.5 per cent of the active employees,
9.1 per cent of retired persons, disabled persons, widows
and orphans, and 69.7
per cent of dependants. Voluntarily insured persons and agrarian workers
constitute around 4.6 per cent of
those covered by the SSA.
36. Under the
SSA a worker attains retirement pay rights:
(a) If he completes 55 or
she completes 50 years of age and has paid premiums for not less than 5,000
days;
(b) In addition to the foregoing, if he/she is insured for at
least 15 years and not less than 3,600 days; or
(c) In addition to the
conditions stated in (a) above, if he/she is insured
for 25 or 20 years respectively and has paid disablement,
old age and death risk insurance premiums for at least 5,000
days.
37. The Organization for Special Insurance of Independent Workers
is an institution offering social insurance against sickness, old
age,
disablement and death for artisans, small merchants and independent workers, as
well as their spouses and children. In this
context, 12.9 per cent of the
insured are in active employment, 8.1 per cent are retirees, disabled persons,
widows and orphans,
and 72.6 per cent are dependants. There is no age limit for
retirement pay under this Organization. Any male or female having paid
premiums
for 25 and 20 years respectively, and any male over 55 and female over 50 years
of age who paid premiums for 15 years is
entitled to partial retirement pay upon
their application.
38. As for the private insurance companies, 23.1 per
cent of those covered are active employees, 19.2 per cent are retirees, disabled
persons, widows and orphans, and 57.8 per cent are their dependants.
G. Human rights
1. Background
information
39. Turkey shares democratic values and is a party to most of the basic
international instruments of the United Nations and of the
Council of
Europe.
2. Turkish policy objectives
40. The programme of the Turkish Government involves further promotion of
democratic practices, transparency in administration, an
effective judicial
system and further extension of the freedom of expression. In the follow-up of
these commitments, the Turkish
Government
− submitted to the Parliament a law, enacted on 14 August 1997, postponing the sentences of editors convicted of publishing articles including propaganda for terrorism;
− submitted to the Parliament another law, enacted on 6 August 1997, reforming the prisons and introducing new financial resources for them;
− issued a circular on 3 December 1997, stating the importance of strict adherence to human rights in law enforcement which will be thoroughly monitored by the relevant authorities;
− submitted to the Parliament a new draft in January 1998 to replace the Turkish Penal Code. The new draft eliminates the death penalty, which has been de facto abolished since 1984. This draft also rewrites the provisions governing freedom of expression;
− submitted a comprehensive law enacted by the Parliament on 21 January 1998, including special incentives and employment-generating measures in the eastern and south-eastern provinces suffering from the consequences of terrorist atrocities;
− submitted to the Parliament another draft in February 1998, including amendments to articles 17, 159 and 312 of the Turkish Penal Code and article 8 of the AntiTerrorism Law regulating freedom of expression;
− submitted to the Parliament a draft law facilitating the prosecution of public officers.
3. Remarks on the current situation
41. The Government established a Human Rights Coordinating High Committee
chaired by the State Minister responsible for human rights.
This High Committee
has been working on proposals for further legal and administrative arrangements
regarding human rights, some
of which have been submitted to the Council of
Ministers for action.
42. Even though some of the amendments sent to the
Parliament have not yet entered into force, the intensive work carried out by
the
Human Rights High Coordinating Committee and the alertness of the media to
human rights issues, as well as the intensive training
and education programmes
of various government agencies on human rights, have created more sensitivity
among all segments of the
society to human rights.
43. 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.
44. Terrorism is an international scourge and at the same time it
is a direct assault on the basic human right, that is the “right
to
life” of people, including innocent children, all around the world.
Suppression of terrorism requires collective efforts
by the international
community. In this respect, Turkey spends considerable efforts in the United
Nations.
II. LEGAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL ASPECTS OF CHILDREN’S
RIGHTS IN TURKEY
Introduction
45. Turkey throughout its history 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.
46. The first building block of the child-care system was laid
in 1822 with the establishment of the “child reformatories”.
This
was followed by the 1893 regulation to prevent children from begging. Later
came attempts to protect children with the creation
of orphanages and asylums.
The orphanages were given a very strong emphasis, particularly after the First
World War, in an attempt
to protect, care for and educate the children who had
lost their parents in wars. The founders of the Turkish Republic tried to
establish the means so that the children would never have to experience again
the ill effects of war. Their priority investment
were made in peace, in
rearing new generations and in teachers. Turkey was one of the signatories of
the Declaration on the Rights
of the Child.
47. From the 1920s, Turkey
began to evaluate social assistance in the light of its new and contemporary
concepts and institutions.
48. In 1920, the Grand National Assembly of
Turkey was founded. The Grand National Assembly of Turkey worked as the
“Revolutionary
Assembly” which made important arrangements for the
provision of social services. In this context, in the Grand Assembly’s
structure, the Ministry of Health and Social Aid, also responsible for social
services, was founded and with this Ministry, services
aimed at the protection
of the child began to be implemented. Through the Commission for Social Aid,
which it founded, the Grand
Assembly supervised Children’s Homes in
Ankara. After the Republic of Turkey was declared, social services were
reorganized
with a secular republican understanding, through the guidance of
technical knowledge gained in the past.
49. From 1923 to 1945, the Civil
Code, the Municipality Law, the Labour Law and the Penal Code were promulgated.
With all these laws,
the subject of child protection was separated from
voluntary and religious concepts and institutions and linked to scientific,
rational
and legal approaches. Social services in Turkey were developed
especially after 1945.
50. In 1921, the Society for the Protection of
Children were established by Atatürk. Atatürk declared 23 April, the
day
of the inauguration of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, as
Children’s Day, which is an expression of the importance ascribed
to
children as the building blocks of the country’s future. For almost eight
decades, 23 April has been celebrated as Children’s
Day and since 1979,
children from all around the world have participated in the celebrations as
guests of schoolchildren’s
families.
51. The Society for the Protection of Children was renamed in 1935 the
“Turkish Child Protection Institution” and given
an official status.
This organization provides children with day-care centres, children’s
homes, nursing colleges, paediatric
clinics and maternity wards and offers a
care and protection scheme at provincial and subprovincial
levels.
52. The training of professional staff to work in the field of
social services gained importance as a result of the Social Services
Institute
Law passed in 1959. The Social Services Academy, founded in 1961, was attached
to the Ministry of Health and Social Assistance
until 1982, when with the
passing of the new Higher Education Law, it became affiliated to the Hacettepe
University and was renamed
the School of Social Services. The curriculum of the
school aims to train professional social workers. The inclusion of social
services training in the contemporary system of education has led to
considerable improvements as regards social service policy and
planning.
53. The Social Services and Child Protection Agency Law No.
2828 promulgated on 24 May 1983 is a good indicator of this
professional
approach. In addition to bringing about many legal, administrative
and financial innovations, the law has a “social reform”
aspect that
provides for the organization of social services in accordance with changes and
developments. Under Law No. 2828, the
social services provided to people in
need of protection, care and assistance, to children, the handicapped, the aged
and others
are carried out in a new way. The innovations brought about by Law
No. 2828 are briefly, as follows:
54. Apart
from national arrangement and structures, Turkey is a party to various
international agreements relating to the protection
of and care for the
children. Turkey signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child (CRC) during the World Summit
for Children held at United Nations
Headquarters on 29 and 30 September 1990, and ratified it
on 9 September 1994, with the reservation
of its right to interpret
the articles 17, 29 and 30 in accordance with the Lausanne Treaty of 1923 and
the Turkish Constitution. This Convention is now a national legal instrument
after having been ratified by Law No. 4058 published in the Official Journal
No.
22184 of 27 January 1995.
A. General implementation measures
55. In January 1995, after ratifying the CRC, the Prime Minister designated
the General Directorate of the Social Services and Child
Protection Agency as
the “coordinator agency” for the implementation of the CRC in
Turkey. Pursuant to the provisions
of the CRC, coordinator agencies are
responsible for ensuring the required coordination, with all public and private
agencies, in
preparing the action plans and country reports concerning:
existing structural, legal and administrative measures, difficulties
encountered
in practical implementation and goals set in the provision of services and
priorities established in their attainment.
56. With a view to
facilitating the performance of the coordination task, it was agreed
on 9 September 1995 to establish a Council
for Children’s Rights
consisting of representatives of UNICEF, the Ministry of Justice, the
Municipality of Çankaya
(Ankara), the Ankara Bar Association, Hacettepe
University’s Social Services Academy and Ankara (University’s
Pedagogy
Faculty. Besides this, on 4 October 1995, a Department for Protection
and Monitoring of Children’s Rights was formed within
the General
Directorate of the Social Services and Child Protection Agency.
1. Writing the State report
57. In accordance with the United Nations recommendation, ad hoc committees
comprising 200 members from public agencies, non-governmental
organizations
and representatives from universities as well as international organizations
were formed for preparing the first national
report and the national action
plan. The ad hoc committees that began to prepare the report were established
in the areas of: (a)
legal and administrative structure; (b) education and
promotion; (c) data generation; and (d) follow-up.
58. Public agencies
and non-governmental bodies both strived for the promotion and implementation of
the CRC, while at the same time,
they organized the preparation of the State
report.
2. Promoting the Convention on the Rights of the
Child
59. The Department for the Protection and Monitoring of Children’s
Rights of the General Directorate continues its work with
the support of
voluntary non-governmental organizations, local administrations, public agencies
involved in the protection of children
and academic circles.
60. A
commission was established in the Ministry of Justice on 14 January 1994 for the
examination of the legislation on the General
Directorate of the Social Services
and Child Protection Agency, as well as of the international conventions, with a
view to reflecting
them in the national legal system, eliminating the
difficulties arising from the jurisprudence and introducing the necessary legal
arrangements.
61. Detailed information on the CRC was communicated by a
circular to all public agencies, provinces, and non-governmental
organizations.
62. The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (the
TRT), the public television network of the country, since its establishment
in
1927 has laid a major emphasis on broadcasts for children. Radio Ankara had
initiated a Children’s Club in 1950 and started
a children’s hour
programme. This programme was also broadcast in Istanbul, Izmir, Diyarbakir,
and for the children overseas,
by the “Voice of Turkey”. Since
1995, the TRT varied its children’s programmes like “We’re
Friends,”
“The Orange,” “We Children Have Rights,”
and “The Children Have a Voice.” The general broadcast
programme of
the TRT was expanded in 1997 to include the international agreements on
children’s rights. Likewise, the rights
of working children are promoted
in television broadcasts within the context of the CRC.
63. To raise
awareness about the CRC, a conference entitled “Policies for Children in
the 1990s” was held on 29 and 30
May 1989 by the State Ministry in
cooperation with UNICEF.
64. The Turkish National Committee for UNICEF
supported the production of several children’s TV programmes and
interviews on
the rights of the child.
65. Workshops were held on the
following subjects through special groups formed in preparation for the
above-mentioned conference:
maternal health; child development and family
interaction; education of girls; children of emigrant workers; children and the
environment;
legal protection of child workers; children requiring special care
and attention.
66. The informative introductory file prepared by UNICEF
in January 1991 was distributed together with the full text of the CRC to
all
public and private bodies.
67. A children’s summit, consisting of
representatives of children from all the provinces of the country, was held in
April
1991 for promoting the CRC and increasing public interest in the subject.
This summit was organized by a leading children’s
magazine, Doğan
Kardeş.
68. Non-governmental organizations dealing with issues of
children joined to set up a body to promote the CRC in Istanbul, in
1992.
69. The Istanbul Bar Association organized in November 1995 a
conference on children’s rights, bringing together experts and
organizations working on this subject with a view to identifying the basic
principles and guidelines for the legal and organizational
arrangements required
by the CRC. The proceedings of this meeting, including those of the working
groups, was published in a book
entitled Children’s Rights Days.
This meeting was followed by a second on 7 and 8 November 1996.
70. In
November 1995, the Eskişehir Provincial Social Services Directorate held a
panel on the CRC with the participation of
a large audience in order to increase
public sensitivity towards children’s rights.
71. The Metropolitan
Municipality of Istanbul organized on 11 and 12 April 1996 a seminar on the
children’s protection law,
with the support and participation of the
German Consulate General, the Turkish-German Jurists Association, the
Comparative Law,
Research and Implementation Centre of Istanbul
University’s Faculty of Law, and the Centre for International Relations
Research
and Practice. The goal of this seminar, which brought together a large
audience, was to inform the jurists on practices at the international
level on
the matter.
72. Under the auspices of the Izmir Branch of the Turkish
Physicians’ Association, a meeting of children’s rights working
groups was held on 13 and 14 April 1996 with the participation of local
administration representatives, universities, concerned provincial
directors and
nongovernmental organizations.
73. The second national congress, held
from 24 to 26 April 1996, of the Society for the Prevention of Neglect and Abuse
of Children,
was a forum for discussion of many issues affecting
children.
74. The Diyarbakir Branch of the Turkish Physicians’
Association organized a meeting on “Children’s right to health
and
Turkey” on 15 March 1997.
75. The full text of the CRC, reprinted
by the General Directorate of the Social Services and Child Protection Agency,
the Bursa Provincial
Directorate of Social Services, the Turkish Human Rights
Foundation, the Ankara Bar Association and the Mediterranean Branch of the
Association of Social Service Workers, was distributed to all concerned persons
and agencies.
76. The personnel training programmes of the General
Directorate of the Social Services and Child Protection Agency were specially
designed to improve their skills and knowledge on direct contact with children
and children’s rights.
77. The CRC was reprinted in
easy-to-understand language for primary school pupils with the title “My
Rights” by the General
Directorate of the Social Services and Child
Protection Agency and distributed on a mass scale.
78. A pamphlet
entitled “History of Children’s Rights in the World and in
Turkey”, prepared by the Human Rights
Society for primary school teachers,
was published.
79. Ankara University’s Faculties of Educational
Sciences and Law integrated the subjects of children’s rights, human
rights and basic democratic institutions into their graduate
programmes.
80. Ankara University’s Faculty of Educational Science
established a museum for toys in 1990.
81. A Child Culture, Research
and Implementation Centre was established at Ankara University in 1994. The
Centre organized the First
National Children’s Culture Congress
from 6 to 8 November 1996 with the participation of speakers from
several universities.
In November 1998, the Second Conference took place
in Ankara. This conference will be repeated biennially.
B. Definition of the child
1. Definition of the child in general
82. Article 1 of the
CRC defines children as “every human being below the age of
eighteen years unless under the law applicable
to the child, majority is
attained earlier”. This definition covers the concept of the
“minor” used in the Turkish
Civil Code.
83. According to the
Turkish legal system, the moment at which personality is acquired is of great
significance, as far as the rights
and responsibilities and the protection of
children are concerned. According to article 27 of the Turkish Civil Code,
personality
starts from the moment of the child’s complete and live birth.
The acquisition of personality is very important particularly
in cases of
inheritance since the successor must be alive at the time of the
testator’s demise. A newborn becomes a successor
even if he/she lives one
moment after the birth. A stillborn infant, on the other hand, does not have
this privilege.
84. An extension of the capacity concept, laid down in
article 8 of the Turkish Civil Code, is found in the Civil Procedure Law,
article
82 of which gives the right to become a party in a lawsuit. Likewise,
article 58 of the Civil Procedure Law and article 27 (2) of
the Turkish Civil
Code entitle even the foetus to become a party in a lawsuit provided that it is
subsequently born alive. In this
case, the trustee appointed for the foetus may
establish a lawsuit on its behalf under article 298 of the Turkish Civil Code
and
article 492 of the Civil Procedure Law. Such lawsuits become void if a
stillbirth occurs later. If, on the other hand, the lawsuit
ends prior to birth
and the infant is subsequently born dead, the verdict becomes
void.
85. Although personality is acquired at the moment of birth, the
Turkish Civil Code also protects the unborn infant. Article 27 (2)
of the said
Code protects the foetus in a general manner with the statement that “A
child enjoys civil rights from the moment
of conception if it is subsequently
born alive.” This provision entails several practical results. In fact,
if there is an
unborn infant among the successors, the inheritance is not
decided upon until the birth takes
place, as stated in article 584 of the Code. Similarly, a paternity case may
be established by a court-determined trustee prior to
birth in the case of
pregnancies out of wedlock, under article 296.
86. Although article
11 of the Turkish Civil Code sets the completion of the eighteenth year of age
as the beginning of legal age,
a person can be accepted as having attained legal
age by means of a marriage or court verdict. One may also acquire an early
legal
age by a court verdict under article 15 according to which a 15-year-old
minor may be declared as having legal age with his or her
consent and the
parents’ approval. If the minor is under guardianship, the guardian will
also be heard on the matter. The
judge will, under article 12 of the Code,
deliver a verdict by taking into account the best interests of the child. These
provisions
of the Turkish Civil Code display a similarity with the general
principles laid down in article 1 of the CRC.
2. Age of marriage
87. The Civil Code lays down the minimum age for getting married as 18.
However, with the consent of the parents, this limit can
be 17 years of age for
males and 15 years of age for females. Irrespective of these limits, the judge
may permit the marriage of
a 15-year-old male with a 14-year-old female for
important reasons and under exceptional circumstances under article 88 of
the Code.
3. Definition of the child in terms of legal
capacity
88. Decisions concerning legal and medical matters are closely linked to the
concept of legal capacity.
89. A person’s legal capacity is his/her
power to acquire rights and/or contract debentures by acts and actions of
his/her own
will. For this reason, only persons having certain qualifications
are deemed to have legal capacity. This capacity also entails
the ability to
perform legal actions, to be responsible for illegal actions, and to appear in
lawsuits as defendant and plaintiff
or respondent. A person will be deemed as
having legal capacity only if he/she is capable of making judgements and is of
legal age
without a guardian, pursuant to article 14 of the
Civil Code.
90. Children under 18 years of age are either partially
or completely incompetent, depending on whether they have power of discernment
or not. The Civil Code does not specify when the child will acquire the power
of discernment and leaves it to the judge’s
discretion to decide whether
he/she possesses it or not.
91. According to article 262 of the Civil
Code, “The child is under his or her parents’ guardianship, which
may not be
taken away from them without legally valid reasons.”
Article 354 requires the appointment of a custodian for any child who
is
not under guardianship.
92. Since a minor who lacks power of discernment
or who is not under guardianship or tutorship is deemed to be completely
incompetent,
he may not create rights or debentures by his/her own acts, with
some exceptions. The law refuses to grant legal capacity to children,
with the
sole aim of protecting them. All legal acts of children who are wholly
incapable are performed for them by their guardians
or tutors. Children deemed
to be completely incompetent likewise to not have the right to establish
lawsuits according to article
38 of the Civil Procedure Law. Children in this
category are represented in lawsuits by their guardians or
tutors.
93. Minors having power of discernment may perform some legal
acts on their own without the need for the acquiescence of their legal
representatives:
94. Neither minors, even if they have power
of discernment, nor their legal representatives are allowed to bequeath their
property,
establish foundations or become guarantors, under the provisions of
article 392 of the Civil Code.
95. Acts and actions not stated above and
not incurring debentures for the minors may be performed by the guardians or
tutors of minors
or the minors may personally do so with the approval of their
guardians or tutors. Minors having power of discernment are responsible
for the
losses and damages incurred by their illegal acts, under article 16 of the Civil
Code.
96. When minors having power of discernment require any medical
intervention, in principle, the approval of their guardians or tutors
is not
needed since the right to consent thereto is an exclusively personal one.
However, article 70 of Law No. 1219 on the Practice
of Medicine and Its Branches
seeks the approval of the guardians or tutors of the minors prior to such
interventions, irrespective
of whether they are under
restriction.
97. The reason underlying the requirement for the consent of
legal representatives or tutors for such interventions on the minors
is the fact
that they need to be protected and that their interests should be defended by
their legal representatives. Article 263
of the Civil Code seeks the consent of
the parents for such interventions, and in case of disagreement between them,
that of the
father under article 263 or, where the father is deceased or
unavailable, that of the mother, and in case they are divorced, that
of the
party to whom the guardianship is granted is sought
under article 264. In situations where the parentage is determined by a
paternity verdict or
adoption, consent of the parents having the
guardianship or of the adoptive ones will be sought under article 312. For the
minors
who do not have any parentage relationships with the father, the
requirement will be the consent of the mother for such medical interventions,
if
the mother is assigned as guardian by the court, pursuant to article 311.
Consent for adopted minors will be given by the adoptive
parents under article
257.
98. If the minor is placed under tutorship in accordance with the
provisions of article 354 of the Civil Code, consent of the tutor
will be
sought.
99. Article 70 of Law No. 1219 on the Practice of Medicine and
Its Branches states that “Consent will not be sought for the
medical
interventions where there are no guardians or tutors or where they are not
available or where the minor is not in a position
to make statements.”
However, in such circumstances the physicians are deemed to be persons
performing a task without authorization
according to article 410 of the Code of
Obligations.
100. If the legal representative of the minor is a tutor
refusing to consent to medical care considered necessary for the minor’s
health, the physician may appeal to the court for a decision for hospitalization
under article 272 of the Civil Code. If, on the
other hand, the minor’s
legal representative is a guardian, the physician is entitled to report the
matter to the competent
magistrate’s court under article 404 and obtain a
verdict for hospitalization pursuant to article 431.
101. In urgent
cases, the refusal of the minor’s legal representative to give the
required consent will not prevent the physician
from performing the
interventions as appropriate and he/she will not have any responsibility arising
therefrom, since the refusal
to give consent will in this case constitute abuse
of a right according to article 2 (2) of the Civil Code. In fact, article 3 of
the Medical Deontology Regulations place the physicians under the responsibility
of performing the interventions required under emergency
situations.
102. Article 6 of Law No. 2827 on Birth Control requires, for
abortions, the consent of the pregnant woman, the consent of the concerned
person and the approval of her guardian in case of a minor, as well as a verdict
of the competent court in case the pregnant minor
under guardianship lacks power
of discernment. However, the consent of a pregnant minor unable to make a
conscious judgement as
a result of a mental disorder will not be sought. The
consent will not be sought under any emergency circumstances where the life
or
any vital organ of the person is in danger and where obtaining a court verdict
will take time. According to article 5, abortion
will be done upon consent
until the tenth week of the pregnancy, provided that a vital risk will not be
entailed. If, on the other
hand, the pregnancy is of more than ten weeks, an
abortion will be performed only if the pregnancy does or will threaten the
minor’s
life or lead to serious disorders for the child to be born or for
succeeding generations, by a report of a physician. In emergencies
requiring
immediate intervention without which life or one of the vital organs is in
danger, an abortion will be done by a specialist
without waiting for the results
that are legally required.
103. Under article 3 of Law No. 2238 on Organ and Tissue Removal,
Preservation and Transplantation, the person from whom tissue will
be removed
has to have completed his/her eighteenth year of age and has to have power of
discernment.
104. The existing provisions regarding medical interventions
on minors with power of discernment and the arrangements for obtaining
a female
minor’s and her legal representatives’ consent for abortion are in
conformity with the rules concerning the
child’s interests stated in
article 3 of the CRC and with the principle of respect to the child’s
views, stated in article
12 of the CRC.
4. Compulsory education
105. 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.
