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Turkey - Consideration on reports submitted by States parties under Article 8, paragraph 1, of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict: Initial reports of States parties due in 2006 [2007] UNCRCSPR 35; CRC/C/OPAC/TUR/1 (12 December 2007)
UNITED NATIONS
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CRC
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Convention on the Rights of the Child
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Distr. GENERAL
CRC/C/OPAC/TUR/1 12 December
2007
Original: ENGLISH
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COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
CONSIDERATION OF
REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES
PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 8, PARAGRAPH 1, OF THE
OPTIONAL
PROTOCOL TO THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS
OF THE CHILD ON THE
INVOLVEMENT OF CHILDREN
IN ARMED CONFLICT
Initial
reports of States parties due in 2006
TURKEY
[20 November 2007]
GE.07-45762
Article 1
- The
Republic of Turkey signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 14
September 1990 and ratified it by decision of the Council
of Ministers No. 4058
of 9 December 1994. The Convention came into force on 11 December 1994. The
Optional Protocol to the Convention
on the Rights of the Child on the
involvement of children in the armed conflict was signed on 8 September 2000 and
ratified by decision
of the Council of Ministers No. 4991 of 16 October 2003.
The Optional Protocol came into force on 18 March 2004.
- Article
41/2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey entrusts the State with the
task of taking necessary measures for the protection of children. On the other
hand, article 90 of the Constitution reads as follows: “International
agreements duly put into effect bear the force of law. No appeal to the
Constitutional Court
shall be made with regard to these agreements, on the
grounds that they are unconstitutional (Additional sentence inserted: 7.5.2004
– Article 5170/7). In the case of a conflict between international
agreements in the area of fundamental rights and freedoms
duly put into effect
and the domestic laws due to differences in provisions on the same
matter, the provisions of international agreements
shall prevail”.
- According
to article 72 of the Constitution, “national service is the right and duty
of every Turk. The manner in which this service shall be performed, or
considered
as performed, either in the Armed Forces or in public service shall
be regulated by law”.
- The
principal laws regulating the military service are the “Law on Military
Service” No. 1111 and the “Law for Reserve
Officers and Reserve
Military Servants” No. 1076.
- The
legislation of the Republic of Turkey on military service regulates the
aforementioned national service as a compulsory service
as a rule only for
males. The military service commences for every male on the first day of the
year he reaches the age of 20.
- In
the Turkish Armed Forces, there is no staff below the age of 18 under the
obligation of military service. Therefore, it should
be emphasized at the outset
that no problem exists regarding the implementation of the Optional Protocol,
as there is no provision
in the military conscription system in Turkey allowing
children to be called to arms apart from direct involvement of children in
armed
conflict.
Article 2
- According
to article 2 of Law No. 1111, the age of military service for every male starts
on the first day of January of the year
he reaches the age of 20, on the basis
of the date of birth in the register of births, and ends on the first day of
January of the
year he reaches the age of 41. The deadline, if deemed necessary
by the General Staff, can be extended up to five years or shortened
upon the
proposal of the Ministry of National Defence and a decision of the Council of
Ministers. Therefore, under Turkish legislation,
it is not possible for
individuals under the age of 18 to be called to arms.
- Article
5 of the “Regulation on the Initial Procedures of the First Call-up of
Recruits of the Persons who are of Military Age”
reads as follows:
“The birth registration offices of provinces and public registration
offices of districts send the names
of the persons who will reach the military
age that year, the names of their fathers and mothers, their dates and places of
birth
and other necessary information regarding their birth record, as indicated
in the register of births, by writing them separately
for each village and
district and in two copies, and also provide the Directorate of the Draft Office
in the region with one of the
said copies not later than 15th of
January.” Therefore, the initial recruitment procedures of persons at
military age are commenced by taking into account
their age, calculated
according to their date of birth as indicated in their birth records enunciated
by the Birth Registration
Offices.
- Article
4 of Law No. 1111 provides that ‘‘the call-up period starts from the
beginning of military service age and lasts
until the attendance to the
detachment. In the state