106. In 1997, in accordance with article 24 of the Basic National
Education Law, primary education was extended from 5 years to 8
years as a first
step towards extending it to 11 years. This reorganization includes the
reduction of the numbers of students per
classroom, improving sports
infrastructures, expanding computer-supported education to all schools, starting
to teach at least one
foreign language starting from fourth grade with the
utilization of audio-visual language laboratories, among others. The last two
years of the education curriculum include civic and human rights courses. As
this project covers about 10 million students, it has
required the mobilization
of immense financial and human resources. Besides the financing envisaged by
the relevant regulations,
a considerable amount is required and has been
provided through voluntary contributions of individual citizens, institutions
and
the private sector. The World Bank also provided financial support to this
project.
5. Definition of the child in labour legislation
(a) General
107. Legislation for the working age of
children is contained in several laws.
108. Under article 67 of 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 to 13-year-old children
if it will not adversely affect their health, school education or vocational
training. On the other hand, 12 was set to be the lower age limit for working
in article 173 of the General Law on Hygiene. Efforts
are under way to deal
with such discrepancies.
109. Similarly, according to article 59 (1) of
the National Basic Education Law, children of primary school age but not
attending
an educational institution may not be employed with or without pay in
any public or private enterprise or in any other institution.
However, article
59 (2) permits the employment of children attending a primary school, provided
that the attendance is proven by
documentary evidence and that the employment is
outside of school hours.
(b) Definition of the child in terms of dangerous
work
(i) Night work
110. Night work in industry is
forbidden for male children under 18 years of age and for females of all ages.
Provisions of article
174 of the General Hygiene Law are applicable to work not
covered by the Labour Law. The said article forbids night work for children
12-16 years of age. According to the conclusion drawn from these two provisions
together, children of 16 to 18 years of age may
be employed in
non-industrial work regardless of whether it is subject to the Labour Law or
not.
111. Article 2 (1) of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention
No. 6 and article 3 (1) of ILO Convention No. 90 prohibit
night work
at industrial enterprises for workers below 18 years of age. There are,
however, a number of exceptions to this rule.
Articles 2, 4, and 7 of
Convention No. 6 permits their employment where a breakdown occurs at the
workplace or public interest dictates
this. According to article 3 (2) of
Convention No. 90, children over 16 years of age are allowed to be employed
during the night
shift if the apprenticeship or other vocational training
justifies it. Article 3 (1) of ILO Convention No. 79 forbids night employment
of workers under 18 years of age.
112. It should be stated that the
provisions of article 69 of the Turkish Labour Law are in conformity with and
even go beyond the
rules introduced by ILO Conventions No. 6 and No. 90 in terms
of the degree of protection provided to children, in the context of
child
labour. The Turkish legislation concerning the non-industrial work for
children, however, could be further improved to reach
the standards set forth in
ILO Convention No. 79.
(ii) Ban on employment in heavy and dangerous
work
113. According to article 78 of the Labour Law, children under
16 years of age may not be employed in heavy and dangerous work. In
addition to
this, the same article states that the heavy and dangerous work that workers
from 16 to 18 years of age can be employed
in will be itemized by a special
regulation. Article 2 (2) of the Regulation on Heavy and Dangerous Work issued
pursuant to this
law prohibits the employment of children under 16 years of age
in heavy and dangerous work. Besides this, subarticle 1 of the same
article
forbids the employment of young workers of 16 to 18 years of age in jobs
indicated in the table annexed to the said regulations.
However, young workers
who have completed their sixteenth year of age and who are graduates of schools
providing vocational and
specialized training and who exercise the subject of
this training may be assigned to jobs stated between the 35th to 62nd lines
of
the list, pursuant to subarticles 3 and 4.
114. As for marine work, ILO
Convention No. 15 ratified by Turkey on 25 May 1959 and article 6 (2) of the
Marine Labour Law prohibit
the employment of persons below 18 years as trimmers
and stokers on board vessels.
115. The Ministry of Labour and Social
Security Child Labour Unit, which is responsible for coordination of programmes
related to
child labour, development of new programme concepts and improving the
legislation, trained a selected group of inspectors on child
labour. The
inspection system was revised and the measures proposed by the inspectors for
the improvement of the working conditions
of children were implemented by using
improved communication techniques. The Ministry of Labour and Social Security
also started
to study the effect of chemicals on children working in the leather
industry, particularly for children badly affected by the solvents
used in this
sector.
116. The Ministry of Education carried out activities to increase
awareness-raising activities with teachers and principals in Apprenticeship
Training Centres and has carried out extensive research on the effectiveness of
apprenticeship training with the aim of improving
the existing
systems.
117. In order to provide the Government with accurate
information to take the necessary steps to prevent illegal child labour, the
State Institute of Statistics carried out a national household survey to collect
statistics on this problem.
118. The Metropolitan Municipality of
Ankara’s Center for Children Working on the Streets established during the
first biennium
of the International Programme for Eliminating Child Workers in
Turkey provided health, education and psycho-social support to working
children.
The Turkish Confederation of Employers’ Associations organized seminars at
industrial sites to increase awareness
of the employers of small-scale
enterprises, in cooperation with Apprenticeship Schools, and it has now
established a Child Labour
Unit at an industrial site in Istanbul to provide
health, education and psycho-social services to working
children.
119. The Confederation of Turkish Tradesmen and Handicraftsmen
trained a core group of trainers to educate its members on child labour.
It is
also training the parents of working children on how to start and improve a
business for income generation.
120. The Turkish Research Institute of
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Craft Centres are developing training
programmes against
illegal child labour for the Unions of Turkish Tradesman and
Handicraftsmen.
121. The Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions increased
the awareness of its members to identify and address child labour issues
in
small-size enterprises of the leather sector in Istanbul and established
national and six regional action commutes against child
labour. It is also
training its members and working children on children’s right, the impact
of child labour, health, nutrition,
first aid, health and working safety to
improve the quality of the life of working children and their
parents.
122. The Foundation of Vocational Training and Small Industries
trained the trainers of foremen, who are the most important group
for the
on-the-job training of working children. It also carried out vocational
training for children working on the streets in
the south-east of
Turkey.
123. The Development Foundation of Turkey developed a model for
rural child labour which provided vocational training and income-generation
activities complementary to the primary school courses. It is now training the
parents of working children in two regions of the
country on how to start and
improve a business for income generation.
124. The Fişk Institute, the
Foundation for Working Children Knowledge and Action Centre, provided health
services for children
working in the metal and automotive industries and in the
leather industry, particularly the shoemaking sector. A mobile clinic
was
established to provide regular health check-ups for children working at metal
and automotive industrial sites in Ankara and Istanbul
in cooperation with
Apprenticeship Schools.
125. The Foundation of Vocational Training and
Small Industries provided training courses for migrant children in East Anatolia
and
children working on the streets.
126. The Human Resource Development
Foundation provided training for primary schools principals on child
labour.
127. The Women’s Library and Information Centre Foundation
carried out research on the past and present situation of female
child labour in
domestic work.
128. Major universities in Ankara raised the awareness of
students on child labour.
129. The General Directorate of Police,
Department of Security, Division of Child Protection, enhanced its capacity to
deliver better
services to children.
130. Article 179 (4) of the General
Law on Hygiene declares that the Labour Law will specify the unhealthy work at
which children
between 12 and 16 years of age may not be employed. Since this
provision refers to the Labour Law for heavy and dangerous work,
article 78 of
the Labour Law and the Regulation on Heavy and Dangerous Work are also
applicable to young workers under the Code of
Obligations. The General Hygiene
Law, however, adopted the guidelines set forth by the Labour Law regarding the
employment of young
workers in heavy and dangerous work without any special
provisions on children from 12 to 16 years of age.
131. Article 7 (2) of
the European Social Charter demands that the minimum employment age on jobs
identified as dangerous and unhealthy
should be raised to over 15 years.
Although Turkey has not ratified the European Social Charter yet, the minimum
age limit is set
at 16 years for heavy and dangerous work by article 78 (1) of
the Labour Law which is in conformity with the European Social
Charter.
132. Some of the conventions and recommendations of the ILO
introduce ad hoc provisions for heavy and dangerous work. ILO Convention
No.
115, ratified by Turkey on 7 March 1968, prohibits the employment of young
workers under 18 years of age in jobs where ionizing
radiation is involved and
permits the employment in such jobs of those over 18 years of age under certain
conditions. The Regulation
on Heavy and Dangerous Work also forbids the
employment of young workers in such jobs who are younger than 16
years.
133. ILO Convention No. 117, which was ratified by Turkey on 30
November 1972, introduces a limitation on the heavy loads physically
carried by
young workers. Provisions of the Regulation on Heavy and Dangerous Work conform
to this limitation.
134. In conclusion, it may be stated that the
provisions set forth by the Labour Law and the regulations issued in accordance
with
it are in conformity with the ILO Conventions.
(iii) Ban on
underground and underwater work
135. According to article 68 of the
Labour Law, persons under 18 years of age may not be employed in underground and
underwater work.
This provision covers all activities performed under the
ground and under the water regardless of their nature.
136. Article 2 of
Law No. 51 on the Rights of Mine Workers at Ereğli Coal Mines states that
persons under 18 years of age may
not be employed within the mine. A similar
provision is contained in article 173 (1) of the General Hygiene Law for
children under
12.
137. The issue of underground and underwater work has
not been excluded from the scope of article 5 of the Labour Law. For this
reason,
they are subject to article 68 of the Labour Law. Law No. 151 and
article 173 (1) of the General Hygiene Law have lost all their
practical
value.
138. The limit of 18 years of age introduced by article 68 of the
Labour Law for underground work is more advanced than the terms
of the
provisions established by ILO Convention No. 123 which sets the age limit as 16
years.
(iv) Ban on employment in the entertainment
sector
139. The local municipalities will ban, under the authority
vested in them by article 176 of the General Law on Hygiene, the employment
of
children under 18 years of age at bars, cabarets, dance halls, cafés,
bathhouses and casinos. The workplaces enumerated
here are not limited; the
article prohibits such employment in all entertainment
centres.
140. Article 12 (2) of Law No. 2559 on the Duties and Powers of
the Police foresees this age limit as 21. Since this constitutes
an ad hoc
provision, it will have precedence over the 18-year age limit contained in the
General Hygiene Law.
(c) Organization of
work
(i) Working hours
141. The duration of work in
general is 45 hours per week under article 61 of the Labour Law and the daily
duration is set at 7½
hours in workplaces operating six days a week. Where
work on Saturdays is half-day or full-day off, the daily duration will be
determined
by the division of 45 hours by the number of workdays. For
example, an enterprise operating five days a week will have a daily workday
of
nine hours.
142. In addition to this general provision, article 67 (3) of
the Labour Law regulates the working days of school-goers in a manner
that does
not interfere with their schooling and includes the school time in the 7½
hours of work. Evaluated together with
articles 1 and 2 of the same law,
the maximum work duration of children between 13 and 15 years of age
becomes 7½ hours and
all schooling time will be considered as
time spent at work.
143. According to the General Hygiene Law, article
173/II, the maximum work duration for children between 12-16 cannot exceed eight
hours a day. This article will primarily be applied to children in jobs which
are not subject to the Labour Law. Additionally,
this article can also be
applied to working children of 15-16 years of age, subject to the Labour Law.
It can be concluded that
the General Hygiene Law, article 173, is a general
protective code to provide labour security for children and young
people.
144. Therefore, the maximum daily working hours for children up
to 16 years of age is 7½ hours, for all young workers employed
in
work which is subject to the Labour Law. All young workers over 16 years of age
are subject to the standard daily working hours
of that workplace. In order to
protect the young workers who are not subject to the Labour Law,
article 173 of the General Hygiene
Law should be considered together with
the Labour Law, article 67.
145. There has been no general regulation in
the ILO Agreements on the subject of workings hours of young workers. Only
Recommendation
No. 153 advises that the normal working hours for young marine
workers should not exceed eight hours a day and 40 hours a
week.
146. There is regulation in the Marine Labour Law, article 26,
which says that the working hours should be eight hours a day and 48
hours a
week; however, there is no special regulation for young marine workers. In
cases where there is no related regulation in
the Marine Labour Law, the Code of
Obligations, which is a general law; and the General Hygiene Law will be
effective. According
to ILO Convention No. 58 ratified by Turkey, children
below 15 years of age cannot be employed on ships. If this Convention and
laws
are evaluated together, we come to the conclusion that young people between 15
and 18 years of age can only be employed on ships
for eight hours a
day.
(ii) Overtime
147. According to the Overtime Work
Regulation, article 4/a, it is not allowed to make children below the age of 15
work overtime.
Young people over 15 years of age are allowed to work overtime,
within legal limits.
(iii) Rest periods
148. Pauses are
rest times, granted to workers within the legal daily working hours. There is
no special provision in the regulations
related to the pauses for children and
young workers. Children and young workers who are subject to the Labour Law
benefit from
the Labour Law, article 64, related to pauses.
149. It is
possible to apply the Code of Obligations, article 334/1, to children and young
workers who are not subject to the Labour
Law. According to this article,
“the employer is obliged in routine hours and days to allow the workers to
rest”.
(iv) Weekly rest, national and general
holidays
150. According to the Law on Weekly Rest No. 394, article 1,
and the Labour Law, article 41, at least one day off will be given to
a worker
who works six days a week.
151. The Code of Obligations, article 334/1,
can be applied to the weekends of young workers who are not subject to the
Labour Law.
The Law on Weekly Rest No. 394 can also be applied to children and
young workers subject to the Code of Obligations. However, the
young workers
subject to the Code of Obligations cannot benefit from the weekend holiday
salary, which is mentioned in the Labour
Law, article 41.
152. The Law on
National and General Holidays No. 2429 is applicable to young workers who are
subject to the Labour Law or the Code
of Obligations. According to the Labour
Law, article 42, workers who are subject to this law benefit from the
general holiday salaries.
However, workers who are not subject to the Labour
Law cannot benefit from this right.
153. ILO Convention No. 14 on
Weekly rest in industry, which was ratified by Turkey on 11 February
1946, grants 24 hours of weekly
rest for a seven-day period (art. 2/I). Turkish
legislation is in harmony with this Convention in this
respect.
(v) Paid annual leave
154. According to the
Labour Law, article 49/III, at least 18 days of paid annual leave are to be
given to workers of 18 years of
age or below. Although there is no special
provision on paid annual leaves of young workers in the Marine Labour Law or in
the Press
Labour Law, young workers also benefit from the Marine Labour Law,
article 40, and the Press Labour Law, article 21, which are related
to paid
annual leaves. There is no provision on paid annual leave for young workers who
are subject to the Code of Obligations.
155. According to the
Constitution, article 50/III and IV, “Resting is the right of workers.
The rights and conditions of paid weekend and national holidays
and paid annual
leave are regulated by the law.” By this article, the Constitution has
accepted paid annual leave and the paid weekend and national holidays as social
rights.
156. The legislature has regulated the paid holiday rights by
labour laws, but has not included provisions on this subject for workers
who are
subject to the Code of Obligations. The precondition for benefiting from the
right of paid holidays is to work under the
labour laws (Labour Law, art. 4).
Therefore young workers who are subject to the Code of Obligations cannot
benefit from paid annual
leaves and paid holidays.
157. Although children
and young workers who are subject to the Code of Obligations technically do not
have the right to benefit from
paid annual leaves and paid weekend and national
holidays, they have the right to annual leaves. It has been determined by the
Constitution, article 50/III, that rest is a legal right of
workers.
(vi) Sexual exploitation
158. The Turkish Penal
Code, articles 414-416, regulate the offences of rape and sexual abuse. It
introduces a variety of sentences
depending on whether the victim has completed
his/her fifteenth year or whether the victim is over 15 and below 18 years of
age.
The Turkish Penal Code, article 414, punishes the rape of a minor below
the age of 15 and article 415 punishes
sexual abuse. The consent of a minor below the age of 15 to sexual
intercourse does not waive the crime or hinder the punishment.
The third
paragraph of article 416 foresees a less severe punishment for those who engage
in consensual sexual intercourse with
a minor between the ages of 15 and
18.
(vii) Compulsory military service
159. According to
article 2 of Military Law No. 1111, the age of military service starts on the
first day of January of the year in
which the person turns 20 years old. With
this provision, it is clear that those who are below the age of 18 cannot be
taken into
military service. Boys over the age of 20 may postpone their
military service if they can certify that they are continuing their
education.
(viii) Voluntary testimony in
courts
160. Testimony is regulated by the Penal Procedure Law,
article 45 et sequitur. In principle, according to the Penal Procedure
Law, article 45/I, a witness is called by a written invitation and according to
article 46 of the same Law, if the witness is absent from the court without
stating an excuse, he/she will be brought by force.
161. According to the
Penal Procedure Law, article 47/III, “Natural relatives or relatives in
law (...) of the accused can withdraw
from testimony.” This right is
explained to the witnesses before their testimony.
162. According to the
Penal Procedure Law, article 52/I, “Those under the age of 15 are heard
without taking oath.” In
the Civil Procedure Law, article 247/I, it is
also stated that minors below the age of 15 do not take an oath before their
testimony.
163. Everybody is obliged to testify (Civil Procedure Law,
art. 253). Therefore, this obligation is also the case for minor witnesses.
The
articles of the Civil Procedure Law regulating the withdrawal of witnesses are
also applicable to minors.
164. Literate deaf and mute people and
children are questioned in writing and their answers are also taken in writing.
When these
people are illiterate, they will be questioned by professional people
(Civil Procedure Law, art. 270).
(ix) Penal
responsibility
165. Under the Turkish Penal Code, the age of
transition to full penal liability is 18. Nevertheless, according to the Law on
Juvenile
Courts, the minimum age to stand before these courts is 15
years.
(x) Restriction of freedom and
imprisonment
166. Children under 11 years of age may not be
imprisoned; only security measures may be adopted against
them.
167. Provisions of the Penal Procedure Law are applicable where a
matter is not treated in the Law on Juvenile Courts under article
18 of the
latter. For this reason, the Turkish Penal Code and other basic legislation
will be invoked where provisions are not available
in the Law on Juvenile Courts
regarding arrest, detention and imprisonment.
168. Detention, arrest and
imprisonment are subject to certain rules in articles 127 to 131 and 104 to
121 of the Penal Procedure
Law, which comprise legal remedies against probable
errors and arbitrary action. The use of detention, arrest and imprisonment is
therefore made even more difficult with regard to children and constitute the
very last resort. Rules and mechanisms should be introduced
to cause the least
damage to children.
169. Under article 19 (2) of the Penal Procedure Law
the detention and arrest of children is not possible during the investigation
and trial stages for misdemeanours for which the lower penalty limits do not
exceed three years. Article 37, on the other hand,
requires that detained or
arrested minors should be kept at penitentiaries reserved for minors or, where
such penitentiaries do not
exist, in separate parts of the prisons for
adults.
170. The provision of counselling services for children on trial
is obligatory according to article 138 of the Penal Procedure
Law.
(xi) Consumption of alcohol and similar
substances
171. Articles 403 et sequitur of the Turkish Penal
Code deal with crimes regarding narcotics and consider the perpetration of such
crimes through the employment
of persons under 18 years of age or those not
having penal liability as an aggravating circumstance. Giving narcotics to
persons
under 18 years of age is also an aggravating circumstance under article
104.
172. Article 574 (2) of the Turkish Penal Code is about the sale of
alcoholic beverages and states that “Those providing alcoholic
beverages
anywhere to persons under 18 years of age or to persons in an obviously
unnatural state due to mental or psychological
disorder will be sentenced to
imprisonment of up to two months” and adds that “the proprietor may
be banned from exercising
his/her trade/profession if he/she is a vendor of
alcoholic beverages” to such persons.
173. Under article 12 of the
Law on Duties and Authorities of the Police, the employment of young girls and
women in casinos, bars,
music halls and other similar places where alcoholic
beverages are served and in such facilities as bathhouses and beaches depends
on
the approval of the highest-ranking administrative official of the area. Males
and females under 21 years of age may not, under
any circumstances, be employed
in such places.
174. Police will deny access to bars, music halls and
places where alcoholic beverages are served to persons under 18 years of age,
even if they are accompanied by their guardians or tutors. Alcohol and tobacco
sales to persons under 18 years of age have been
prohibited by governors’
decrees. The ban is controlled by local authorities.
C. General principles
1. Non-discrimination
(art. 2)
175. Equality is stated in article 10 of the Constitution as an
inalienable human right. According to this article, “Everybody is equal
before the law irrespective of his or her language,
race, sex, political and
philosophical belief, religion, sect and other differences.” Privileges
shall not be granted to any
person, family, group or class. All State organs
and administrative authorities are under the obligation to comply with the
principle
of equality before law in all their actions. The Turkish legislation
is governed by the egalitarian philosophy of the
Constitution.
176. Article 8 of the Civil Code says that “Everybody
benefits from the civil rights and, therefore, everyone is equal to contract
debentures and acquire assets in conformity with the
laws.”
177. The Law No. 2828 on Social Services and Child
Protection Agency reiterates the principle of equality by stating in its article
4 (d) that “Differences in class, race, religion, sect or region may not
be considered in the provision of social services.”
178. The
Charter of the Turkish Red Crescent Association states the principle of equality
as one of its guiding principles. In article
2 (2) of its Charter, it is stated
that it “will act in conformity with the tenets of the principles of
humanitarianism and
equality that are the mainstays of the Red Cross
philosophy”.
179. The Constitution prohibits discrimination by
emphasizing the principle of equality in the Civil Code and in the legislation
dealing with children.
Therefore, the principle of the prohibition of
segregation, as promoted by the CRC, is also in harmony with the Turkish
laws.
2. Best interests of the child (art. 3)
180. The best interests of the child are guaranteed by several provisions
of the Turkish Constitution:
(a) Article 42 (2) of the Constitution says
that “The State will adopt appropriate measures for protecting children
and establish the institutions needed therefor”;
(b) Article 42
(7) indicates that “The State will support talented children without
sufficient financial means, through fellowships
and other means to ensure that
they continue their education”;
(c) In article 50 (2) it is stated
that “Minors, women and persons with physical and mental handicaps will be
protected by
special provisions as to their working conditions”;
(d) Article 56 (3) indicates that “The State will centrally plan the
establishment and services of the health institutions for
ensuring that all
citizens pursue their lives with good physical and mental health, that economy
and productivity improve, in terms
of manpower and materials, and that
cooperation is enhanced.”
181. Children’s prime interests are
considered also in several other laws in addition to the Constitution: article
273 et sequitur of the Civil Code; articles 53, 54, 414, 415, 416, 423,
430, 435, 436, 445, 446, 473 (I), 474, 476, 478, 545, 550 and 574 (2) of
the
Civil Code; article 12 (2) of the Penal Procedure Law; articles 11 (b) and 12
(3) of the Law on Duties and Authorities of the
Police; articles 1, 2 (1), 4 (2)
and 4 (3) of the Law on Protecting Minors from Inappropriate
Publications.
182. The part entitled “General Principles” of
the Law on the Social Services and Child Protection Agency states in its
article
4 (c) that “Children, the disabled and needy persons requiring protection
will be given priority in the implementation
of social service
programmes.” Article 9 (b), itemizing the organization’s duties,
confirms the consideration of children’s
prime interests by saying that
“The organization is responsible for finding and protecting children, the
disabled and the aged
requiring help, establishing and operating, in conformity
with article 4, the social service facilities defined in article 3 and
rehabilitating the persons placed under protection.” The prime interests
of children are also touched on in article 9 (c)
which says that the
organization will “establish facilities to the extent of the means at its
disposal for the care of the
children of working parents and those employed
abroad”.
183. Regarding the measures to be applied for children,
article 8 of the Law on Juvenile Courts contains the following provision:
“The measures enumerated in article 10 may be adopted by the court of the
place where the crime is committed or, from the
viewpoint of the child’s
interests, by the court of the place where the child’s family or where the
persons with whom
the child resides.” Similarly, articles 21 and 22 of
the Law on Social Services and Child Protection Agency and article 10
of the Law
on Juvenile Courts declare that all appropriate measures will be taken to
protect children whose safety is at risk.
184. It may be said therefore
that Turkish law ascribes a great deal of importance to the child’s
benefits and considers their
protection as a general principle. Thus, the
Turkish legislation is in harmony with the CRC.
3. The right to life, survival and development (art. 6)
185. Article 17 (1) of the Constitution states that everybody has the
right to life and protect and develop his or her material and spiritual
existence and its article 19
(1) reiterates that everybody individually has the
right of freedom and security. This means that citizens and aliens alike,
children
and adults, have guaranteed rights to live.
186. Article 453 of
the Turkish Penal Code foresees imprisonment for four to eight years for any
mother who kills her child born out
of wedlock (to protect and preserve her
prestige). This article aims at protecting the right to life of any infant who
is not in
a position to choose between
being born in or out of wedlock. However, the penalty introduced by this
article is not sufficient to create a sufficient deterrent.
For this reason, an
increase of the penalty would be appropriate from the viewpoint of the objective
envisaged in article 6 of the
CRC.
4. Respect for the child’s opinion (art. 12)
187. Articles 25 and 26 of the Turkish Constitution declare that everyone
has the right of thought and opinion. No one can be forced to express or be
blamed because of his/her thoughts
and opinions.
188. The Turkish Civil
Code expects the family to seek the child’s opinion and rules in its
article 265 that the parents will
supervise the vocational education of their
children and take into consideration as much as possible their strengths,
capabilities
and preferences. Article 254 says that a person with power of
discernment may not be adopted against his/her will.
189. For some
situations regarding the exercise of guardianship and tutorship on children, the
courts have vast judicial discretion
under articles 148 (1) and 274 (2). The
judicial discretion is arranged by article 4 of the Civil Code by declaring that
the judge
will decide with the principles of equality and justice on matters in
which the law grants a discretionary power to the court. This
provision permits
the judge to take the opinions of the child, whenever necessary, in exercising
his/her discretion.
D. Civil rights and freedoms
1. Name and
nationality (art. 7)
190. The rights stated in the part of the CRC dealing with the basic
rights and freedoms of children are also reiterated by the Turkish
Constitution
in article 66. Rights and freedoms as prescribed in the Turkish Constitution
are in conformity with the terms of the CRC:
“Everyone bound to the Turkish State through the bond of citizenship is a Turk.
“The child of a Turkish father or a Turkish mother is a Turk. The citizenship of a child of a foreign father and a Turkish mother shall be defined by law.
“Citizenship can be acquired under the conditions stipulated by law, and shall be forfeited only in cases determined by law.
“No Turk shall be deprived of citizenship, unless he/she commits an act incompatible with loyalty to the motherland.”
“Recourse to the courts, against the decisions and proceedings related
to the deprivation of citizenship, shall not be denied.”
191. The
Citizenship Law deals in detail in its articles 1-18 with the acquisition of
citizenship on the basis of the principles of
jus soli and jus
sanguinis. This law arranges the citizenship of children born to Turkish
parents, to a Turkish mother and a foreign father, and to a foreign
mother and a Turkish father. The right to acquire Turkish citizenship is
also granted to foreign children who are born in Turkey
and do not acquire
citizenship from their parents by birth or to stateless children who do not
obtain citizenship because of the
statelessness of any of their parents.
Citizenship rights are also granted to children found within Turkish territory
with unknown
parents.
192. Children are named by their parents according
to the provisions governing parenthood in article 264 (3) of the Civil Code.
Article
259 of the Civil Code states that “A legitimate child will bear
his or her father’s name and acquire his citizenship
rights.”
193. Under article 311 (1), a child born out of wedlock
and entrusted to the guardianship of the mother will bear her name, acquire
her
nationality and obtain vis-à-vis the mother and her relatives all rights
and duties incumbent upon a legitimate child.
Article 312 contains a provision
to the effect that the child whose affinity to the father is established by a
verdict of paternity
will bear the father’s name and acquire his
citizenship. Thus, the citizenship rights of children contained in the CRC are
provided for completely by the Turkish legislation.
194. All births are
reported to the civil registry office within one month under article 39 of the
Civil Code, which adds that a person
who finds a child with unknown parents will
deliver him/her to the State. Articles 5, 7, and 16 of Law No. 1587 on Civil
Registry
introduce a number of provisions regarding entries on the register.
The amendments made by Law No. 3080 of 15 November 1984 expand
the
scope of the persons and agencies responsible for the registration of children
in provisional articles 1 and 2.
195. Persons in charge of registering
civic matters have to report all births, marriages, divorces, deaths, absentees,
corrections
of parentage, recognition and adoptions under article 5 of the said
law.
196. The declaration is deemed to have been duly made when the birth
certificates together with certified identity documents of the
concerned persons
are delivered by mail.
197. The health institutions and physicians have
to prepare reports on all births and deaths under their control and to send them
to the appropriate authorities pursuant to article 7. The birth certificates of
all children are retained by the civil registries
to which they are
addressed.
198. Births are reported within one month by the father or, in
case of his absence, unavailability, illness or interdiction, by the
guardian or
tutor under the signatures of two witnesses in accordance with article 16.
There is an obligation to report the births
at the maternity hospitals, in
prisons and penitentiaries and on ships, trains and aircraft. Despite these
strict measures on civil
registry, there are still a large number of children
who are not registered in rural areas.
199. Under article 49 of the Basic
Law on National Education, the village administrators and administration boards
are in charge of
identifying the children who do not have an identity card and
those who are not registered on the civil registries.
2. Preservation of identity (art. 8)
200. Under article 12 of the Turkish Constitution, “Everyone
possesses inherent fundamental rights and freedoms which are inviolable and
inalienable” and “the fundamental
rights and freedoms also include
the duties and responsibilities of the individual towards society, his family,
and other individuals”.
201. The Turkish Civil Code introduces the
arrangements on the protection of the person in its articles 23 through 34.
According
to its article 23, “Civil rights may not even partially be
waived nor may they be restricted against the law and general ethics
with the
exception that the biological matter of human origin may, with the approval of
concerned persons, be removed inoculated
and transplanted.” Article 24
(a) recognizes the right to sue and article 25, the right of protection of the
name. Therefore
the Turkish legislation is in harmony with the CRC.
3. Freedom of expression (art. 13)
202. The Turkish Constitution guarantees the freedom of speech and
thought in its articles 25 and 26. According to article 25,
“Everyone has the right to
freedom of thought and opinion” and
“No one shall be compelled to reveal his thoughts and opinions for any
reason or
purpose; nor shall anyone be blamed or accused on account of his
thought and opinions.” Article 26 of the Constitution is as
follows:
“Everyone has the right to express and disseminate his thoughts and opinions by speech, in writing or in pictures or through other media, individually or collectively. This right includes the freedom to receive and impart information and ideas without interference from official authorities. This provision shall not preclude subjecting transmission by radio, television, cinema and similar means to a system of licensing.
“The exercise of these freedoms may be restricted for the purposes of preventing crime, punishing offenders, withholding information duly classified as a state secret, protecting the reputation and rights and the private and family life of others, or protecting professional secrets as prescribed by law, or ensuring the proper functioning of the judiciary.
“No language prohibited by law shall be used in the expression and dissemination of thought. Any written or printed documents, phonograph records, magnetic or video tapes, and other means of expression used in contravention of this provision shall be seized by a duly issued decision of a judge or, in cases where delay is deemed prejudicial, by the competent authority designated by law. The authority issuing the seizure order shall notify the competent judge of its decision within twenty-four hours. The judge shall decide on the matter within three days.
“Provisions regulating the use of means of disseminating information
and ideas shall not be interpreted as a restriction unless
they prevent the
dissemination of information and thought.”
203. Restrictions to
freedom of expression and thought stated in the Constitution are in conformity
with the European Convention on Human Rights.
4. Access to appropriate information (art. 17)
204. The Turkish Constitution provides freedom of press in its article 28
under the heading of provisions dealing with the freedom of press and
publication. According
to this article, the press is free and shall not be
censored.
205. Law No. 1117 on the Protection of Minors Against Dangerous
Publications introduces restrictions on periodicals and publications
which are
capable of having nefarious effects on the morals of persons under 18 years of
age and also contains penal provisions.
206. Article 4 (m) in Part 2
covering the broadcasting principles in Law No. 3984 on the Establishment and
Broadcasts of Radio and Television Facilities is on
the prevention of broadcasts
likely to exert an unfavourable influence on the physical, mental, psychic and
moral development of
minors. Article 12, covering the control of movie and
video films and musical works harmful for minors, indicates that “The
broadcast of inappropriate movie and video films and the performance of such
musical works for minors under 16 years of age will
not be permitted.”
The same article continues by saying that this minimum age limit shall be
displayed in a non-ambiguous
manner on the posters, photographs and handouts
announcing them and in the titles of movie and video films.
207. Article
5 (9) of the Regulation on the Guidelines and Principles of Advertisement and
Broadcasting on Radio and Television declares
that children will not be used to
convey commercial messages for products and services which they will not utilize
directly themselves,
nor may they appear in advertisements which contain aspects
likely to impair their physical and psychological growth and development.
A
further provision of this article says that children may not appear in
advertisements using the language, behaviour, clothing,
make-up and appearance
of adults. Article 10 of this regulation is about advertisements intended for
children. These advertisements
are defined as those oriented to persons under
15 years of age, covering the products and services that they will consume.
Elements
likely to exert adverse effects on their physical, sentimental,
intellectual and social development may not be embodied in advertisements
intended for children or those in which children are used.
208. The
advertisement guiding principles which are outlined in article 18 (c) of the
same regulation states that news bulletins,
current programmes and
children’s hours may not be interrupted by advertisement spots if they
last less than 30 minutes while
article 18 (d) specifies that the time allocated
for advertisements may not exceed six minutes in any one-hour broadcast period
and
advertisements may not be placed by subscripts, logos or frames in news
bulletins and in religious and children’s programmes.
209. Turkey
ratified on 4 November 1993 the Law on the Establishment and Broadcast of Radio
and Television Stations which introduced
major innovations for the protection of
children.
5. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (art. 14)
210. As indicated under part D.3, articles 24, 25 and 26 of the Turkish
Constitution are on the freedoms of thought, conscience and creed as basic
individual rights and the Civil Code states in its article 265 that
the parents
manage and control their children’s vocational education and take into
account, as much as possible, their strengths,
capabilities and
desires.
211. Article 24 (4) of the Constitution states that the religion and
ethics education will be given under State supervision and control, that
religious culture and ethics
will be taught among the compulsory topics in the
primary and secondary education institutions and that any other religious
education
beyond this will be given only upon request and with the approval of
legal representatives of the minors.
212. Pursuant to article 12 of the
Law on Basic National Education, secularism is the guiding principle in the
Turkish national education
system.
6. Freedom of association and peaceful assembly (art. 15)
213. Article 33 of the Constitution says that everyone has the right to
form associations without previous permission and no one shall be compelled to
become or remain
a member of an association.
214. Article 4 of Law No.
2908 on Associations states that all persons having the capability of using
his/her civil rights and who
are over 18 years of age may form associations
without having to obtain a permission in advance. Article 16/1 of Law No. 2908
on
Associations declares that all persons who complete their eighteenth year of
age and have legal capacity may become members in associations.
215. In
harmony with article 15 of the CRC, article 34 (1) of the Turkish Constitution,
contains the right to organize meetings and demonstration marches by saying that
everybody has the right to hold meetings without
prior permission. Article 34
(2) of the Constitution states that, “The formalities, conditions, and
procedures governing the exercise of the right to hold meetings and
demonstration
marches shall be prescribed by law.”
216. Article 2
of the Law on Associations confirms that persons over 18 years of age and having
legal capacity may establish associations
without permission. However, students
in public and private secondary educational institutions may not become founders
of associations
even if they have completed their eighteenth year of
age.
7. Protection of privacy (art. 16)
217. Article 20 of the Turkish Constitution, which says that everyone has the
right to demand respect for his/her private and family life, is in harmony with
article 16 of the
CRC. The Constitution’s article 21 refers to the
inviolability of residence. All relevant authorities are obliged to respect
this right unless there
is a decision issued by a judge in situations clearly
enumerated by law.
218. Articles 193, 195 to 197 and 480 to 482 of the
Turkish Penal Code offer protective measures for the inviolability of private
life.
8. The right not to be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment (art. 37 (a))
219. According
to article 17 of the Turkish Constitution, everybody has the right to life and
to protect and develop his or her physical and spiritual integrity. The
physical integrity
of the individual is inviolable except under medical
necessity and in cases prescribed by law. The individual shall not be subjected
to scientific or medical experiments without his/her consent. Nobody may be
tortured and subjected to penalties or treatment incompatible
with human
dignity. Article 19 of the Constitution states that everybody has the right to
liberty and security.
220. Children not over 11 years of age at the time
of the perpetration of a crime will not be prosecuted or punished and if they
commit
misdemeanours necessitating imprisonment of one year or more, they
may not be placed in State penitentiaries or prisons and will
be delivered to
their parents or tutors in accordance with article 53 (1) of the Turkish Penal
Code of which article 54 states that
those between 11 and 15 years of age at the
time of perpetration of a crime will be subject to article 53 if they lack power
of discernment
and the ability to judge. If, however, the child is conscious of
the fact that the act which he/she committed constitutes a crime,
the child will
be punished with reductions in the penalty.
E. Family environment and alternative care
1.
Parental guidance and the child’s evolving capacities (art.
5)
221. According to the Turkish Civil Code, article 264, parents are entrusted
with the duty to raise their children with the best means
at their disposal and
to provide appropriate training for those who are handicapped or mentally
retarded. Article 265 states that
the parents orient the vocational training of
their children, considering their capabilities and desires as much as
possible.
222. An important condition of adopting a correct decision on
the vocational orientation of the child is the need to know the child’s
interest, aptitude and expectations. For this reason, the child should be given
the chance to air his/her opinions regarding the
decision concerning his/her
future.
223. Under article 266 of the Turkish Civil Code, the duty and
responsibility of determining the child’s religious education
belong to
the parents. Contracts restricting this parental right are absolutely void.
The provisions of the Turkish Civil Code
are, in this respect, in harmony with
those of the CRC.
2. Parental responsibilities (art. 18,
paras.1-2)
224. The primary responsibility of the parents in raising the children and
the need for taking into account their security are laid
down in article 18 (1)
of the CRC.
225. The Turkish Civil Code, for its part, is based on the
principle that the raising of children by the parents themselves is the
ideal
solution. According to articles 262 and 264 of the Civil
Code, the parents are under obligation to raise their children and to treat
them with affection and care. Custody is given to the
parents to enable them to
fulfil this task. They, as a rule, use the custody right jointly and both
father and mother have equal
rights.
226. The Turkish Civil Code created
the institution of tutorship to protect the legal rights of minors in case the
guardianship system
does not function. According to article 354, if both
parents of a minor are deceased or their guardianship rights are withdrawn,
the
judge will appoint a tutor for the child. Under the subarticle, public servants
must report the matter to the nearest magistrate’s
court when they
discover, during the performance of their duties, that a child is left without
guardians. Any citizen may also inform
the court of similar situations. Upon
receipt of this information, the magistrate’s court will appoint a tutor
for the child.
227. Subarticle 3 of article 354 of the Civil Code
guarantees the right of parents to avail themselves of the childcare and support
services.
228. The Turkish Labour Law introduced the obligation for
public and private sector enterprises to establish day-care centres for
the
children of their employees and workers. The Labour Law and the law on Civil
Servants allow maternity leave for working women
for up to three weeks before
and two months after delivery.
3. Separation from parents (art. 9)
229. The Turkish legal system takes up the issue of the child’s
separation from the parents in the context of the parental guardianship
rights
and duties since these rights and duties concerning the development of the
children are based on natural parentage. Guardianship,
just like marriage, is
closely related to societal order and, for this reason, the State controls
whether it is duly performed and
complied with.
230. Articles 41 and 48
of the Constitution and various provisions of the Civil Code established a
series of arrangements for ensuring the cohabitation of children with their
parents.
231. At the time of the formulation of the parts of the Civil
Code concerning children’s rights, the security of children had
been the
guiding factor under the then prevailing conditions. Children’s rights
prevailed over those of the parents in the
provisions dealing with guardianship
and efficient systems were established for the protection of children’s
safety in all
other matters not falling within the field of
guardianship.
232. These arrangements aim at guiding parents and public
bodies towards the best interests of the child. Article 262 underlines
the need
for taking into account children’s security in the use of guardianship
rights by the parents. The first paragraph
of this article confirms that the
child will not be removed from his/her parents if there are no compelling legal
requirements.
This provision is in full conformity with article 9 of the
CRC.
233. In cases where parents fail to fulfil their obligations toward
their children or neglect them, the judge can implement the necessary
measures
envisaged under the Turkish Civil Code. Measures falling within the first
category are mentioned in article 272 which are
not enumerated
and left to the judge’s discretion. Appointment of a counsellor is one
of the measures. The removal of children from parental
guardianship and the
withdrawal of guardianship is a second category measure.
234. When the
child’s physical and mental development is likely to be impaired or the
child is emotionally abandoned, he/she
may be separated from the parents under
article 273 of the Civil Code. The adoption of this measure might not influence
the parental
guardianship right and the child may be placed in a foster family
or institution. This measure may also be adopted upon the request
of the
parents.
235. The separation from parents is by far the most severe
measure for the child’s protection under the Civil Code. The general
condition for resorting to this measure is, under article 272 of the Code, the
inability of the parents to raise the child properly.
The guardianship right
will be withdrawn by a court decision from parents who are unable to use this
right, who are under restriction
or who seriously misuse or neglect their
powers. In such cases, the magistrate’s court will immediately appoint a
tutor pursuant
to article 354.
236. Guardianship may also be terminated
upon the adoption of the child by a third person under article 257 or disowning
of paternity
or termination of ascendance relationship under articles 242, 245
and 258 which separate the child from his/her natural parents
237. The
Civil Code contains a serious of provisions requiring the child’s opinion
to be solicited. Other important reasons
for terminations of the guardianship
rights are the divorce of the parents or the annulment of the marriage. In
these cases, guardianship
will terminate for one or, if the circumstances so
dictate, both of the parents. Following the finalization of the divorce or
annulment
verdicts, guardianship may be withdrawn from the concerned party only
by court decision, although this will not prevent the party
from which this
right is withdrawn from maintaining personal relations with the
child.
238. There are no provisions in the Turkish legislation contrary
to article 9 (2) of the CRC which requires that the opinions of all
concerned
parties be sought with respect to the actions taken under subarticle 1 thereof.
In fact, comments are taken from minors
with power of discernment on this
account. For actions dealing with younger children, the court resolves on the
matter after hearing
the parents and considering the child’s interest.
The courts should thoroughly examine the socio-economic status of the family
to
which the child will be entrusted, the place where the child will live and the
school which he/she will attend. For these purposes,
establishment of
institutions providing assistance is deemed necessary.
239. According to
article 9 (3) of the CRC, the child has the right to maintain personal relations
with his/her parents; parents also
have the same right. However, the courts can
decide the contrary if the primary interests of the child require the denial of
such
relations. Where the court resolves that personal relations should be
maintained between the parents and the child, the party to
whom the guardianship
is entrusted is under the obligation to permit the other party to maintain
relations with the child.
240. Children may leave home as a result of
grave turbulence within the family, mistreatment due to poverty, forcible
employment,
inducement to illegal activities or simply the child’s
waywardness, as stated in article 3 of the Law on the Social Services
and Child
Protection Agency or articles 11 and 12 of the Law on Juvenile Courts. Under
such circumstances, the matter is taken up
in the context of the laws on
protecting minors and the children are returned to their families or to social
assistance institutions
through the police.
241. Although there are no
specific rules in the Turkish legal system for handling the situations referred
to in article 9 (4) of
the CRC, no provisions prohibit the notification of the
concerned officials when the children are separated from their parents or
from
one of them due to their arrest, imprisonment, death or deportation. However,
article 9 (4) has become a part of the national
legislation since Turkey
ratified the CRC.
4. Family reunification (art. 10)
242. Article 10 (1) of the CRC provides guarantees for the exit from or entry
to the country for the purpose of family reunification.
The Turkish laws do not
have specific clauses governing such exits and entries. The parents or one of
them or the children may
freely enter the country. With respect to exit, no
permit is required. For these reasons, persons wishing to leave the country
for
family reunification purposes may do so without hindrance. The main problem
nevertheless arises when a Turkish citizen wishes
to travel abroad for family
reunification purposes since some of the European countries where Turkish
citizens live in large numbers
apply restrictions for granting visas. It is
evidence that this practice prevents family reunification as stated in article
10 (1)
of the CRC.
5. Recovery of maintenance for the child (art. 27, para.
4)
243. Article 27 of the CRC guarantees the maintenance for children and
Turkish law has the necessary arrangements for ensuring the
coverage of a
child’s maintenance costs.
244. The party to whom guardianship is
not granted has to share in the maintenance and education expenses of the child
commensurate
with his or her revenues, under article 148 (2) of the Civil Code.
But, article 27 (4) of the CRC regarding the improvement of the
maintenance
payable to children does not find efficient application under the prevailing
conditions since it is impossible to determine
the true revenues of the party
liable to remit maintenance.
245. Under article 306 of the Turkish Civil
Code, maintenance is determined in connection with paternity verdicts having
financial
consequences. The child receives this at the beginning of each month
until the completion of his/her eighteenth year of age.
246. Articles 161
and 162 of the Turkish Civil Code enable the judge to determine the amount of
maintenance necessary for the other
party to have a separate residence. The
child’s right to demand maintenance from the parent who abandons the home
and fails
to provide the necessary means for sustenance is based on this
provision. The maintenance payable by one of the parents to the other
and to
the children during the course of the divorce case, called “sustenance
alimony”, under article 137 arises from
the maintenance
liability.
247. Under article 315, the child also has the right to demand
maintenance.
248. Making the maintenance relevant to present conditions
is possible pursuant to article 145 (3).
249. The above
provisions of the Turkish Civil Code fulfil the requirements of article 27 (4)
of the CRC, which states that “States
parties shall take all appropriate
measures to secure the recovery of maintenance for the child, from the parents
or other persons
having financial responsibility for the child both within the
State party and from abroad.”
250. Similarly, Turkey has signed a
number of international conventions for guaranteeing the maintenance of children
whose parents
live in different countries. The Convention on the Law Applicable
to the Maintenance Obligations concluded at the Hague on 2 October
1973 entered
into force for Turkey on 1 January 1983. This Convention introduced the
application of the principle of lex fori of the claimant without the
condition of reciprocity. The other convention also dated 2 October 1973, is
entitled “Convention
on the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions
Relating to Maintenance Obligations Concluded”. It has been ratified by
Turkey
and thus become a part of the Turkish national law.
251. The
common feature of both conventions is the fact that they are applicable to cases
containing expatriate elements and cover
the cases where the maintenance
claiming child and payer live in different countries. Consequently, by
ratifying these two conventions,
Turkey has fulfilled the requirements of
article 27 of the CRC since 1983. For the solution of maintenance issues not
covered by
these conventions, the provisions of the Law on International Private
Law and Procedure Implementation will be applied.
6. Provision of special assistance and protection services to children
deprived of a family environment (art. 20)
252. Article
61 (4) of the Constitution is in harmony with article 20 (1) of the CRC which
obliges the State to adopt all appropriate measures for reintegrating into the
society the child in need of protection. Although the primary duty of
protecting children belongs to the parents, the State undertakes
this task under
the provisions of the Turkish Civil Code and the Law on the Social Services and
Child Protection Agency if the parents
are not available or are unable to
perform their duty, as stated in the preceding paragraphs.
253. Article
20 (2) of the CRC requires the signatory States to provide care for the children
who are temporarily or permanently without
a family. The Turkish laws and
particularly the Civil Code contain ample provisions to that effect. According
to article 273 of
the Civil Code, the judge will separate children from their
parents and place them with another family or an institution if it becomes
certain that their physical or mental health are endangered or if the children
are morally abandoned. Where the children continue
disregarding the
instructions of their parents because of their insubordination and if no other
remedies are found, the judge may
place them with another family upon request of
the parents. The charges for such measures will be paid by the parents or, if
they
are unable to meet them, by the State.
254. Various other provisions
concerning the protection of children are embodied, in addition to the Civil
Code, in the Law on Municipalities
and Civil Procedure Law, but they are most
elaborately detailed in the Law on Social Services and Protection of Children.
The latter
places all services designed to protect children under State
supervision within the General Directorate of the Social Services and
Child
Protection Agency. Pursuant to article 4 (e) of the abovementioned law, all
social services intended to protect children needing
support will be performed
by the institution established by this law. It is suggested in this respect
that efforts must be made
by voluntary organizations.
255. Social
services for children in need of protection can only be carried out by the
Social Services and Child Protection Agency,
as clearly stated in Law No. 2828.
The children who need protection are those whose physical, emotional and moral
development is
endangered, such as those:
(a) Who have no mother and/or
father;
(b) Whose mother or father, or both of them, are
unknown;
(c) Who have been abandoned by the mother and/or
father;
(d) Who, due to neglect, are faced with social risks, such as
begging, consuming alcohol, etc.
Children considered within the limits of
this definition can profit from the above-mentioned services after a detailed
social study
by the competent authority.
256. The social services for
children in need of protection are carried out through Children’s Homes,
for children between 0-12
years of age, and training institutions for children
between 1318 years of age. At present, there are 7,162 children in 75
children’s
homes and 9,502 young adults in 95 training institutions. On
the other hand, about 500 children are under the protection of foster
families.
About 1,500 children have profited from the foster family services which started
in 1961.
257. “Child adoption” becomes an option when the
child who needs protection is an orphan. In this way, protection within
the
family, which is one of all the protection methods outside the institution, is
provided.
258. It is difficult to make a definite estimate of the number
of children who need protection in Turkey. According to the 1985 census,
47.40
per cent of the total population is between the ages of 0-18 and different
figures have been concluded depending on the methods
used for determining them.
In fact, the number of destitute or completely abandoned children is not very
high and it is known that
the Social Services and Child Protection Agency
provides the necessary services to such children. However, the number of
children
who need social assistance programmes or counselling services is
estimated to be around 480,000.
259. Law No. 2828 has laid down clear
procedures for the protection of disabled people outside
institutions.
260. The Social Aid Instruction of the Social Services and
Child Protection Agency, which went into effect on 28 September 1986, outlines
the priorities in social services to be given by the Social Services and Child
Protection Agency. By this Instruction, an area not
previously covered by the
Turkish social security system has become legally regulated and an important
step has been taken towards
closing the gap in “Family
Assistance”.
261. Another provision requiring the adoption of
measures to protect children needing support may be found in the Law on the
Establishment,
Duties and Procedures of Juvenile Courts. Under article 14,
entitled “Implementation of Measures Regarding Minors Needing
Support”, one of the measures enumerated in article 10 will be implemented
by the competent juvenile court upon the request
of the public prosecutor,
guardians or tutors of minors whose physical or mental development is endangered
or who display strong
insubordination against their parents.
262. The
absence of clear-cut provisions in the Law on the Social Services and Child
Protection Agency are overcome by the judges
through provisions of the Civil
Code. Solutions introduced by the Turkish legal system in accordance with
article 20 (3) of the
CRC deal with the natural parents, foster families,
placement at special institutions and adoption. Likewise, the children so
protected
are allowed to remain at the youth homes until they become
self-sufficient in order to avoid the problems likely to arise during
the
transition from life at the institutions to life at home after the age of 18.
The youth homes provide for separate facilities
for boys and girls.
263.
Before the adoption of the measures to be taken pursuant to article 20 of the
Law on Juvenile Courts, inquiries are made through
social service specialists,
pedagogues, psychologists and psychiatrists on such matters as the child’s
family and social background
and educational performance, under article 20.
Inquiries are also appropriate in advance of the introduction of a protection
decision.
According to article 11 of the regulations, a social worker or, if
there is none, the person selected for this purpose by the provincial
directorate of social services, will make an in-depth inquiry into the
child’s background, his or her parents, the socio-economic
situation of
the family and of the area, the location where the child had lived until
then.
264. The protection decision is valid as a rule until the child
reaches maturity. It may however be rescinded by the court upon request
of the
institution if the conditions requiring such a decision do not exist any longer
or it may be continued beyond the child’s
maturity subject to his/her
consent under article 24 of the Law on the Social Services and Child Protection
Agency.
265. Social Aid Services is one of the major services of the
Social Services and Child Protection Agency. These services are implemented
according to the Regulation on Cash and in Kind Social Assistance of 28
September 1986 and its coverage was enlarged for aid seekers
on 29 December 1993
and 10 April 1997 by changing the regulation. According to this regulation, aid
seekers are defined as children
who need protection, children who should be
placed in an institution and who are awaiting a place, aged and disabled people
who fell
into poverty and are at the same time vulnerable, secondary school and
university students who cannot meet their basic needs on their
own and whose
parents cannot help them. Aid in kind includes food, clothing, fuel,
stationery, medical instruments and instruments
for rehabilitation. Aid in cash
is equal to the amount of social aid in the regulation. This aid is 20 per cent
of the salary of
the highest official (including bonus pays).
266. The
most widespread support given in Turkey is protection at care institutions.
Children 0-12 are settled in the Children’s
Homes and those in the
13-18 age group are transferred to separate orphanages for boys and girls. A
change in the policy was made
in the recent past whereby the home-type systems
were established for smaller groups, but this project has still not been
expanded
enough because of financial problems.
267. The adoption service
(article 21 of the CRC) is one from which particularly the children of the age
group 0-6 benefit. In this
process, governed by article 254 of the Civil Code
which takes into consideration the children’s prime interests and their
rights to life and to develop, children’s opinions are sought if they are
at an age enabling them to express themselves. This
issue is taken up in detail
in section 7 below.
268. Foster families have been used for a
considerable number of years in Turkey as required by article 29 (3) of the CRC
with due
consideration of the interests of the children whose opinions and
consent are also taken if they are able to discern the situation.
Foster Family
Services is one of the services of the Social Services and Child Protection
Agency. Foster Family Services are based
on the Civil Code No. 273 and Law No.
2828 on the Social Services and Child Protection Agency. The Agency is trying
to broaden this
service with projects dated 1961 and 1993. The research
proved that children who have grown up in foster families are healthier
and more
developed that those who have grown up in the Agency’s
institutions.
269. In line with this view, to increase the efficiency of
Foster Family Services and to broaden these services in the community,
a huge
orientation and advertisement campaign began with the patronage of the President
of the Republic of Turkey, H.E. Süleyman
Demirel, on 25 May 1998. With the
help of this campaign in the last one year, 66 children were accommodated in
foster families.
At the beginning of the campaign, there were 269 children and
now there are more than 305 children who are cared for in foster
families.
270. In 1998, in Istanbul, a four-step programme was initiated
with the support of nongovernmental organizations, the Istanbul Bar
Association,
the Office of the Governor of Istanbul and the local authorities. Under this
programme, the Counselling Caravan at
Kadıköy Quay, the First Step
Station at Küçükbakkalköy, the Rehabilitation Centre at
Yeldeğirmeni
started to function and the construction of the Rehabilitation
Centre for Volatile Substance Addicts in Ağaçlı is
under way.
Studies for a new programme are also under way. In this framework, the Istanbul
Beyoğlu Seventy-fifth Year Child
Protection Centre will serve working
children. A centre was opened in 1995 in Izmir and in 1997 a Rehabilitation
Centre for Street
Children was founded in Ankara. Today, there are three such
centres in Izmir. Studies for street children in cities like Mersin,
Diyarbakır, Batman and Şanlıurfa are still continuing and these
centres will be opened in 1999. There is also a project
called “Centre
for Working Children in the Streets of Ankara” which will serve working
street children. This project
is sponsored by both the Metropolitan
Municipality of Ankara and the ILO. Centres which will give services to
children and their
families will be opened at Diyarbakır, Mersin and
Batman.
271. Community centres are the institutions which target better
living conditions for rural people. In East and South-East Anatolia,
which has
witnessed high migration rates, there are 20 community centres which
work to increase the living standards of the people
in the region and creating
equal development opportunities for them.
7. Adoption (art. 21)
272. In the Turkish legal system, the child’s best interests play a
decisive role in adoption regulations, as required by article
21 (a) of the CRC.
Adoption bestows upon the adopted one the same rights as the natural children of
the adopting family. Under article
256, adoption is done by an official
certificate under the approval of the competent magistrate’s court and
duly entered on
the civil register. The judge shall carry out ex officio
investigations as he deems necessary and shall refuse the adoption request
unless he finds reasonable the justifications brought by the
parties.
273. Under article 257 of the Civil Code, the adopted child
takes the name of his/her adoptive parents and becomes their legal heir.
The
rights and responsibilities of the biological parents are thereby transferred to
the adoptive ones. The Turkish Citizenship
Law provides, in its article 3, that
a foreign minor adopted by a Turkish family will acquire Turkish nationality in
order to avoid
statelessness. Legal documents underlying the adoption procedure
may not be revealed to any third party without a court decision
or the
adoptee’s consent.
274. Provisions in the Turkish legal system for
adoption aim at protecting the child’s prime interests and consequently
comply
with article 21 of the CRC.
275. Article 21 (b) of the CRC deals
with international adoptions. In this context, circular No. 3 dated 9
March 1994 of the General
Directorate of the Social Services and Child
Protection Agency allows for the carrying out of adoption in Turkey, lists the
applicants
desiring to adopt children in chronological order and grants the
priority to Turkish nationals living in Turkey, followed by Turkish
families
abroad, followed by families in which one of the parents is a Turkish national
and finally the families of foreign nationality.
This provision is in harmony
with the rule stated in article 21 (b) of the CRC. Where international adoption
of children in Turkey
is involved, article 18 of the International Private Law
and Civil Procedure Law is applied.
276. From the viewpoint of Turkish
law, sufficient mechanisms exist for ensuring that the adoption does not become
an occasion for
illicit benefits. Under article 256 of the Civil Code, adoption
is made by virtue of an official certificate prepared upon the approval
of the
judge who carries out ex officio investigations as required by the
circumstances. Turkey is a member of the International
Social Services which
makes known the social status of the alien families desiring to adopt children
and reduces the risk of adoptions
for the purpose of illicit benefits. However,
it is necessary that an international mechanism be established to supervise and
control
the adoptions which may be intended for the outright sale of children.
Adoptions of this kind should not be handled as acts that
may be prevented by
the efforts of a single country since this is an issue which demands
international cooperation.
277. Bilateral and multilateral agreements
regarding the adoption process and its enforcement are encouraged by article 21
(e) of
the CRC. Pursuant to this provision, Turkey ratified the convention
relating to the prevention of trafficking in women and children.
8. Illicit transfer and non-return (art. 11)
278. Article 11 (1) of the CRC governs the procedures against the illegal
expatriation and repatriation of children. The illegal
expatriation of children
has two dimensions, one concerning civil law and the other concerning penal law.
As the matter is of concern
for several countries at the same time, no single
country may achieve success by isolated efforts and legislation. For this
reason,
international agreements open to all countries concerned are
suggested.
279. Article 11 (2) of the CRC requires that the States
parties should enter into bilateral or multilateral arrangements or adhere
to
the existing international conventions. There are two international instruments
in this field: the Convention on the Repatriation
of Children, which has been
ratified by Turkey, and the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil
Aspects of International
Child Abduction. This Convention was signed by Turkey
on 21 January 1997.
9. Protection of children from violence, abuse and neglect and
the treatment of victims (art. 19, paras. 1-2, and art.
39)
280. Article 19 (1) of the CRC requires the States parties to
introduce all legal, administrative, social, educational and other measures
to
ensure that children are protected from physical and mental violence, injury and
abuse and all other similar treatments while
under the care of their parents or
any one of them, guardians, tutors or any persons in charge of their
care.
281. This legislation is laid down in the Turkish Civil and Penal
Codes. Articles 272 to 275 of the former has provisions for the
protection of
children from physical and mental abuse, violence, exploitation and all other
similar treatment by their parents.
According to article 272, a judge may
remove a child from his or her parents for placement with a family or
institution if he finds
that the child’s physical or mental development is
impaired or if the child is morally abandoned. Articles 274 and 275 of
the
Civil Code deal with the withdrawal of guardianship. The former renders it
possible for a judge to withdraw guardianship rights
from the parents and
appoint a tutor when the parents are unable to fulfil their relevant duties or
are prohibited from doing so
due to misuse of their powers or excessive
negligence. As the ideal solution is to have the child raised with his/her own
biological
parents, the withdrawal decision will be repealed when the conditions
necessitating the withdrawal are eliminated and the guardianship
rights are
returned to the parents. If the guardianship is withdrawn under article 277 of
the Civil Code, parents will continue
to bear the costs of raising and
protecting the child.
282. If the tutor misuses this power or commits
excessive negligence, he will be withdrawn from his functions by the judge under
article
427 of the Civil Code.
283. The Turkish Penal Code, on the other
hand, has provisions against cases of misuse. The Civil Code states that
provisions concerning
a minor’s assets are void. Article 281 of the Civil
Code declares that all revenues from the custody of a minor are to be
used for
his/her housing and feeding. This provision permits the parents, with a few
exceptions, to utilize the minor’s property
in any manner they deem fit
and foresees that the excess will be added to the patrimony of the parents.
Since, however, the acts
and actions of the parents are not performed under the
supervision and guidance of the judge, arrangements should be in the light
of
the prevailing circumstances of the country and the prime interests of the
child.
284. Articles 414 to 416 deal with sexual abuse and introduce a
variety of penalties depending on whether the victim is below 15 or
18 years of
age. Where these acts are perpetrated by one of the guardians or a tutor,
instructor, teacher, servant or guard or by
any person having influence on such
minors, the penalties are increased by one half under
article 417.
285. Inducement to prostitution is addressed in
articles 435 and 436 of the Turkish Penal Code which introduces an aggravating
circumstance
where the victim is under 15 or 21 years of age. A further
aggravating circumstance is such inducement made by a husband, brother,
sister,
guardian, tutor, instructor, teacher or servant of the child. Withdrawal of
guardianship or tutorship is also involved in
such cases pursuant to article
437.
286. Pursuant to article 477, people who cause damage to persons
under their guidance by means of misusing their duties to train,
educate, raise,
guard and protect them will be imprisoned for up to 18
months.
287. According to article 478, persons who mishandle, in an
unaffectionate manner, any minors under 12 years of age under their care
will be
punished with imprisonment of up to 30 months. Where these acts are
perpetrated by guardians or tutors, a decision will
be taken to repeal the
guardianship or tutorship according to article 479.
288. The
administrative, social and educational measures relevant to article 19 of the
CRC are handled under the heading of “abused
children”. Article 19
(2) of the CRC identifies the nature of protection measures. Rules contained in
the Turkish legislation
(Civil Code and Penal Code) include some penalties such
as the withdrawal of guardianship. These penalties are adequate for the
prevention of cases of abuse.
10. Periodic control of children placed in a different environment
for their protection and care (art. 25)
289. Article
25 of the CRC requires that the children placed under the protection of public
agencies or treated for physical or mental
disorders should be periodically
monitored to verify whether the protection or treatment serves the intended
purpose. The form and
nature of the protection measures to be adopted by the
juvenile courts are indicated in Law No. 2253 on the Establishment, Duties
and
Trial Procedures of Juvenile Courts in which the subject of implementation is
addressed in articles 10 through 14, depending
on the child’s age, health
and needs.
290. Continuous follow-up was stated in article 11 (d) of the
Regulation on Nurseries and Children’s Homes as a function of
the General
Directorate of the Social Services and Child Protection Agency, the duties of
which were enumerated as monitoring the
socio-economic situation of the
child’s family, if he/she has any, subsequent to his/her admission to
these institutions and
returning of the child to his/her parents when their
situation improves and writing a report to serve as the basis of the decision
for the termination of protection measures.
291. Article 14 of the Regulation on Foster Families arranges “the
manner in which the protective family and the child placed
with it will be
observed and monitored on a regular basis by the social service workers and the
required professional work will be
performed with a view to solving the problems
which may arise”.
292. Article 19 of the Regulation on cash and in
Kind Social Assistance states that the support process of the persons to whom
assistance
is granted will be monitored at regular intervals and detailed
information and documents will be gathered on such persons. The assistance
will
cease when it is determined that the concerned persons’ material
conditions have become adequate to sustain life without
external
support.
293. Article 29 of Law No. 2253 entitled
“Supervision” declares that minors against whom supervisory measures
are taken
and whose sentences are postponed may be placed under control for up
to three years and the persons in charge of maintaining such
minors will be
informed of the purposes of the control and the responsibilities they will have
in connection with this decision.
This article adds that the decision will
indicate the duration of the control which will continue at least for the
probation period
in case of conditional postponement of
sentences.
294. Article 31 enumerating the duties of the supervisory
officials declares that reports will be prepared at regular intervals on
the
conduct and behaviour of the minor subject to control and the frequency of the
controls is thereby established.
295. In conclusion, the legal and
administrative structures for the protection of children without families
conform to article 20
of the CRC.
F. Basic health and welfare of children
1.
Living standards (art. 27, paras. 1-3)
296. Information programmes are conducted together with health care efforts
for offering an adequate living standard to ensure the
physical, mental and
social development of children. They also aim to educate the handicapped and to
reduce the risks of becoming
handicapped. The General Directorate of the Social
Services and Child Protection Agency is rather active in this field through its
provincial directorates all over Turkey.
297. The Constitutional
provisions on living standards are as follows:
Article 17 (1): “Everybody has the right to life and the right to protect and develop his material and spiritual entity”.
Article 41 (2): “The State shall take necessary measures and establish the necessary organization to ensure the peace and welfare of the family, especially the protection of the mother and children, and for family planning education and application”.
Article 49 (2): “The State shall take necessary measures to raise the standard of living of workers, to protect them in order to improve the general conditions of labour, to promote labour, and to create suitable economic conditions for prevention of unemployment”.
Article 59 (1): The State shall take measures to develop the physical and mental health of Turkish citizens of all ages ...”
298. In the fight against poverty, with its Regulation on Cash and in
Kind Social Assistance, the General Directorate of the Social
Services and Child
Protection Agency provides financial aid to people who cannot meet their basic
needs. Social workers conduct
the necessary research to find those in need.
Those living in poverty are given material (food, clothing, medicine, medical
instruments,
fuel, etc.) and financial aid. Financial aid is distributed to
these people monthly for six months, one year or two years. The
monthly amount
of social aid, according to the aforementioned regulation, will be 20 per cent
of the salary, including the bonus
payment, of the highest official.
2. Survival and development (art. 6, para. 2)
299. The age group of the child has special importance within the general
health system since children represent a sizeable part of
the
population.
300. According to the results of the 1993 census and health
survey in Turkey, the average age for the first marriage for females is
18.
Only 62.8 per cent of women use a birth control method. The total fertility
rate is 2.7 and the birth rate is 0.23 per cent.
(The entire population is
considered in the total fertility rate and the 15 to 49 age group of the
population is taken into account
in the birth rate.)
301. According to
research findings, the infant mortality rate in the rural areas where children
die in greatest numbers before reaching
one year of age is approximately one
third higher than in the urban areas. A quarter of the children living in rural
areas have
a greater chance of contracting respiratory tract infections than
children in urban areas.
302. Annually, of approximately 1,358,000 live
births, only 59.6 per cent occur in health institutions.
303. Although
the studies tend to show a rapid decrease in the infant mortality rate, the
desired level is yet to be achieved. According
to the results of the 1993 study
mentioned above, the average infant mortality rate is 52.6 per 1,000 live
births, which rises to
60 per 1,000 in some regions; 29.2 per 1,000 infant
deaths occur during the first four weeks after birth and
60.9 per 1,000 occur
in the first five years. It should be remembered
that 86 per cent of these deaths occur before the completion of the first year
of life. About 60 per cent of the infant mortality cases are ascribed to
preventable diseases. Despite the intensity of special-purpose
health
programmes conducted to keep the children alive and to protect their health, the
insufficiency of the system and infrastructure
and the problems arising from the
personnel turnover prevent the attainment of the desired results. Presently,
64.7 per cent of
all children in the 12- to 23-month age group have received
full inoculation within the scope of the expanded immunization programme,
though
this rate falls to 40.6 per cent in the eastern part of the country. These
figures show that an excessive number of infants
still cannot be protected from
preventable diseases. Acute respiratory tract infections and diarrhoea
constitute the other two important
causes of infant deaths.
304. In
1995, the share of health investments within the total public sector fixed
investments was 3.3 per cent.
3. Disabled children (art. 23)
305. According to article 8/III of the Basic Law of National Education, the
duty of providing education and training to the children
with special
educational needs has been given to the Ministry of National Education with the
statement that “Special measures
will be taken to train the children who
need special education and protection.” The functions of the Special
Education, Guidance
and Counselling Services described by Law No. 3797
Concerning the Organization and the Duties of the Ministry of National Education
are as follows:
(a) To carry out all duties and services regarding
educational methods used in special educational schools and classes, guidance
and research centres, occupational schools, vocational education centres, other
schools and educational institutions;
(b) To prepare the educational and
instructional programmes, textbooks and other educational materials used by the
schools and educational
institutions.
306. As a result of the increase in
the need for special educational and guidance services nationwide, Law No. 2926
on Children with
Special Educational Needs was enacted in 1983 in order to
provide these services more effectively and widely. After the evaluation
of 13
years of implementation of this law, it was found that structural modifications
are needed in the area of special education.
307. For the purpose of
overcoming the problems encountered by individuals with special educational
needs, their families and their
educators, new legislation has been prepared by
considering the existing status of education for individuals with special
educational
needs and the recent developments and successful practices in this
area. Being potentially a guide for public and private investments
and
practices, the Decree Equivalent to Law No. 573 Concerning Private Education was
enacted on 6 June 1997. Immediately by its
enactment, old Law No. 2926 became
ineffective. The new Decree Equivalent to Law Concerning Private Education has
facilitated overcoming
the problems encountered in the existing practices and
using the available resources more rationally.
Special
classes
308. In addition to public institutions and organizations,
real persons and legal entities may establish special education schools
and
classes for children with special needs under Law No. 625 on private
Education Institutions. Through the activities carried
out by federations,
associations and special education centres, the delivery of educational services
for such individuals is diversified.
A study to determine the exact number of
such individuals by the State Institute of Statistics is under way.
309. The
content of the main articles concerning special classes of Law No. 625 on
Private Education Institutions are listed below:
Article 71 -
Special classes like:
(a) Classes for blind and visually handicapped
students
(b) Classes for deaf students and students with hearing
problems
(c) Semi-special classes
(d) Upper special
classes
(e) Classes for child prodigies
can be established for
children who are in need of special training, who cannot sufficiently benefit
from the programme of the school
at the public and private primary and secondary
schools and at special training institutions, by making use of programmes that
are
prepared by taking into consideration their abilities, fields of interest,
disabilities and capabilities.
Partially blind and deaf children will be
admitted to special education and other schools and those who are blind or deaf
and who
are superior in their studies can be placed at classes in normal
schools.
Article 72 - At least 10 students with the same handicap
will be required for the establishment of a special class. Where the number of
students
is less than 10, these students will be exempted from some of the
subjects in the curricula depending on their situations and
constraints.
Article 74 - Where there are students of different
handicapped groups needing special education in public and private primary,
secondary and
senior high schools and special schools, additional classes may
not be established and these students will be admitted to normal
classes and
sent to additional classes to support their education.
Article 75
- Ambulatory instructing systems will be instituted in areas where there is a
limited number of handicapped students for whom special
classes may not be
established.
310. Tutors who are trained to instruct students from one or
more handicapped groups can be employed in special classes, auxiliary
classrooms
and mobile training programmes.
311. The Primary Education and Training
Law article 12 includes a provision stating “It is provided that children,
who are in
the age of compulsory primary education, but who are mentally,
physically, psychologically or socially disabled, get special education
and
training.”
312. According to article 39 of the Apprenticeship and
Vocational Training Law No. 3308, “The Ministry (of National Education)
holds special vocational courses to prepare people needing special training for
professions in business life. The fields of interest,
needs and abilities
of these people are taken into consideration in the preparation and execution
of these courses. Those attending these courses benefit
from the rights given
by this Law to apprentices and students.”
313. The Law on the
Social Services and Child Protection Agency introduces the following provisions
on handicapped people:
Article 3/c - “While executing social
services programmes, priority is to be given to children in need of protection,
to the
disabled in need and elderly people in need.”
Article 4/1 -
“Every kind of measure is to be taken in order to provide that people in
need, disabled people and the elderly
people continue their lives in health,
tranquillity and security; that care and rehabilitation is provided to the
handicapped in
need, to ensure that they become selfsufficient people in the
society; and that permanent care is provided to those who cannot be
cured.”
Article 9 - “Family Advisory and Rehabilitation
Centres are defined as daily social service institutions that provide services
to families and disabled children for promoting harmony in families, preparing
disabled children for school training and making disabled
children self-reliant
and self-sufficient.”
Article 9/b - “The duty of the
foundation is first to identify children, disabled and elderly people, who are
in need of protection,
care or help, to give necessary services in order to
provide these people with protection, care, development and rehabilitation,
and
to establish and operate social service institutions, defined in article 3,
within the principles mentioned in article 4.”
Article 25 -
“The education and training of school-age children who are in need of
protection is completed in schools of the
Ministry of National Education and
other State institutions”.
314. Children who cannot attend school
for various reasons are employed in the workplaces of the State or private
persons and receive
pay and training. Some of the salary of children employed
in this way is paid as pocket money; the rest of the salary is credited
to an
account at a national bank under the name of that child. The starting date and
the amount of the salary are determined between
the administration and employer,
according to the local standards and existing values. The principles on this
subject are outlined
by a regulation.
315. The education and training of
blind, deaf, mute or physically handicapped as well as mentally or
psychologically disordered children
or those who are in a similar situation and
who need special training and protection is to be completed in schools
established by
the Ministry of National Education.
316. The Regulation on
Location, Examination, Care and Rehabilitation of the General Directorate of the
Social Services and Child
Protection Agency has the following
provisions:
Article 1 - The purpose of this Regulation is to
introduce rules for the location, examination, institutional care, assistance at
home and
rehabilitation of persons who are not able to cope with the routine
daily activities as a result of their handicaps, to identify
the nature of
services to be provided and the duties and responsibilities of the
personnel.
Article 4 - Services of rehabilitation centres such as
recreation and counselling will be provided as home support facilities for the
visually
handicapped, spastics, orthopaedically and audially handicapped and
mentally retarded.
Article 5 - The responsibility for locating,
assisting, caring for and training the handicapped persons is vested with the
provincial directorates.
317. Local administrative officials, health
institutions, village headmen and general and municipal police forces are
responsible
for reporting the existence of such persons. Other public bodies
and agencies, citizens and relatives of the handicapped may also
report
them.
318. The Essential Law for Medical Services has commissioned the
Ministry of Health to provide protective health services. In a circular
sent to
hospitals, it is required that modifications be made in hospitals to ensure that
disabled people can also use these facilities.
With an amendment to the
Regulation on Private Hospitals, building ramps also became an obligation for
private hospitals. A new
regulation has been prepared to give priority to
disabled people at the hospitals and clinics and studies on preparing
identification
cards for these people are also under way.
319. The
preparation of a regulation on the standardization of Health Council reports,
which will be of special interest to handicapped
people, is in its final
stages.
320. The preparation of a questionnaire for building a profile of
handicapped people, in order to determine their demographic, social,
education
and cultural standing, which will be performed by the State Institute of
Statistics, continues with the contributions of
the General Directorate of
Medical Services.
321. The Ministry of Health, through cooperating with
an association, opened the “Early Intervention Centre” in order
to
identify handicapped children 06 years of age, to treat and rehabilitate
disabled children and to give guidance training to their
families. Depending on
the results, this activity will be spread all over the country.
322. It
becomes evident from perusal of the legislation in force in Turkey that laws,
regulations, instructions and circulars constitute
bases for the protection of
the rights of individuals with special care needs. Reports of education
councils and committees indicate,
however, that the services offered are not
systematic or sufficient. In fact, while overregulation appears in some areas,
there
exist no provisions in some others such as the elimination of
discrimination, meeting the needs of families having handicapped members,
family
and informal education and supervision.
323. The number of children who
need special care and training is not exactly known, but estimates based on
world rates exist. While
the distribution of schools over the country is not
balanced, the rate of boarding schools is high. Most of the disabled children
in Turkey are trained in boarding schools. This training system isolates
disabled children from the society and hinders them from
developing
communicative and social skills.
324. With respect to children who are in
need of special care and training, the current regulations are insufficient in
terms of early
recognition and educational diagnosis, prevention, placement,
educational environment, educational methods, personnel,
technology.
325. Article 39 of Law No. 3308 on Apprenticeship
and Vocational Training introduces provisions on holding vocational courses
which
are necessary in business life and which take into consideration the
fields of interest, the needs and abilities of the individual
with special
needs. Various courses are held according to this law and vocational
counselling is given in schools.
326. Some material aid is provided to
children of State employees or workers in the “BağKur” (Pension
Fund for the
SelfEmployed) who need special training. Workers who are not a
part of these two social security systems cannot benefit from these
rights.
327. Children who are in need of special care and training are
provided with care and training at specialized centres under the Ministry
of
National Education and the General Directorate of the Social Services and Child
Protection Agency. They are medically treated
at centres affiliated with the
Ministry of Health.
328. Special training schools and institutions are
spread over Turkey at the following rates: 24 per cent in
the Middle Anatolian
Region, 22 per cent in the Marmara Region,
16 per cent in the Black Sea Region, 14 per cent in the
Aegean Region, 9 per cent in the
East Anatolian Region,
8 per cent in the Mediterranean Region and 5 per cent in the
SouthEast Anatolian Region.
329. Besides State institutions and
foundations, real and legal entities can also establish special schools or
classes for the training
of children who are in need of special care and
training, according to the principles of Law No. 625 on Special Training
Institutions.
(a) Education of visually disabled
children
330. For the totally blind or low vision individuals, there
are 11 special primary schools and five special education classes. Such
individuals may also attend inclusive schools. The number of children with
visual impairment attending all kinds of educational
institutions is
1,427.
331. The Ministry of National Education organizes literacy and
vocational courses for those who cannot attend formal educational institutions.
All kinds of printed publications and educational materials are produced in the
Braille Printing House and Evening Art School, established
for the visually
impaired. In addition to this, secondary school textbooks have been recorded on
audiotapes, duplicated and delivered
to the visually impaired students.
Educational materials required by the visually impaired students in mathematics
and social science
courses are produced and delivered by the Production Centre
for Educational Materials.
(b) Education of audially disabled children
332. For students
who are deaf or who have hearing problems, there are 47 special primary
education schools and 61 special education
classes. The number of students with
hearing impairment attending both special and inclusive education is
7,630.
333. For the adults with hearing impairment, literacy and
vocational courses are organized by the Ministry of National Education.
A
signlanguage guidebook, aimed at eliminating the local differences in the use of
sign language, has been prepared.
334. In order to improve the quality of
existing inclusive practices, high schools with Mullet programmes for the
hearing impaired
have been established in eight provinces. The students
attending these schools take the cultural courses in their schools and
vocational
courses in the Vocational High Schools in the neighbourhood. Courses
concerning the use of wireless hearing aids are organized for
teachers.
335. A study is being carried out for the purpose of evaluating
the effectiveness of the naturaloralaudio method.
(c) Education of
mentally disabled children
336. For the moderately and severely
mentally handicapped students, there are 7 special primary education
schools, 40 Vocational Education
Centres, 55 Education and Practice Schools and
3 Independent Occupational Training Centres. In addition to these, there are
630
special educational classes. The mentally handicapped students also attend
inclusive schools. The total number of students with
mental handicaps attending
these institutions is 20,000.
337. Adults with mental handicaps,
regardless of whether or not they received formal education, may attend
occupational training centres.
(d) Education of physically disabled
children
338. There are 600 children with orthopaedic handicaps
attending four special primary education schools, four vocational high schools
and inclusive schools. Studies concerning the architectural modifications are
in progress for the purpose of facilitating access
to the school buildings and
public facilities for the orthopaedically handicapped.
(e) Education
of chronically ill and hospitalized children
339. For children who
need special education because of a chronic illness, 26 primary schools have
been established within hospitals.
(f) Education of children with
speech difficulties
340. Children with language and speech
difficulties attend inclusive schools after the necessary measures are taken for
their special
education. The ones who cannot attend regular
schools are provided therapeutic and supportive educational services in the
guidance and research centres. The number of students
with language and speech
difficulties attending inclusive schools is 8,300.
(g) Education of
children with adaptation problems
341. Research is being carried out
to provide educational services to children who have difficulty in forming and
maintaining healthy
social relations and who experience adjustment problems for
various reasons.
(h) Family education
342. Family
education, an inseparable part of the special education services, is pursued
through school guidance facilities, as well
as guidance and counselling centres,
despite the absence of legal arrangements governing these
activities.
(i) Guidance
343. There are 96 guidance and
research centres in 80 provinces in Turkey where 540 guidance teachers
work.
344. Making the decision on the location, selection and diagnosis
of children needing special education, determining the facilities
to which they
will be sent, managing special therapeutic activities to improve the situation
of children failing to adapt themselves
to their environments for spiritual,
sentimental and social reasons, planning guidance support at the primary and
secondary education
institutions and examining cases reported by the schools are
among the duties of the guidance and research centres under Law No.
2916 on
Children Needing Special Education.
345. Several activities are performed
for the handicapped by the Ministry of Health and a department was established
on 17 May 1997
within the General Directorate of Therapeutic Services
for the coordination of work oriented to the handicapped and the provision
of
health services of higher calibre. Activities intended for the handicapped may
be divided into preventive, rehabilitative and
therapeutic. Some of these
activities are listed below:
− An emergency aid and resuscitation services organization is being established to reduce deaths and disablement resulting from accidents to a minimum level;
− Training of midwives and nurses is in progress within the scope of a project on support of psychosocial development of children, designed to avoid mental disorders. The target groups of this project are the children in the 06 age group and expectant mothers;
− There is an ongoing pilot activity for premarital education and for genetic counselling by family medicine specialists, with a view to avoiding genetic disablement;
− The mother and child care and family planning centres have initiated a massive countrywide information campaign within the context of popular education schemes to explain the dangers and risks of excessive births from the viewpoint of the health of the mother and child and the nutrition of expectant mothers and infants. These programmes reached 32,162,802 persons in 1996;
− In addition to the services provided by the hospitals and rehabilitation centres working under the Ministry of Health, the General Directorate for the Social Services and Child Protection Agency sorts the handicapped by the nature of their handicap and ages and offers rehabilitation support at residential and daytime care and rehabilitation facilities located in many parts of Turkey.
(j) Vocational rehabilitation and employment
services
346. The Constitution, Law No. 573, the Decree which is
equivalent to the Rule on Private Education, Law No. 3308 on Apprenticeship
and Vocational Training,
Labour Law No. 1475, the Regulations on the
Employment of the Handicapped and Law No. 2828 on the Social Services and
Child Protection
Agency contain a number of clauses about the rehabilitation and
employment of handicapped persons.
347. The Constitution indicates that
the State will protect handicapped persons, both in their social and vocational
activities.
348. Several other laws foresee the employment of handicapped
persons commensurably with the resources at hand.
349. The regulation
issued under Labour Law No. 1475 indicates that the functions of employment
consultancy, vocational orientation
and rehabilitation may be performed by the
Labour and Employment Administration. Fines given to employers who disregard
this decision,
are accumulated in a fund at the Employment Agency and are used
for the professional rehabilitation of disabled children.
350. It is
suggested that the vocational rehabilitation services provided by several
ministries should be consolidated to enable them
to perform better the tasks of
evaluating the situation of the handicapped and to provide an efficient
consultancy service to those
needing it.
351. Amendments have been made
in the relevant laws to enable the State to furnish the handicapped children who
are not covered by
the Public Servants Law and the Labour Law with hearing aids
and other devices.
4. Legal basis of health services (art. 24)
352. Article 56 of the Constitution states the following:
“Everyone has the right to live in a healthy, balanced environment.
“It is the duty of the State and citizens to improve the natural environment, and to prevent environmental pollution.
“To ensure that everyone leads their lives in conditions of physical
and mental health and to secure cooperation in terms of
human and material
resources through economy and increased productivity, the State shall regulate
central planning and functioning
of the health
services.”
353. Article 41 (2) of the Constitution says that
“The State shall take the necessary measures and establish the necessary
organization to ensure the peace and welfare
of the family, especially the
protection of the mother and children, and for family planning education and
application.”
354. According to article 3, paragraph (j), of the
Law on Essential Health Services, “Training the citizens on protection
from
diseases, healthy environment, nutrition, motherchild health and family
planning and others is performed with the cooperation of
professional
institutions accepted as state institutions and private and voluntary
institutions.”
355. According to article 13 of the abovementioned
Law, the main duties of the General Directorate of MotherChild Health and Family
Planning are as follows:
(a) To determine the aims of the MotherChild
Health and Family Planning services, to prepare plans and programmes of action
according
to these aims and to execute these plans;
(b) To provide
service in protecting the physical and psychological health of the mother and of
the child.
356. The Subregulation No. 154, prepared in accordance
with the Regulation on Providing Health Services in Regions, covers the subjects
of mother and child care and family planning. The relevant provisions of this
subregulation are as follows:
“Necessary information is to be given to pregnant women, women who gave birth and breast feeding women about childcare and the protection of their own health.”
“Measures are taken to provide the most suitable means for pregnant women to deliver their children.”
“Mothers and children are monitored and examined after birth.”
“Necessary measures are taken, in order to ensure healthy physical and psychological development of children.”
“Pregnant women enjoy healthcare for prenatal and postnatal periods.
Followup controls ensure that the new born grows up,
physically and
psychologically healthy.”
357. The Law on the General Protection of
Health, article 1, states that “To improve the health conditions in the
country, to
fight diseases and all other harmful factors endangering the health
of the society, to ensure a healthy next generation and to provide
medical and
social assistance to citizens constitute the general State services.”
Article 3 states that “The Ministry
of Health directly performs services
like protecting the health of mothers after birth, taking measures to protect
the health of
children and young people and providing all other services related
to the protection of the children.” Article 151 states
that “The
Ministry of Health establishes and directs institutions necessary for the
protection of children and for decreasing
the death rate of children and takes
measures to help people learn the benefits of protecting the health of
children.”
358. The Turkish legislation on health services complies
with the requirements of the CRC.
359. It is stressed in article 56 of
the Constitution that everybody has the right to live in a healthy and balanced
environment. In 1984, the activities for extending health services
covered all cities. In the Fifth FiveYear Development Plan, it is accepted
as a basic principle that service has to be provided
to everybody in an equal,
continuous and effective way in order to improve the general health level.
State expenditures related
to health constitute
about 3.75 per cent of the GNP.
360. The rate of pregnant
women who undergo medical examination before birth has been increasing. The
rate of those who use effective
birth control methods is lower in the eastern
and northern Anatolian regions than those in the western regions. It has been
determined
that there is a strong correlation between the educational level of
the women and the use of health institutions or birth control
methods.
361. Within the currently applied health system, mother and
child care services are available to all pregnant women. It has been
established that only 63 per cent of pregnant women receive pregnancy
health care.
362. The death rate of babies was 81.5 per 1,000
between 19831988, but decreased to 52.6 per 1,000 in 1993. The great
majority of
the deaths of babies take place in their first year. The death
rate of children below the age of five in Turkey is 60.9 per
1,000.
(a) Implementation of health services
363. The
expanded immunization programme initiated in 1985 in Turkey was integrated with
the health centres, health houses, mother
and child care centres and family
planning units, in close cooperation with the firstechelon health institutions.
The neonatal tetanus
eradication programme was launched in mid1994, followed by
the polio eradication programme in 1995 in which 85 per cent of the
target
population was reached.
364. The programme for the control of
diarrhoea was put into action in 1986. Oral rehydration therapy is applied in
this programme
in order to prevent deaths resulting from dehydration. The rate
of the use of this treatment was 44 per cent in 1988 and
57 per
cent in 1993. The oral rehydration salt packages are
purchased from the manufacturers by the Ministry of Health and distributed
free
of charge to patients.
365. Free distribution of medicines to abate acute
respiratory tract infections and pneumonia is in full swing at all health
institutions
under the control of the Ministry of Health.
366. Programmes
exist for the promotion of breastfeeding and expansion of babyfriendly hospitals
along the principles set forth in
the joint WHO/UNICEF declaration entitled
“Ten Steps in Successful Breastfeeding”. In an effort to support
this activity,
a protocol was signed with the baby food manufacturers for
prohibiting the free or lowprice distribution of baby food in maternity
wards so
that breastfeeding is not inhibited by such easytoreach methods.
367. To
prevent iodinedeficiency diseases, iodized salt has been produced in Turkey
since 1953. A programme was launched in 1995
to promote its wider use.
The salt manufacturers have signed an agreement with the Ministry of Health and
undertook to start manufacturing
solely iodized salt by the year
2000.
368. Phenylkentonuria screening was started in 1987 in cooperation
with the Children’s Hospital of the Faculty of Medicine at
the Hacettepe
University with the screening of neonates in 22 provinces. Four
hundred and eighty thousand nine hundred and eight
neonates were screened for
phenylketonuria in 1996.
369. The safe motherhood and child care
programme aims at the identification and followup of all pregnancies, the
identification of
risky pregnancies in order to take the appropriate measures,
the education of pregnant mothers on nutrition and immunization, the
support of
anaemic cases with iron foliate preparations, the transfer of pregnant mothers
to health care institutions with sterile
conditions, the education of mothers
and family members about prenatal care and the early diagnosis and treatment of
postlabour complications
(such as sepsis, mastitis, anaemia, etc.) and about
family planning methods. The mothers are also educated on the importance and
value of breastfeeding during the first four to six months after the birth of
the child.
370. With a view to preventing hereditary handicaps, a
programme on family health was started in five pilot regions for informing
future parents of the risk factors and for providing genetic consultancy
services. The mother and child care and family planning
centres integrated into
public health programmes, which include maternal and infantile health and family
planning, encompass additional
topics such as the disadvantages of excessive
births on the health of the mother and the child and the nutrition of pregnant
women
and the newborn.
371. For abating genetic blood diseases, the
Ministry of Health conducts a thalassaemia eradication programme under Law
No. 3960 in
the cities of Antalya, Içel, Muğla and Hatay where
this disease is prevalent. Thalassaemia diagnosis and treatment centres
have
been established in these areas.
372. A massive training effort has been
initiated to prevent disorders due to the use of narcotic drugs by the youth,
mothers and
other groups.
5. Social security (art. 26)
373. Article 60 of the Constitution confirms that “Everyone has the
right to social security. The State shall take the necessary measures and
establish the organization
for the provision of social
security.”
374. ILO Convention No. 102 on the Minimum
Standards of Social Security, ratified by Turkey by Law No. 1451 dated 29
July 1971, requires
the States parties to implement at least four of the social
security systems; these are occupational accidents, occupational diseases,
maternity, disablement, oldage and death insurance.
375. According to
articles 1 and 2 of Law No. 5434 dated 8 June 1949 on OldAge
Retirement Insurance, the State is in charge of providing
coverage to public
servants, retirees, the disabled and orphans through an adequate monthly pay and
health services.
376. Articles 1 and 2 of Law No. 506 of
17 July 1964 obliges the Social Insurance Administration to provide
coverage for occupational
accidents and diseases, maternity, disablement, oldage
and death insurance to all persons employed under a labour contract by one
or
several employers.
377. The Organization for Social Insurance of
Independent Workers or the SelfEmployed enables anyone to be insured regardless
of whether
he/she is employed or not.
378. Under article 20 of the
Law on Social Insurance Administration, the banks, insurance and reinsurance
companies, chambers of commerce
and industry, commodity exchange markets and
retirement funds are entitled to operate like the Social Insurance
Administration provided
that they offer the same benefits to their members. The
charters of these funds are subject to approval by the Ministry of Labour
and
Social Security.
379. Insurance coverage of even one of the parents
permits the children to be entitled to the same coverage.
380. The
Turkish social security system has not yet achieved its basic goal of bringing
all individuals under a social security umbrella
against social security risks;
thus, around 20 per cent of the population still does not have such
coverage.
381. According to article 60 (g) of the Social
Insurance Law, the period of insurance coverage to be taken into account for
oldage
or retirement insurance will begin at the eighteenth year of age
irrespective of whether insurance premiums are paid in connection
with
employment.
6. Child care services and facilities (art. 18, para. 3)
382. The Republic of Turkey is a social State. The “social
State” concept imposes a number of obligations upon the State
with regard
to care and training of children during the pre-school period. Article 41
of the Constitution says that the family is the basis of the Turkish society and
that the State will adopt appropriate measures to spread the practice
of family
planning to protect the child and the mother and to establish the institutions
necessary for this.
383. Industrialization in Turkey entailed an influx
from villages to cities and a transition from extended to nuclear family
structure
and increased the demand for preschool training. After
the 1960s, nurseries and kindergartens were set up by a number of laws and
regulations.
384. There are various institutions offering training and
care services for children in the age group 06 years. Baby care centres
and kindergartens of the General Directorate of the Social Services and Child
Protection Agency, as well as those established by
persons and corporate
entities and universities, Children’s Homes of the Ministry of National
Education, maternal classes established
in primary schools, practice classes at
secondary schools and kindergartens established by State institutions and
foundations.
385. Public baby care centres and kindergartens, providing
care and education for the age group 06 years, under the General
Directorate
of the Social Services and Child Protection Agency, provide services
according to the “Regulation on Baby Care Centres and
Kindergartens”
dated 1983. The establishment, operation and inspection of institutions
providing services for children 012
years of age by persons or corporate
entities according to the “Regulation on the Establishment and Operation
Principles of
Private Baby Care Center and Kindergartens” and the
“Regulation on the Establishment and Operation Principles of Private
Children’s Clubs”, based on Law No. 2828, are under the
responsibility of the General Directorate of the Social Services
and Child
Protection Agency. There are 23 public kindergartens with a capacity of 2,533
children and 1.070 private kindergartens
with a capacity of 46,848
children.
386. Although the General Directorate for PreSchool Education
was founded by Law No. 3797 under the auspices of the Ministry of
National
Education, preschool education services are provided by different
directorates of the Ministry. Private kindergartens are bound
to the General
Directorate of Private Education.
387. Public bodies and agencies also
establish such facilities for the children of their employees under the
Regulation of Child Nurseries
adopted in 1987. In addition to this, public
servants are entitled under article 108 of the Public Servants Law No. 657
to six weeks
of paid and, upon their request, up to one year of unpaid leave
after giving birth.
388. Baby care centres and kindergartens can also be
established in the framework of the “Regulation on Working Conditions of
Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women and Breastfeeding Rooms and Baby Care
Dormitories”, which was prepared in accordance with
Labour
Law No. 1475. It is an obligation for enterprises where more than 150
women are employed to establish a separate baby care
centre, near or within the
workplace, to look after the children (between the ages of 06 years) of their
employees and to help mothers
breastfeed their babies. According to the same
Labour Law, women have the right to eight weeks of paid leave after giving
birth,
and breastfeeding hours, if they choose to work during this
period.
389. Similarly, the local administrations are also charged with a
number of obligations by Laws Nos. 1580 and 1593.
390. It is
necessary to create cooperation and standardization of curricula, tools, tutors
and qualifications of other personnel among
preschool education institutions
established by the Ministry of National Education, the General Directorate of
the Social Services
and Child Protection Agency and other State institutions and
foundations.
391. Children’s clubs, where children can stay safely
when they are not in school and to meet their social requirements, are
established only by private persons or institutions. Besides these
institutions, preschool and outofschool care is also given by
babyminders at
home. However, in Turkish families which still display some of the features of
extended families, a great majority
of children of working parents are cared for
by their relatives voluntarily without any payment.
G. Education, leisure and cultural activities (art. 28)
1. The Turkish national education system
(a) Principles and aims of education
(art. 29)
392. Turkey places utmost importance on the
development of human resources. Therefore, education is one of the highest
priorities
of Turkey.
393. According to the Turkish Constitution
(art. 42):
“No one shall be deprived of the right of learning and education.
“The scope of the right to education shall be defined and regulated by law.
“Training and education shall be conducted along the lines of the principles and reforms of Atatürk, on the basis of contemporary science and educational methods, under the supervision and control of the State. Institutions of training and education contravening these provisions shall not be established.
“The freedom of training and education does not relieve the individual from loyalty to the Constitution.
“Primary education is compulsory for all citizens of both sexes and is free of charge in State schools.
“The principles governing the functioning of private primary and secondary schools shall be regulated by law in keeping with the standards set for State schools.
“No language other than Turkish shall be taught as a mother tongue to
Turkish citizens at any institutions of training or education.
Foreign
languages to be taught in institutions of training and education and the rules
to be followed by schools conducting training
and education in a foreign
language shall be determined by law. The provisions of international treaties
are reserved.”
Thus, the Constitution has secured the right to
education and training without any discrimination and with attributing utmost
importance to the best interests
of the child.
394. The right to education that is secured by the Constitution has acquired
the necessary definition and scope with the Basic National Education Law
No. 1739. According to the Basic National
Education Law
No. 1739:
“The general aim of the Turkish National Education System is:
“1. To educate individuals of the Turkish nation as citizens who understand and who are devoted to the principles and reforms of Atatürk, who believe in, protect and develop national, spiritual, humanistic and cultural values of the Turkish nation; who are conscious of their duties to the Turkish Republic which is a democratic, secular and social State governed by the rule of law.
“2. To educate every individual of the Turkish nation as constructive, creative and efficient persons having strong personality and character, ability of free and scientific thought and respect for human rights.
“3. To prepare them for life by developing their talents and skills.
“The aim is to increase the welfare and happiness of Turkish citizens
and the Turkish society as a whole and to support and
accelerate the economic,
social and cultural development in national unity and integrity and finally to
make the Turkish nation a
distinguished partner of the contemporary
civilization.”
395. A significant increase is observed in the
number of schools, students, teachers and lecturers in Turkey. As of the
1998/99 academic
year, the indicators regarding this matter are given in table
1.
Table 1. Numbers of schools, students and teachers by stage
of education (academic year 1998/99)
Stage of education
|
Number of schools
|
Number of students
|
Number of teachers
|
---|---|---|---|
Pre-school
|
7 976
|
207 319
|
11 825
|
Basic education
|
44 525
|
9 512 044
|
316 991
|
Secondary education
|
5 708
|
2 013 152
|
139 664
|
General high school
|
2 611
|
1 094 616
|
70 936
|
Vocational and
technical high school |
3 097
|
918 542
|
68 728
|
Total
|
63 917
|
13 745 673
|
608 144
|
Extended education
|
6 208
|
2 935 929
|
44 042
|
Grand total
|
70 125
|
16 681 602
|
652 186
|
396. All Turkish Governments have considered education as one of the
basic factors of development and have always allocated large
resources for
providing the highest quality in education. In this connection, significant
developments have been achieved in the
field of education.
397. The
application of Law No. 430 on the Unification of Education contains the
provisions of the Lausanne Treaty on the education
activities of minorities
(Armenians, Greeks and Jews according to the Lausanne Peace Treaty). Minorities
have their education and
training in their own languages and
cultures.
398. Law No. 625 on Private Education Institutions
contains provisions regarding the supervision and control of the education,
training
and administration of the preschool, primary and secondary education
institutions that are established by Turkish real persons or
legal
entities.
399. The types and numbers of students and teachers of the
schools under the scope of Law on Private Education Institutions are given
in
tables 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Table 2. Numbers of schools, students and teachers in
private education (academic year 1998/99)
Type of school
|
Number of institutions
|
Number of students
|
Number of teachers
|
---|---|---|---|
Private Turkish schools
|
1 583
|
224 122
|
19 793
|
Private minority
schools |
84
|
4 614
|
398
|
Private foreign schools |
30 |
8 477 |
688 |
Private international
schools |
4
|
866
|
121
|
Total
|
1 701
|
238 079
|
21 000
|
Source: Ministry of National Education (1998).
Table 3. Numbers of institutions, students and teachers in private
education/training institutions (academic year
1998/99)
Stage of education
|
Number of institutions
|
Number of students
|
Number of teachers
|
---|---|---|---|
Pre-school
|
587
|
15 176
|
1 224
|
Basic education
|
651
|
164 181
|
9 547
|
High school total
|
466
|
58 722
|
10 229
|
General high school
|
441
|
56 219
|
9 970
|
Vocational and technical high school
|
25
|
2 503
|
259
|
Private classrooms |
1 759 |
441 348 |
15 575 |
Private courses
|
2 628
|
1 081 521
|
17 597*
|
Source: Ministry of National Education (1998).
*
Specialist/master workmen teachers are included.
Table 4. Numbers of schools, students and teachers in private
minority schools (academic year 1998/99)
Stage of education
|
Number of schools
|
Number of students
|
Number of teachers
|
---|---|---|---|
Pre-school
|
36
|
542
|
28
|
Basic education
|
35
|
3 118
|
206
|
General high school
|
12
|
938
|
160
|
Vocational and technical high school
|
1
|
16
|
4
|
High school total |
13 |
954 |
164 |
Grand total
|
84
|
4 614
|
398
|
Source: Ministry of National Education (1998).
Table 5. Numbers of schools, students and teachers in private
foreign schools (academic year 1998/99)
Stage of education
|
Number of schools
|
Number of students
|
Number of teachers
|
---|---|---|---|
Pre-school
|
3
|
108
|
8
|
Basic education
|
13
|
3 997
|
111
|
General high school
|
14
|
4 351
|
561
|
Vocational and technical high school
|
1
|
21
|
8
|
High school total |
15 |
4 372 |
569 |
Grand total
|
31
|
8 477
|
688
|
Source: Ministry of National Education (1998).
400. In
the annex paragraph of article 2 of the Law on Private Education Institutions,
it is stipulated that the private education
institutions shall improve their
quality of education in line with the Turkish National Education objectives and
principles. In
article 3 of the same law, the establishment of these
institutions in regions of priority for development is
motivated.
401. Law No. 2841 covers citizens who have completed the
compulsory basic education or who are illiterate and the public and private
education institutions and establishments. According to this law, the Ministry
of National Education is the “central and supervisory
institution”
for the implementation and coordination of education activities. This central
role of the Ministry is shared
by the establishments and institutions in the
provinces in accordance with the modern approach to
administration.
402. The public institutions are obliged to provide
reading and writing courses for their illiterate employees.
403. The
Regulation No. 2201 on Guidance Services of the Ministry of National
Education aims to arrange the principles regarding the
establishment and
functioning of guidance and research centres and the offices of student guidance
services. The guidance teachers
are required to have experience in pedagogy for
helping with the adaptation problems of students and the grading of their
vocational
talents, skills and intelligence levels.
(b) Public
education institutions
404. Public education covers all of the
schools from preschool education to higher education. The Turkish education
system has four
stages: preschool education; basic education; secondary
education; higher education.
(i) Pre-school
education
405. The education which is conducted from the birth of the
child until the end of his fifth year of age (sixtieth month) is considered
as
preschool education. According to the Basic Law on National Education, the aims
of preschool education are as follows:
− To provide the physical, mental and spiritual development of the child and to help the child to acquire good habits;
− To prepare the child for basic education;
− To provide a common education opportunity for children who come from families and environments with unsuitable conditions;
− To make the children speak the Turkish language correctly and eloquently.
406. Preschool public education is given in
nursery classes, nursery schools, practical nursery schools and private Turkish,
foreign
and minority nursery schools.
407. The Regulation on Preschool
Education Institutions covers public and private nursery schools, nursery
classes and practical classes
that are affiliated with the Ministry of National
Education. The aim of the Regulation is to arrange the principles regarding the
administration of and the education provided by specified institutions. When
its aims and scope are taken into consideration, this
Regulation is in
compliance with the principles of the best interest of the child, the right of
the child to life, to continue his/her
life and to develop, and respecting the
ideas of the child contained in the CRC.
408. Attending preschool
education, which is an important stage of public education, is not compulsory
according to the Turkish National
Education System.
Table 6. Numbers of classes, students and teachers in preschool
education (academic year 1998/99)
Pre-school education institutions
|
Number of classes
|
Number of students
|
Number of teachers
|
---|---|---|---|
Independent nursery schools
|
189
|
17 683
|
1 134
|
Nursery classes (under the
aegis of primary schools and the Lycee) |
6 795
|
165 663
|
8 536
|
Practical nursery classes
(under the aegis of Technical Education Schools for Girls) |
364
|
8 610
|
905
|
Nursery classes (under the
aegis of private schools) |
41
|
187
|
26
|
Private nursery schools
|
219
|
6 173
|
591
|
Private nursery classes
|
368
|
9 003
|
6 333
|
Nursery schools total
|
408
|
23 856
|
1 725
|
Nursery classes total
|
7 568
|
183 463
|
10 100
|
Source: Ministry of National Education (1998) (p.
10).
(ii) Basic education institutions
409. Basic
education covers the education period of children 6-14 years of age. This
period, which was considered to start at the
age of 7, has been lowered to the
age of 6 as a result of the decisions taken by the National Education Council in
1982 to make the
education system more efficient.
410. Basic education
used to be divided into the first five years, which was considered as
primary school and was compulsory, and
the second three years, which was
considered as secondary school. However, in 1997, as envisaged in
Turkey’s Seventh FiveYear
Development Plan, compulsory education was
increased from five years to eight years by
Law No. 4306.
411. Primary education is multipurpose education.
Its task is to apply academic curricula for both adults and children. Adults
who
do not know how to read and write and who were unable to complete their
basic education can benefit from these programmes. According
to the Law on
Basic Education and Training, primary education is the basic education and
training which contributes to the physical,
mental and moral development and
education of all Turkish citizens in accordance with the national aims. Primary
education is given
in basic education institutions. It is free of charge in
public schools. The period of compulsory basic education covers the children
in
the age group 614 years.
412. The Regulation on Primary Education
Institutions of the Ministry of National Education sets out the principles
regarding the
establishment, tasks and functioning of daytime and boarding
public and private basic education institutions (primary schools and
secondary
schools) affiliated to the Ministry of National Education and contains the
principles regarding passing classes, exams
and attendance at education
institutions. The Regulation is in accordance with the spirit of the National
Basic Education Law No.
1739.
Table 7. Numbers of schools, students and teachers
in
primary education (academic year 1998/99)
Primary schools by type
|
Number of schools
|
Number of students
|
Number of teachers
|
Primary schools
|
44 525
|
9 512 044
|
3 126 991
|
Regional primary boarding schools |
171 |
84 698 |
3 387 |
Total
|
44 696
|
9 596 742
|
3 130 378
|
413. The “Modernization of Education 2000” project has been
in force together with Law No. 4306. The following will be
accomplished by the 2000/01 academic year through this project:
− Classes will shrink to 30 students by the year 2000;
− Quality in education will be more effectively provided to the students living in rural areas with an unsuitable climate and insufficient transport networks or security problems, through central schools which will also supply them with lunch;
− Education will be provided in regional boarding basic education institutions or basic education institutions with lodging for children in rural areas where climate and transportation facilities are not suitable or safe and all their expenses will be met;
− Poor students will be provided with uniforms, bags, textbooks and notebooks, as needed;
− Computer labs will be set up at basic education institutions and students will be taught computer classes, besides working on other subjects with a computersupported education approach in these labs;
− Children will be taught at least one foreign language;
− Schools will be equipped with more modern equipment;
− A “learning society” will be created by enabling the individuals to learn and to conduct research on the ways of learning with a rational and scientific approach;
− The necessary infrastructure will be created to ensure the physical development of children in addition to their intellectual abilities.
414. In order to reach the goals mentioned
above:
− The construction of 12,103 classrooms in 1997 and 21,620 classrooms in 1998 was completed;
− By the end of 1998, 38,900 more students were provided boarding school education through the introduction of 61 regional boarding primary education schools and 26 primary schools with lodging;
− 521,784 students are provided with free transportation facilities and lunch, and their stationery and school wear expenses are met by the State budget;
− The quality of education will be enhanced through the “Basic Education Programme” created in line with the loan agreement with the World Bank;
− Foreign language learning is compulsory for students from grades 4 to 8; a second foreign language is optional for these students;
− Textbooks and curricula have been geared to studentcentred education;
− In the 1997/98 academic year, the enrolment of female students in basic education institutions in rural areas increased by 39 per cent. To ensure the schooling of all female students, the number of regional boarding primary schools for girls, of which there had been only one, was increased to nine.
(iii) Secondary education
institutions
415. Secondary education institutions give general,
vocational and technical education for a minimum of three years following
eight
years of basic education. The aim of secondary education is to give
a common general culture to the students and to prepare them
for higher
education and business in line with their talents and skills.
Table 8. Participation in secondary
education,
academic years, 1994/951998/99
|
1994/95
|
1998/99
|
||
|
Number of students
|
Rate of schooling
|
Number of students
|
Rate of schooling
|
Secondary education total
|
2 263 396
|
48.2%
|
2 013 152
|
54.7%
|
General high schools |
1 313 892 |
27.2% |
1 094 610 |
30.8% |
Vocational and technical schools |
949 504 |
21.0% |
918 542 |
23.9% |
Source: State Planning Organization, “Seventh FiveYear
Development Plan”, 1998, p. 24.
416. The Seventh FiveYear
Development Plan aims at raising the rates in table 8 to a total
of 75 per cent in 2001. In this total,
it was foreseen that
the rate of general high schools shall reach 40.5 per cent and the
rate of vocational and technical schools
shall reach 34.5 per cent.
In case of the realization of the targets, the rates between general high
schools and the vocational
and technical schools will be quite
close.
(iv) Higher education institutions
417. Education
institutions which give higher education for a minimum of two years
following basic education are called higher education
institutions.
Universities are established for giving undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate
education. The aim of higher education
is to bring up persons with human
interests, in a way to develop their talents and skills to the best of their
abilities.
418. Law No. 2547 on Higher Education covers
institutions of higher education, high schools, their affiliated units and
activities
and principles regarding these institutions. The aim of this law is
to determine the goals and principles regarding higher education,
to set out the
principles regarding education, training, research, publishing, lecturers,
students and other personnel and the organization,
functioning, tasks,
authorities and liabilities of all the high schools and higher education
institutions.
419. In Turkey, the rate of contribution of the
universities to national research development is 69 per cent,
beyond the average figure
of 50 per cent.
(c) Informal
education
420. Informal education constitutes an independent part in
the Basic Law on National Education. Informal and vocational education
in
Turkey equip the unqualified young who are left outside school with vocational
education in a manner that shall fulfil the challenges
of the twentyfirst
century.
421. The office responsible for informal education in Turkey in
the first instance is the General Directorate of Apprenticeship and
Informal Education of the Ministry of National Education, which provides
informal education services in Turkey through the affiliated
institutions and
centres listed below:
− Practical Arts Schools for Girls;
− Maturation Institutions (which are higherlevel continuations of vocational technical institutions);
− Industrial Practical Arts Schools;
− Vocational Education Centres;
− Technical Education Centres for Adults;
− Public Education Centres;
− Apprenticeship Education Centres;
− Private Courses;
− Private Classrooms;
− Applied Education Institutions (Special Education);
− Vocational Schools (Special Education);
− Vocational Education Centres (Special Education).
422. Forms of special education in Turkey are in
compliance with article 28, paragraph 3, of the CRC with a view
to achieving the
right of education for every child.
423. Informal
vocational education in Turkey has three important aims:
3. To provide knowledge and
skills for housewives.
(d) Private education institutions and minority
schools
424. Private education institutions have been provided a
legal ground by Law No. 625 with its annexes and modification which
have
been put into force in accordance with article 42 of the Constitution,
as well as regulations and directives which have been put into force in relation
to this. Private education institutions, providing
the service of education
under the control and supervision of the State, continue their activities as:
private Turkish schools;
private minority schools; private foreign schools;
private international schools.
425. Private minority schools are private
schools opened by minority groups (Greeks, Armenians and Jews, according to the
Lausanne
Peace Treaty) in Turkey. Many nursery schools, primary schools,
secondary schools and high schools which have been established by
Greeks,
Armenians and Jews continue to provide education.
426. Article 40 of
Law No. 625 states that “They [minorities] shall have equal
rights in the establishment, administration and
supervision of all kinds of
charity establishments, religious and social institutions, all types of schools
and similar education
and training institutions provided that the expenses are
covered by them and they will be free to use their own languages and execute
their religious ceremonies.” Article 41 of the same law says that
“In general [public] education, appropriate circumstances
shall be
provided by the Turkish Government for the provision of education for the
children of these Turkish citizens in their primary
schools and in their mother
languages in the provinces where nonMuslim citizens reside. This provision
shall not obstruct the compulsory
teaching of the Turkish language in the
concerned schools by the Turkish Government.”
(e) Environmental
education
427. According to article 56 of the Turkish
Constitution, “Everyone has the right to live in a healthy and balanced
environment. It is the duty of the State and citizens to improve
the natural
environment and to prevent environmental pollution.”
428. In order
to develop the sensitivity of the citizens towards environmental problems and
to provide for their active participation
in the solution of these
problems, a protocol was signed between the Ministry of National Education
and the Ministry of Environment
on 16 November 1993.
2. Leisure and social activities (art. 31)
429. The institutions of the State entrusted with leisure and social
activities are as follows:
− The General Directorate of Youth and Sports;
− The General Directorate of the Social Services and Child Protection Agency;
− The Ministry of National Education;
− The Ministry of Culture.
430. According to
article 58 of the Turkish Constitution, “The State shall take
necessary measures to protect youth from addiction to alcohol, drug addiction,
crime, gambling and similar
vices, and ignorance.”
431. The
participation of the child in leisure activities is an important factor which
supports public education in terms of building
selfconfidence and
integrity.
432. The General Directorate of Youth and Sports is entrusted
with the task of providing physical training, gymnastics and sports
activities
and taking the necessary measures for the protection of youth from bad habits.
The activities organized by the General
Directorate of Youth and Sports are as
follows:
− Youth centres: 79 youth centres have been opened for the purpose of providing social, cultural and sports activities. The number of the members of these centres is approximately 70,000;
− Youth camps: the aim in these camps is to assist the young to relax and to take part in activities other than studying and working, as well as to help young people become creative, productive and socially healthy;
− Sociocultural activities: music and dance contests are organized annually among universities, youth centres, associations, establishments and institutions;
− Youth festivals: youth festivals are organized annually in every province for the purpose of exhibiting the cultural and artistic activities of the youth. Many young people take part in these festivals;
− Guidance and consultancy services: young people face personal, economic and employment problems. Consultancy and guidance services are available at schools and social welfare centres to help them to cope better with these problems. Offices are established every year during entrance exams to universities to provide such services for the students;
− Youth Week: annually, the week of 1521 May is celebrated as Youth Week by decision No. 83/6394 of the Council of Ministers. Various activities are organized all over the country within the framework of Youth Week.
These activities are conducted in a way that they
cover disabled, working, delinquent, abused and neglected children in the 018
age
group.
433. The General Directorate of the Social Services and Child
Protection Agency provides boarding care service for approximately
20,000
children in the 018 age group and who are under the protection
decision of the courts or who are disabled.
434. Law No. 2828
on the Social Services and Child Protection Agency stipulates the principles and
procedures regarding the establishment
of social services for families,
children, the disabled, the elderly and other people who are in need of
protection, care or aid.
The institutions which are functioning in this field
are as follows:
Children’s homes: these are boarding social service institutions which are authorized and responsible for the physical, educational and psychosocial development of children 012 years of age and, when required, for girls older than 12 years of age as well;
Training institutions: these are boarding social service institutions which are authorized and responsible for the protection and care of children 1318 who are in need of protection and for providing them with jobs and education;
Daycare centres: these are nonboarding social service institutions which require payment for the services rendered and which are established for the purpose of caring for children of the age group 06, protecting and developing their physical and psychological health and helping them acquire values and habits;
Care and rehabilitation centres: these are social service institutions which are established in order to solve the problems of those who cannot adapt to the requirements of a normal life due to their physical, mental and psychological disabilities and to help them acquire skills which will make them selfsufficient in the society or to provide continuous care for those who cannot acquire these skills;
Child and youth centres: these are daytime and boarding social service institutions which are established for giving temporary rehabilitation and reintegration services to street children who are potentially in social danger due to conflicts between parents, diseases, poverty, abandonment, negligence and bad habits;
Family advisory and rehabilitation centres: these are daily social
service institutions which give services to disabled children and families for
promoting harmony in families,
preparing disabled children for school training
and making disabled children selfsufficient.
The Ministry of National Education and the Concept of Leisure
435. The Basic Law on National Education
considers leisure activities to be a part of “informal education”.
The purpose
of leisure activities is defined in article 6 of this law as a
means to provide the acquisition of the habit of spending leisure
time in the
best way.
436. Regulation No. 2410 on Training Studies of
Primary and Secondary Schools, High Schools and Equivalent Schools entrusts the
Ministry
of National Education with the task of implementing and organizing
ceremonies, meetings and social, cultural, sporting and other
types of training
studies at primary and secondary schools, high schools and equivalent public and
private schools.
437. In principle, every student attends at least
one training branch. Education and training activities of students during
and after
lessons are planned and provided in an integrative and complementary
method.
3. Cultural activities
(a) Fine arts services
438. State galleries for fine arts
provide facilities for public school students who are interested in fine
arts.
439. The Child Choir of the State Opera was established on
11 November 1983 and has been affiliated with the General Directorate
of
Fine Arts of the Ministry of Culture by a protocol
dated 15 November 1990. It has been continuing its activities
since 1990 as the
State Child Choir. The State Child Choir comprises
300 children and has trained approximately 1,500 children since its
establishment.
The Child Choir first performed a child opera in Turkey
in 1988 and since then has taken part in many opera productions. It has
performed in many television programmes and concerts, and has gone on tours
abroad and in Turkey.
440. There are 44 State galleries for fine
arts and 3 art museums which are affiliated to the Ministry of Culture.
Courses on fine
arts are organized for children in the age groups 1618, 1216 and
512 in the State galleries for fine arts.
441. Art contests are organized
for children in the age group 516. Art studies by children are encouraged.
Children who are successful
in these contests are given awards. Talented
children can enjoy special government grants to study
abroad.
(b) Library services
442. The principles of public
library services are in compliance with the CRC in terms of rendering
services free of charge and without
any discrimination.
443. According to
article 9 of the Regulation on Public and Children’s Libraries,
“Children’s departments of public
libraries are established for the
purpose of helping children who are younger than 16 to develop their
knowledge with their own will.”
Children’s libraries affiliated to
public libraries, which reached the number of 1,343 in 1998, are
established in different
buildings. A corner is allocated for children’s
books in public libraries. The Regulation on Public and Children’s
Libraries foresees the screening of informative movies and children’s
programmes in the children’s departments of public
libraries and private
children’s libraries and the organization of tales, poetry and monologue
hours and children’s plays.
The cultural activities to be organized in
public and children’s libraries are laid down in the Regulation regarding
Education
and Cultural Activities in Libraries.
444. Library services are
provided by mobile libraries for children and adults who live in rural areas.
As of the end of 1995, 73
mobile libraries were providing services all
over the country.
445. Preschool departments are included in some public
libraries. These departments are furnished in line with the needs and interests
of preschool children. In addition to picture books, audiovisual materials such
as television, video and toys which help their mental
development (Legos, chess,
cars, dolls, puppets, etc.) are included.
446. In order to provide more
reading facilities for children, services are provided with permanent
collections for youth camps, holiday
villages, child departments of the
hospitals and training institutions and children’s homes in accordance
with the protocol
that has been signed with the General Directorate for the
Social Services and Child Protection Agency.
447. Services are provided
for children with visual disorders in the “speaking library”
departments of the libraries.
(c) Monuments and
museums
448. Children can visit museums with classmates or families
free of charge in Turkey. Besides this, museum experts visit schools
to give
information on museums and ancient works and perform slide shows.
449. In
recent years, new ways have been developed to attract the attention of children
to ancient works and museums. Child departments
have been opened in the
Istanbul and Antalya Archaeological Museums. A department for children will be
opened in the Ankara Anatolian
Civilizations
Museum.
(d) Movies
450. According to the Law on Movie,
Video and Music Works and article 12 of the Regulation on the Supervision
of Movie, Video and
Music Works, the exhibition and performance of film, movie
and music works for children younger than the age of 16 which will
negatively
affect their physical and mental health and development are
prohibited. This has to be stated in posters, photographs and announcements
related to the promotion of such films, videos, and music
works.
(e) Research and development of public
libraries
451. In accordance with the Decree issued in the Official
Gazette No. 20096:
− Children’s games are collected and published;
− Video filming of children’s games is realized;
− Tales are collected and published;
− Theatre festivals are organized for children to promote traditional puppet theatre characters such as “Karagöz and Hacivat” and puppet theatres, in general. This festival has been held every two years at the international level since 1993.
(f) State
theatres, opera and ballet
452. The General Directorate of the State
Opera and Ballet, established by Law No. 1309, is represented and
administered by a general
manager according to the public law provisions and is
affiliated to the Ministry of Culture.
453. The first child ballet
course under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture started functioning
in 1971. One of the beneficial
aspects of these courses is that they help
talented children to prepare for the exams of State
Conservatories.
454. Children’s plays are performed every year by
the State Theatres.
4. Cultural education
455. The aims of cultural education are specified in articles 2
and 25 of the relevant Decree. Provisions that are directly related
to the
development and education of children are not included in this Decree, however,
references to children are made in the provisions
concerning general activities
such as the creation and extension of culture.
456. Competitions are
organized and conferences are held among primary and high schools and their
equivalents within the framework
of cultural activities for the purpose
of creating sensitivity for the protection of cultural assets. As a result
of these activities,
approximately 10,000 students have participated in the
competitions and conferences.
457. Art, poetry and essaywriting
competitions are organized among the students of primary and high schools and
their equivalents
all over the country.
H. Special protection measures
1. Children
in situations of emergency
(a) Refugee and asylumseeking children (art. 22)
458. On
the issue of refugee children, the basic point which should be looked at is
article 22 of the CRC which draws the framework
of this
subject.
459. As far as Turkey is concerned, the asylumseeking child and
the refugee child have the same rights which are granted to refugee
applicants.
According to the Constitution of the Turkish Republic:
“All individuals are equal without any discrimination before the law, irrespective of language, race, colour, sex, political opinion, philosophical belief, religion and sect, or any such considerations.” (art. 10 (1))
“Everyone possesses inherent fundamental rights and freedoms which are inviolable and inalienable.” (art. 12 (1))
“The fundamental rights and freedoms of aliens may be restricted by law in a manner consistent with international law.” (art. 16 (1))
460. After looking at these provisions, foreigners and refugees may be
said to have the same fundamental rights and freedoms as Turkish
citizens.
Fundamental rights and freedoms of foreigners can be restricted only by law,
just like those of Turkish citizens. However,
the law which restricts the
fundamental rights and freedoms of foreigners should also be in accordance with
international law.
461. The 1951 Geneva Convention and the 1967 Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees have been approved by Turkey by
Law No. 359
dated 29 August 1961 and the
Decision No. 6/10266 dated 1 July 1968 of the Council of
Ministers. The Convention and the Protocol
arrange the legal status of refugees
in general. Thus, the provision in article 22 that the Contracting States
shall treat refugees
in the same way as their citizens with respect to primary
education has been integrated into Turkish law.
462. The 1951 Convention
has an optional territorial application clause. Turkey, in the light of this
option, became a party to this
Convention with a declaration of geographic
preference. Nevertheless, this limited recognition does not hinder Turkey in
extending
its hand of help to people from all over the world who are seeking
temporary asylum or shelter.
463. Despite the fact that Turkey is a party
to the Convention with a geographic preference, asylumseekers from
Turkey’s eastern
borders are being admitted on humanitarian grounds and
solutions to their problems are being sought in cooperation with the Office
of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
A
regulation was issued by the Turkish authorities in 1994 in order to
facilitate this procedure.
464. This regulation sets out the measures to
be taken and the procedure to be implemented for asylum applications, and
defines the
rules the foreigners have to abide by in the case of possible mass
influx and the arrival of foreigners in Turkey, either by legal
or illegal
means, as individuals or in groups wishing to seek asylum in Turkey or
requesting residence permits in Turkey with the
intention of seeking asylum in a
third country. Article 27 of this regulation indicates that
“within the general provisions
possibilities of gainful employment and
education, limited to their time of stay in Turkey, are accorded to refugees and
asylum seekers”.
465. Those who meet the conditions set out by the
Settlement Law can settle in Turkey by informing the highest administrative
official
of their region in writing.
466. The Turkish Republic and,
before that, the Ottoman Empire have had a long tradition of accepting refugees
and provided ayslum
for those who escaped persecution. There were also people
who returned to Anatolia in large numbers as the geographical size of
the Empire
began to shrink, including the descendants of Turks who had settled in
the Balkans, the Caucasus, the Crimea and other
regions.
467. In April 1991, around half a million Iraqi nationals
fleeing this country amassed at the TurkishIraqi border in the course of
only a
few days. Turkey, in the face of this tragedy, on solely humanitarian grounds,
provided shelter and relief to these people
with its limited resources. As it
has repeatedly done in the course of its history, Turkey acted with compassion
and did not hesitate
to shoulder its moral responsibilities with courage.
However, the magnitude of the problem was too great for any country to handle
alone. For this reason, Turkey appealed to the international community for
help. According to estimates, the cost of the relief
extended by Turkey
exceeded US$ 300 million.
468. More than 300,000 people of
Turkish origin who ran away from forced assimilation in Bulgaria in 1989
have taken refuge in Turkey.
Turkey has opened its doors to Bosnians who ran
away from the war that broke out in the former Yugoslavia in 1992. In
the beginning
of June 1992, 28,000 Bosnian refugees came to Turkey.
Approximately 4,500 of them have settled in Istanbul, 1,000 of them have
been
settled in various provinces and 2,500 of them have been settled in
the camp in Kırklareli. All of the camps were closed in
August 1994
due to voluntary returns and the rest of the refugees have gathered in the camp
at Kırklareli. Children who resided
in this camp continued their education
in their mother tongues. Those who lived in Istanbul attended language courses
at the Social
Centre of Bosnian Refugees.
469. Most recently, Turkey has
opened its doors to Kosovar refugees fleeing ethnic cleansing. The Turkish
Government decided to temporarily
accept 20,000 of the Kosovar refugees who
fled to Macedonia. One third of these refugees are children. Turkey
exerts efforts to
make them feel at home and to make it possible for them to
lead a normal life by providing them with education, health and social
services
which are necessary to the healthful development of these
children.
470. Turkey, which was one of the first countries to sign
the CRC, provides sufficient facilities for refugee children in terms of
their rights and freedoms, within the framework of its international
commitments.
(b) Children affected by armed conflicts
(art. 38)
471. Article 15 of the Turkish Constitution
states that, “In times of war, mobilization, martial law, or state of
emergency, the exercise of fundamental rights and freedoms
can be partially or
entirely suspended, or measures may be taken, to the extent required by the
exigencies of the situation, which
derogate from the guarantees embodied in the
Constitution, provided that obligations under international law are not
violated.”
472. According to Law No. 3634 on the National
Defence Service, in cases of general or partial mobilization and in preparation
of
mobilization under a state of emergency, children under the age of 15,
people over the age of 65, those who are disabled and ill,
pregnant women
and women who have dependant children shall not be held liable
(art. 1 (2)).
473. According to the Geneva Convention of
12 August 1949 relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time
of War, which was
approved by Turkey on 21 January 1953 by
Law No. 6020, acts of murder, torture, corporal punishment, mutilation
and medical or scientific
experiments not necessitated by the medical or
scientific treatment of a protected person, as well as any other measure of
brutality
by soldiers or civilians are prohibited (art. 32). Taking
hostages, collective punishment, individual or collective displacement
and
transfer of people who need to be protected to the countries of the invading
forces are prohibited (arts. 33, 34, 49).
474. The Turkish Red
Crescent has the duty of assisting children who are in danger zones and who are
in need of protection in places
determined by the
Government.
475. Since 1984, Turkey has been combating the terrorist
organization PKK. PKK is a vicious terrorist organization that disobeys
the most fundamental of human rights, the right to life. Those who suffer most
from the atrocities of the brutal terrorist organization
PKK are the children.
PKK is responsible for the deaths of over 30,000 people, including many
children.
2. Children in conflict with the law
(a) The sentencing of juveniles, in particular the prohibition of capital punishment and life imprisonment (art. 37 (a))
476. In article 17 (3) of the Constitution, it is stated that
“No one shall be subjected to torture or illtreatment; no one
shall be subjected to penalties or treatment
incompatible with human
dignity.” In article 243 of the Turkish Penal Code, it is stated
that “Any Court or Committee
President or member or other government
officials who subjects suspects to torture in order to make them confess their
crimes or
subjects them to illtreatment or treatment incompatible with human
dignity shall be sentenced for up to five years to heavy imprisonment
and
prohibition of civil service for life or a temporary period.” The penalty
shall be increased if the action leads to the
death of a suspect. According to
article 238 (2) of the Penal Procedure Law, “Evidence shall be
refused if it is not in compliance
with the provisions of the law.”
According to article 135 (A) of the Penal Procedure Law, the
provisions that regulate “the
prohibited questioning methods”
set forth that “the use of physical and psychological treatment such
as torture, illtreatment
or violence is prohibited and evidence obtained by
means of these prohibited methods of questioning shall not be accepted”.
According to article 247 of the Penal Procedure Law,
“A statement of a suspect before a judge can be taken as
evidence.”
According to these provisions, statements obtained by means of
torture, at police stations or at the offices of the prosecutors,
cannot be
accepted as evidence in trials.
477. In case children, who are subject to
Law No. 2253 on the Establishment, Duties and Trial Procedures of
Juvenile Courts, commit
crimes with adults, a certificate is issued as a result
of the preliminary investigation (art. 9). As this provision shall cause
the child to be subjected to the same treatment as the adults in the preliminary
investigation, measures to protect the child from
psychological, physical and
social harassment should be taken as of the beginning of the investigation. For
this reason, it shall
be suitable to keep the children subject to trial
provisions separately from adults during the preliminary investigations and as
of the beginning of the investigations.
478. Investigation and
prosecution procedures have been regulated as follows within the coverage of
articles 18 and 19. These articles
state that “in cases of
the absence of provisions in law, the provisions of the Penal Procedure Law
shall be applied”.
It has been set forth in article 26 that
Law No. 3005 on Trial Procedure in Witnessed Crimes, which arranges
the trial procedures
in the preliminary investigations, cannot be applied to
crimes committed by children.
479. Different provisions of the Turkish
Penal Code provide for reductions in sentences given to children. This is to
prevent the
negative effect of sentences on the physical, mental, psychological
and social development of children. In the recent application,
age is accepted
as a criterion in distinguishing the crimes committed by children from the
crimes of adults in terms of their types
and underlying reasons, and specific
reductions are applied to the sentences given to children. Due to this fact,
age plays an important
role in the jurisdiction regarding
children.
(b) Children deprived of their liberty, including any form
of detention, imprisonment or
placement in custodial settings (art.
37 (b), (c) and (d))
480. Article 11 of the Law on the Establishment,
Duties and Procedures of Juvenile Courts states that “No investigation can
be made about and no sentence can be given to those who are younger than 11
years old at the time the crime is committed. However,
if the crime requires an
imprisonment sentence of more than one year or a heavier sentence, one of the
measures specified in article
10 is applied. If sufficient measures will be
taken by parents or persons liable for taking care of the child who is younger
than
11 years old, other measures may not be applied by the court.”
Article 12 states that “If the investigation carried
out in accordance
with article 20 on a child who has completed the aged of 11 but has not
completed the age of 15 when the criminal
act is committed does not require a
sentence, one of the measures specified in article 10 may be applied by the
court.”
481. Article 4 of the Law on the Execution of Sentences
accepts the age limit of the nonapplicability of sentences as below 18. Article
5 of the same law defines fines and foresees sanctions in the case that they are
not paid. These sanctions, which turn a sentence
into a freedomrestricting
punishment are not applied to children. Article 6 (2) of the Law on the
Execution of Sentences, which
provides for the postponement of sentences, has
extended the limit of postponement to two years for those who have not completed
the age of 18 and to three years for imprisonment sentences. These
articles are in compliance with the CRC.
482. It has been specified in
paragraph 2 of article 20 of the Law on Juvenile Courts that an investigation
report shall be prepared
for the child, “if necessary,” prior to the
implementation of a sentence and that this investigation shall not be carried
out for some children. The provisions of article 20 of the Law on Juvenile
Courts state that this investigation is carried out by
experts such as social
workers or their assistants or pedagogues, psychologists or
psychiatrists,” and article 30 states that
“social workers or
assistants, pedagogues, psychologists and psychiatrists of sufficient number are
assigned to every Juvenile
Court giving priority to those which need them the
most.”
483. Article 4 of the Law on the Execution of Sentences
contains fines and measures which may be applied instead of short-term
freedom-restricting
sentences (for one year or less) in accordance with article
37 (b) of the CRC. Article 5 of the same law contains the provision
that fines
for children who are under 18 cannot be turned into an imprisonment sentence.
Paragraph 3 of article 6 contains the provision
that if a sentence of heavy
imprisonment of less than two years is pronounced against a person who had not
completed 18 years on
the date the crime was committed, the sentence will be
postponed.
484. Detention should only be applied as a last resort and it
should be as short as possible. Any kind of harm to children during
their
detention should be prevented and measures such as supervision, settlement near
a family or to an education institution should
be taken instead of detention in
article 19 of the Constitution, a juvenile can only be arrested by a decision by
a judge or in cases of flagrante delicto or in the cases where delay
would be dangerous. Although articles 104-126 of the Penal Procedure Law define
the provisions regarding
arrest, special provisions on children are not
included. In the last paragraph of article 19 of the Law on Juvenile Courts, it
is
stated that “a decision to arrest cannot be taken against children at
the stage of investigation and trial in relation to actions
requiring
freedom-restricting sentences of a maximum of three years, provided that the
measures specified in article 10 are implemented.”
485. The
sentences for children in the age group 12-18 are applied with
reductions.
486. In Turkey, the number of female children who commit
crimes is less than the number of male children. Female children whose
sentences
are certified are kept in a separate place at the Izmir House of
Correction for Children.
487. If freedomrestricting sentences are given
to children between the ages of 11 and 15, they are implemented in the houses of
correction
according to article 12 of the Law on Juvenile Courts. Children may
stay in these institutions until they complete the age of 18
and are later sent
to open prisons. Children who continue their education, who are successful in
workshop studies, who generate
a positive impression on the administrators and
trainers with their good manners and behaviour are not sent to open prisons and
their
period of stay in the institution may be prolonged until the age of
21.
488. There are three houses of correction, in Ankara, Elaziğ and
Izmir. Academic and vocational education are given to children
in these
institutions. Thus, these children may attend basic education institutions,
high schools and their equivalents and faculties
according to their ages and
requirements just like other children. Some of these children may be educated
to win an apprenticeship.
In addition to this, they may also attend courses to
learn foreign languages and to prepare for the university entrance examination,
as well as courses on social and cultural activities.
489. Workshops in
the houses of correction are carried out and efforts are made to make the
children an asset to the society.
490. Convicted children whose sentences
are certified and convicted children who have been issued disciplinary
punishments in the
houses of correction are sent to the Sinop Juvenile Prison
which has treatment activities. Nevertheless, children placed in the
Sinop
Juvenile Prison cannot benefit from the education and training facilities
outside, as those in the houses of correction do.
The general instruction of
the General Directorate of Sentences and Prisons of the Ministry of Justice
regarding the transfer of
the sentenced children specifies the articles of the
Turkish Penal Code which determine the institutions where criminal children
will
be placed. According to this general instruction children who have been
sentenced in the framework of article 54 of the Penal
Code shall be sent to the
Ankara House of Correction; those sentenced in the framework of article 55
of the Penal Code shall be transferred
to the Sinop Juvenile House of Correction
and those sentenced on the basis of articles 54 and 55 of the Penal Code shall
be transferred
to the Elaziğ and Izmir Juvenile Houses of
Correction.
491. Article 144 of the Penal Procedure Law states that
“The person who is arrested or detained may always communicate with
his
defender in a confidential environment where third parties cannot hear what
is said without the requirement of a letter from
the attorney. The
correspondence of these persons with their defenders cannot be subject to
control.” The same article contains
the provision that letters sent
between the arrested person and his/her lawyer and between the arrested person
and persons who have
the right to decline to stand as witness cannot be seized
except in certain cases. Article 91 gives the judge the authority to decide
to
record communications. Also, the judge is given the authority to control the
communication activities of the detainees through
the administrators of the
institutions. In accordance with article 135 of the Penal Procedure Law,
detainees have the right to inform
their relatives of their
arrest.
(c) Administration of juvenile justice (art.
40)
492. The prisons and detention houses contain activities such as
reading-writing courses, primary school, high school and vocational
and
professional education. Preliminary studies for university entrance and
independent university study exams, theological subjects,
which should be given
by muftis or preachers, workshop activities, and social and cultural activities
are among the activities held
in these institutions.
493. Studies have
been initiated for the reorganization of the professional education activities
at the juvenile houses of correction
and juvenile prisons. Within the framework
of the
professional education programme of the new treatment model, whose
application was initiated in 1995 in the Ankara Juvenile House
of Correction,
theoretical and practical professional education is given to children between
the ages of 15-18 who do not have the
possibility to attend basic education
institutions under the scope of the formal education system and who are in the
institution
taking apprenticeship education and professional courses. The basic
purpose of this education is to prevent the use of juvenile
labour, to orient
children towards education, and to provide for the acquisition of prestigious
professions that are oriented towards
production. Integration of this
professional education programme in the general education system of the country
is planned. All
stages of this plan are made with the opinions, requests and
participation of every child.
494. The Law on the Establishment, Duties
and Procedures of Juvenile Courts does not contain provisions regarding
disciplinary procedures
that shall be applied in case of violation of the rules
in juvenile houses of correction and juvenile prisons. For this reason,
the
relevant articles of the regulations are utilized. According to these articles,
disciplinary measures are applied to the sentenced
or arrested by the director
of the institution such as preventing the child from attending cultural, sports
and arts activities for
a specific period of time and changing the workplace of
the child in accordance with the rules relating to the transfer of the child
to
another institution.
495. Some of the children who complete their
sentences are settled in private and public boarding schools and, with the
support of
public and private institutions and volunteer persons and
institutions, those who cannot attend school are settled, provided a job
and are
observed. Guidance is given in the adaptation of some of the children and for
the youngsters who return to their families.
There are two “Youth
Houses” in Ankara which have been established for sheltering the student
children who have no place
to go and who should not return to their previous
environment.
496. Article 34 of the Law on the Establishment, Duties and
Procedures of Juvenile Courts contains the provision that the misdeed
records of
the children shall not be submitted to any person or commission, except to the
judiciary for the purpose of investigation
and research and the election
committees in the elections to the legislative organs. This is a beneficial
provision which has been
put into force to help children to integrate with the
society.
497. In article 1 of the Turkish Penal Code, the principle of
legality has been adopted with the wording “No one can be punished
for an
action which is not clearly defined as a crime by the law. No one can be
punished with the penalties other than those specified
in law.” Article 2
says that “No one can be punished for an action which is not considered as
a crime or misdeed in
accordance with the laws of that time.” Similar
provisions are present in articles 15 and 38 of the
Constitution.
498. Article 2 of the CRC points to the “context of
innocence” which is one of the most important rights of the suspect.
Accordingly, a person is considered innocent until proven guilty and sentenced
with a final decree of a court. It has also been
arranged as a provision in
paragraph IV of article 38 of the Turkish Constitution.
499. Another result of the context of innocence is application of the
principle of “reasonable doubt” in favour of the
suspect (in
dubio pro reo). In case of failure to find sufficient evidence, the doubt
is decreed to favour the suspect. The provisions of Turkish law on
this subject
are in conformity with the CRC.
500. According to the Penal Procedure Law
(article 135 (2)), the most natural right of a person who is suspected of
committing a crime
and against whom an investigation has been initiated is the
right to know the accusation against him. This right is also known as
the
principle of “prior notification”. This constitutes the foundation
of the defence. A person who does not know what
he/she is accused of shall not
be able to make an effective defence. There is always the possibility that a
suspected person is
innocent. The right to know the accusation is especially
important for these innocent people.
501. Paragraph I of article 25 of
the Law on the Establishment, Duties and Procedures of Juvenile courts contains
a provision for
having a confidential trial and paragraph II, a provision
governing the participation of the people who can attend a court trial
with the
permission of the judge.
502. The most important principle that shall
make the hearing just is the “freedom of evidence”. According to
this principle,
everything can be presented as evidence. Providing that it does
not contradict science and logic, everyone can put forward evidence.
There is
no time restriction in evidence submission. The judge shall evaluate the
evidence freely, but he is obliged to put forward
a basis
therefor.
503. The hearings should be held with the shortest possible
intervals and at the stage of appeal, formation of a special department
at the
Court of Appeals is necessary for concluding cases rapidly.
504. The
status of the witness is dealt with in article 45 of the Penal Procedure Law.
As a rule, the witnesses are invited in accordance
with paragraph 1 of article
45; in case failure to attend without an excuse, the witness shall be summoned
in accordance with article
46 of the Penal Procedure Law. The authority of
forced summoning is given to the judge. The Public Prosecutor, however, has
been
given this right in urgent matters by article 154 of the Penal Procedure
Law. At the final investigation, the court can issue a
forced summons decree.
In emergencies and matters concerning arrest cases, the court may issue an order
to attend the court without
issuing an invitation. In this matter, children are
subject to the same rules as adults.
505. According to paragraph 3 of
article 47 of the Penal Procedure Law, family members and relatives of the
suspect may abstain from
being a witness. They will be informed of this right
before they are heard. According to article 52 (1) of the Penal Procedure
Law,
those who have not completed the age of 15 shall be heard without taking an
oath.
506. With regard to the hearing of statements and investigations,
the suspect cannot be forced to confess. According to article 135
(2) of the
Penal Procedure Law, following the notification of the accusation in article 135
(4), the “suspect has the legal
right of not making explanations on the
accusation”. Moreover, in subparagraph 5, the suspect is given the right
to demand
the collection of evidence in his favour.
507. According to article
135, the suspect has the right to remain silent; thus, at the beginning of the
interrogation, he/she shall
be asked whether he/she wants to speak out or not.
The silence of the suspect shall not be considered as an “implicit
confession”.
Moreover, in article 135 (a) of the Penal Procedure Law,
“prohibited questioning methods” have been listed.
508. In
the Penal Procedure Law, article 153 (2), it is stated that the public
prosecutor shall investigate the matter to the advantage
of the suspect rather
than just those against him/her and shall try to collect and record evidence
that may be lost. All these provisions
are in compliance with the
CRC.
509. The subjects of “objection” and
“appeal” are dealt with in article 297 and the following articles of
the Penal Procedure Law. In the cases for which a provision is not found in the
Law on the Establishment, Duties and Procedures
of Juvenile Courts, the
provisions of the Penal Procedure Law are applicable.
510. In article 25
of the Law on the Establishment, duties and Procedures of Juvenile Courts, it is
stated that the hearing of children
shall be kept confidential. In the same
article, the privacy of the life of the child has been protected by stipulating
who can
attend the hearings and at which stage and by recognizing the
possibility that a child can be taken out of the hearing to serve his/her
best
interest.
511. Privacy should be given the utmost importance to prevent
the disclosure of children’s identity and the publication of any
kind of
information with regard to the identification of the child. Article 33 of the
Press Law and article 40 of the Law on Juvenile
Courts have prohibited any such
publication with regard to children under the age of 18.
512. There is no
legislation other than the Law on Juvenile Courts with regard to the development
and protection of children. Where
the Law on Juvenile Courts is not applicable,
other laws are applied. As a result of the difficulty in being well informed of
all
the existing laws containing provisions concerning children, some cases end
up against the children from time to time. For this
reason, all legislation
with regard to children must be collected under one law. For this purpose, the
Seventh Five-year Development
Plan envisaged the establishment of an
intersectoral committee to scan the legislation and prepare the drafts for the
necessary modifications
in order to fulfil our liabilities with regard to the
CRC.
513. The most basic law in Turkey with regard to the juvenile
justice system is Law No. 2253 on the Establishment, Duties and the
Trial
Procedures of Juvenile Courts. In addition to this, all laws with regard to
crimes committed by adults are also applicable
to children. Law No. 2259
on Police Duty and Authorities, the Turkish Penal Code No. 765, the
Anti-Terrorism Law No. 3713, Law No.
2845 on the Establishment and Trial
Procedures of the State Security Courts, Law No. 1412 on Criminal Trial
Procedures, Law No. 2992
on the Organization and Duties of the Ministry of
Justice, Law No. 4358 on the Organization and Duties of the General Directorate
of Prisons and Jails, Law No. 647 on the Execution of Sentences, Law No. 1721 on
the Management of Prisons and Jails, Law No. 7682
on Judicial Records and the
regulations thereof from the juvenile justice system.
514. A Guidance
Committee has been established with specialist persons in the fields of juvenile
law, development, psychology and
criminology under the aegis of the Ministry of
Justice. The Ankara Juvenile House of Correction has been chosen as a pilot
institution
and studies for modifying the treatment programmes have been
initiated in this institution.
3. Children in situations of exploitation
(a) Economic exploitation (art. 32)
515. In Turkey, the
legal arrangements regarding the employment of children can be classified in
groups like the minimum age for children
employed in industry, trade, mining,
marine works, the entertainment sector, and prohibitions regarding the
employment of children
in heavy and dangerous work. Employment periods,
holidays and salaries concerning the working conditions of the juvenile workers
are also fixed in the legislation. The fundamental legal provisions regarding
working children in Turkey are found in the Constitution of the Turkish
Republic, the Labour Law No. 1475, and Law No. 3308 on Apprenticeship and
Vocational Education.
516. Article 50 of the Constitution states that
“No one shall be required to perform work unsuited to his age, sex, and
capacity. Minors, women and persons with
physical or mental disabilities, shall
enjoy special protection with regard to working conditions. All workers have
the right to
rest and leisure. Rights and conditions relating to paid weekends
and holidays, together with paid annual leave, shall be regulated
by
law.”
517. Article 49 of the Labour Law No. 1475 stipulates that
paid annual holidays of the workers who are 18 or younger cannot be less
than 18
days. The same law regulates the working conditions of children. According to
this, the employment of children younger
than 15 is prohibited. However,
children who have completed the age of 13 may be employed in light work that
shall not harm their
health and development, school or vocational education.
The working hours of those who attend school are arranged in a way that
shall
not obstruct school hours.
518. Employment of males who have not
completed the age of 18 and females at any age in underground and underwater
work is forbidden.
Employment of male children who have not completed the age
of 18 and females at any age in industrial work at night is also forbidden.
Children who have not completed the age of 16 cannot be employed in heavy and
dangerous work.
519. Before employment, children between the ages of 13
and 18 (including 18) are examined first by the doctor of the workplace,
workers’
dispensaries and, where there are none, by the nearest social
security institution, health centre, governmental or municipal doctors.
It must
be certified by a report that they are physically suitable to meet the
conditions of the work. They must have a similar
medical examination at least
once every six months until they complete the age of 18 and it must be
controlled whether there is a
hindrance to the continuation of their employment
in this work. All of these medical reports must be kept in the workplace and
must
be presented to the authorities upon request.
520. ILO conventions
to which Turkey is a party and the European Social Charter contain provisions
regarding working children. Turkey
has approved seven ILO
conventions.
521. According to the “Children’s Seminar”
document of the State Institute of Statistics, children are employed
for two
main reasons. One of them is to contribute to the traditional life of their
families and the other is to contribute to the
family income. Working children
can be classified as children employed in the agricultural sector, small-scale
industry, the streets,
and unregistered areas. The workplaces where the
children are employed are mostly small establishments which utilize old
technology
and which are based on hand labour. Due to the lack of supervision,
children employed in these establishments are open to all kinds
of
abuse.
522. The children employed under the scope of Law No. 3308 on
Apprenticeship and Vocational Training Education have some social security
rights and insurance different from other children. The insurance premiums for
work-related accidents or illnesses of these apprentices
are paid by the State.
However, it is known that the scope of this law is not broad. According to 1993
statistics of the Ministry
of National Education, 200,000 apprentices have been
trained at 300 apprentice centres during the 1992/93 academic year. This figure
corresponds to 5 per cent of the working children according to the
“Juvenile Employment Questionnaire” of the State Institute
of
Statistics.
523. In Turkey, it is seen that the children under the age of
13 are in work despite the fact that their employment is
forbidden.
524. Since 1990, when Turkey signed the CRC, the Department on
Working Children established under the aegis of the General Directorate
of
Labour has played an important role in drawing the attention of the relevant
public and private sector organizations to this issue.
ILO/IPEC (International
Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour) projects which have been
initiated within this framework
have encouraged studies conducted by various
civil society organizations and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security to
end child
labour. All these efforts had a significant effect on increasing the
sensitivity of the public on the issue of child labour.
525. The projects
conducted by ILO/IPEC since 1993 are as follows:
(a) With the cooperation
of ILO/IPEC-Ministry of Labour and Social Security:
− Project for the establishment and strengthening of a Child Labour Unit at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security;
− Project for the training of inspectors on child labour;
(b) With the cooperation of ILO/IPEC-Fişek
Institute:
− Health services for the children employed in small-scale establishments;
(c) With the cooperation of ILO/IPEC-Ankara Metropolitan
Municipality:
− Project for the children working in the streets of Ankara;
(d) With the cooperation of ILO/IPEC-the State
Institute of Statistics:
− Research on child labour at the national level;
(e) With the cooperation of ILO/IPEC-Turkish
Development Foundation:
− Research project on children working in rural areas;
(f) With the cooperation of ILO/IPEC-TÜRKIŞ
(Trade Union):
− Strengthening of trade unions on juvenile labour;
(g) With the cooperation of ILO/IPEC-TISK (Trade
Confederation):
− Training of administrators on juvenile labour;
(h) With the cooperation of ILO/IPEC-research team of
the Social Service Specialists
Association:
− Research project on children working in the streets of Istanbul;
− National immigration research project.
526. Prohibition of the employment of children in
some areas, without taking socio-economic conditions into consideration, leads
to
the secret employment of children whereby they face more abusive conditions.
To prevent this, an effective supervision mechanism
should be put in place in
addition to the legal arrangements.
527. According to the Labour Law (No.
1475), the minimum age for employment is defined as 15 as a rule and as 13
for exceptional “light
work”. However, due to the fact that this
provision is void in places where three people or more are employed, the minimum
working age is 12, as specified in article 173 (1) of the Common Hygiene Law No.
1593.
528. In the past there was no important difference between the age
of completing compulsory education and the minimum employment age,
which caused
children to start to work at an earlier age. The extension of compulsory
education to eight years constitutes an achievement
also in the harmonization
with Law No. 1475 which aims to prevent the employment of children
under 15.
529. Economic and social assistance mechanisms for the
families whose children have to work due to economic reasons are developed
in
order to provide these children with education opportunities.
530. There
are institutions such as the “Center for children employed in the streets
of Ankara”, an ILO/IPEC project,
to which working children may apply for
help with their problems in their workplaces, families, schools and friendship
relations.
(b) Drug abuse (art. 33)
531. As regards drug
abuse and addiction, children and young persons are the most vulnerable groups.
In fact, statistics on Turkey
show that three fourths of the addicts in Turkey
started taking narcotic drugs or solvents before the age of 30. With a young
population
of over 25 million, Turkey is aware of the fact that the matter
needs urgent attention as the drug pushers’ main target has
become the
schools and universities and other localities frequented by children and young
people.
532. On the legal side, the Turkish Penal Code regards drug
trafficking as a grave crime for which the offender is liable to receive
prison
sentences of more than five years (art. 403). Heavier sentences are given to
those who are consistent in this illicit trade
and/or are carrying it out in an
organized manner.
533. To tackle the problem, a governmental body was set
up under the chairmanship of the Minister of State for Family Affairs in July
1997. This body consists of a committee and a subcommittee where the concerned
ministries and educational, legal and social institutions
are represented. The
governmental body has been given the task of arousing public awareness on the
drug problem. In this respect,
special attention is given to the training of
personnel in the education sector and the launching of campaigns to enlighten
parents
on the dangers of drug abuse that threaten their children. Likewise,
the drafting of the laws, rules and regulations and advising
the Government
accordingly are also to be undertaken by this body.
534. The Turkish
Penal Code lays the necessary ground for the prevention of the abuse, sale and
smuggling of drugs and the protection
of children. For example, there are
provisions which prohibit the sale of alcohol near schools. Sale of alcoholic
beverages to
children under 18 is also prohibited.
535. Medical
institutions oriented towards drugs and addictive substances in Turkey have
created a specialized structure on this issue.
(c) Sexual exploitation
and sexual abuse (art. 34)
536. There are legal arrangements in
Turkey regarding the protection of children from sexual abuse. Subparagraph (c)
of article 11
of Law No. 2559 on the Duties and Authorities of the Police states
that “those who produce and sell films, records, videos
and cassettes
which are in contradiction with the general morality and manners will be
obstructed even if there is no application
or complaint. Real and legal persons
who record tapes and video cassettes for commercial purposes have to give one
copy of these
tapes and cassettes to the local civil authorities before they are
broadcasted”.
537. Article 12 of the aforementioned Law states that
“employment of girls and women in casinos, bars, cafes and similar places
serving alcoholic beverages, baths, Turkish baths and beaches depends on the
permission of the local civil authorities. Men and
women who are under 21
cannot be employed in these places in any way”. The police prohibit the
admittance of those under 18
to bars, cafes and pubs, even if they are
accompanied by their parents and guardians.
538. Relevant articles of the
Turkish Penal Code regarding the penalties applied in case of the sexual abuse
of children are as follows:
(a) According to article 435 of the Turkish
Penal Code, those who encourage a child who has not completed the age of 15 to
prostitution
and those who shall facilitate this shall be imprisoned for a
period of not less than two years and sentenced to a heavy fine. If
the child
is encouraged to this path by one of the sisters or brothers of the child, those
who adopted the child or the parent or
guardian of the child, teacher or trainer
or servants or other persons whom the child is entrusted with the care of, the
imprisonment
period will be a minimum of three years.
(b) The penalties
for sexual exploitation of the children are as follows:
(i) According to article 414, “Those who shall seduce a child who has not completed the age of 15 shall be punished with heavy imprisonment sentence of not less than five years.” If the action shall be realized through the use of pressure, force or threat against a child who is in the position of not being able to resist the action due to mental or physical disorder or through the use of tricks, the period of imprisonment shall not be less than 10 years;
(ii) According to article 415, “Those who commit an act or action against the honour and chastity of a child who has not completed the age 15 shall be imprisoned from two to four years and if this act and action shall be executed under the conditions specified in the second paragraph of the above article, the imprisonment period shall be 3 to 5 years.”;
(iii) According to article 416, “Those who seduce a person who has completed the age of 15 by means of pressure, force or threat or who commit this action against a person who is not able to resist the action due to a mental or physical illness or a reason other than the act of the concerned or due to tricks shall be imprisoned for a minimum of 7 years.” Those who have a sexual relation with a person who is not of legal age, with his/her own will, shall be punished with an imprisonment sentence of 6 months to 3 years, if the action does not involve a heavier sentence;
(iv) According to article 417, “If the acts and actions specified in the above articles shall be committed by more than one person or committed by one of the brothers, family members, parents, guardians, teachers, trainers or servants or those to whom the child is left, the penalty foreseen by the law shall be increased by half.”;
(v) According to article 418, “If the aforementioned acts and actions shall lead to the death of the victim, the concerned shall be given a heavy life imprisonment sentence.”
539. Immigration from rural
areas, rapid and irregular urbanization, unemployment and poverty lead to less
use of the educational
facilities by children of poor families, an increase in
the number of runaways and the exploitation of children in environments where
they find themselves in prostitution, begging and crime. The increase from five
to eight years of compulsory basic education has
been a very positive step in
combating this problem.
540. In the international field, Turkey supports
the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Sale of Children, Child
Prostitution
and Child Pornography, which it considers as an important step in
bringing these issues to the attention of the international
community.
(d) Other forms of exploitation (art.
36)
541. The State protects children against all kinds of
exploitation that shall damage their health in any way.
542. According to
article 41 of the Turkish Constitution:
“The family is the foundation of the Turkish society.
“The State shall take the necessary measures and establish the necessary organization to ensure the peace and welfare of the family, especially the protection of the mother and children, and for family planning education and application.”
543. According to article 42 of the Constitution:
“No one shall be deprived of the right of learning and education.
“The scope of the right to education shall be defined and regulated by law.
“Primary education is compulsory for all citizens of both sexes and is free of charge in State schools.
“The State shall provide scholarships and other means of assistance to enable students of merit lacking financial means to continue their education. The State shall take necessary measures to rehabilitate those in need of special training so as to render such people useful to society.”
544. According to article 267 of the Civil Code, “The mother and
father have the right to discipline their children.”
Article 272 of the
Civil Code states that, “In case the mother and father do not fulfil their
obligations, the judge is obliged
to take the necessary precautions for the
custody of the child.”
545. “A person who causes a possible
risk of damaging the health of a person who has been entrusted to him for
necessary training,
maintenance or teaching by misusing his/her power to
discipline shall be imprisoned for up to 18 months” (art. 477 of the
Turkish
Penal Code).
546. In article 273 of the Civil code it is stated
that, “If the physical or mental development of the child shall be found
to be at risk, or if the child is emotionally abandoned, the judge shall have
the right to take the child away from the parents and
give the custody to a
family or an establishment.” According to article 274 of the Civil Code,
“The judge may take away
the right of custody from the parents who cannot
fulfil the custody or who severely neglect their child. When the custody is
taken
from the parents, a guardian shall be allocated to the child. The
provision of this decree shall include the children to be born
in the
future.”
547. Articles of the Turkish Penal Code regarding this
subject are as follows:
− “A person who eliminates or changes the heredity of a child shall be sentenced to imprisonment from one year to five years” (art. 445);
− “A person who gives a legitimate child to an infirmary by means of concealing his/her identification or leaves the child on the streets shall be sentenced to an imprisonment of three months to two years. If the concerned person is a relative of the child, the imprisonment shall be increased to one year to three years.” (art. 446);
− According to article 478 of the Penal Code, “A person who mistreats a child under the age of 12 in a way that cannot be justified shall be imprisoned for up to 30 months. If this mistreatment is done by a family member or a relative of the child, then the period of imprisonment shall be increased to three months to three years”;
− Article 545 of the Penal Code states that, “A person who gathers children under the age of 15 and forces them to beg, or who lets or makes a child who has been left under his custody to do so shall be imprisoned for a period of not less than three months and sentenced to a fine ...”.
(e) Sale, trafficking and abduction (art.
35)
548. The concepts of child abduction, sale and trafficking should
be taken into consideration together.
549. In the Turkish legal system,
the issue of abduction is first examined in the section of the “Crimes
Against the Freedom
of the Individual” of the Turkish Penal Code and the
actions that restrict the freedom of the individual and are committed
without
his/her own will are evaluated under the scope of crimes.
550. If one
deprives another person of his/her freedom illegally, he/she shall be sentenced
to imprisonment from one year to five
years and a heavy fine.
551. If the
criminal resorts to force or threat or commits such an action for the purpose of
revenge, religion, material benefit excluding
the cases specified in article
499, or for any purpose resulting from differences in political, ideological,
social opinion or delivery
of the victim to a foreign country for military
service, the sentence shall be changed to heavy imprisonment from three to eight
years and a heavy fine.
552. According to article 179 of the Turkish
Penal Code, if the actions specified in the above paragraphs are committed with
weapons
by more than one person, the sentence shall be increased by
half.
553. Article 180 of the Penal Code states that if the concerned
releases the individual of his own will without damage to the individual
who is
deprived of his/her freedom and without attaining his/her objective before the
investigation, the sentence shall be reduced
by one sixth to one
half.
554. According to article 435:
“Those who trick a child who has not completed the age of 15 and encourage him/her to engage in prostitution and facilitate this shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a minimum of two years.
“If a child is tricked into prostitution by one of his/her brothers or parents or guardians, those who adopt the child, teacher or trainer or servants or other persons in whose control the child has been entrusted, an imprisonment penalty of a minimum of three years shall be given.
“If those who have been subject to this kind of treatment have
completed the age of 15 but are not over the age of 21, the concerned
shall be
imprisoned between six months to two years and sentenced to a heavy fine
penalty.”
555. “Those who shall destroy or modify the
heredity of the child by hiding him or replacing him with another child shall be
penalized with an imprisonment sentence from one year to five years”
(art. 445).
556. Abduction for ransom is examined in article 449 of the
Turkish Penal code. According to this article:
“Those who imprison or kidnap an individual for the purpose of taking money or belongings or a title-deed which is legally in force, he/she shall be sentenced to heavy imprisonment from 15 to 20 years if the objective is not attained. In case of the attainment of the objective, the upper level of the sentence shall be applied.”
557. Also, despite the fact that those who are under 18 are considered
children in the Turkish legal system, the age of 15 is considered
as the basis
in some action (arts. 182 and 435).
558. Legal arrangements on adoption
are examined in articles 235-258 of the Turkish Civil Code. Adoption is
realized with the common
consent of the persons concerned and with the
permission of the Common Court of Justice. However, sometimes, newborn babies
are
abducted from hospitals for adoption or families with low socioeconomic
levels with many children have attempted to sell their children
after their
birth. The legal arrangements in Turkey regarding the issue of the sale,
trafficking and abduction of children are in
compliance with the CRC. Turkey is
evaluating areas for improvement.
4. Children belonging to minority groups (art.
30)
559. Article 24 of the Turkish Constitution guarantees the freedom of
conscience, religious belief and conviction. This is in compliance with both
the Lausanne Treaty of 1923
and the CRC.
560. The rights of the
minorities are laid down as follows in the Lausanne Treaty (arts. 34-37)
(according to the Lausanne Treaty,
the minorities in Turkey are Greeks,
Armenians and Jews): article 38 of the Lausanne Treaty states that “all
inhabitants of
Turkey shall be entitled to free exercise, whether in public or
private, of any creed, religion or belief, the observance of which
shall not be
incompatible with public order and good morals”. In accordance with
article 40 of the Lausanne Treaty, non-Muslim
minorities have equal rights to
establish, manage and control at their own expense any charitable, religious and
social institutions,
any schools and other establishments for instruction and
education with the right to use their own language and to exercise their
own
religion freely therein.
561. As regards public instruction, Turkey has
undertaken to grant, in those towns and districts where a considerable
proportion of
non-Muslim nationals are resident, adequate facilities for
ensuring that in the primary schools the instruction shall be given to
their
children in their own language.
562. Turkey has placed a reservation to
article 30 of the CRC by keeping the right of interpretation in accordance with
the spirit
of the Constitution of the Turkish Republic and the Lausanne
Treaty.
-----
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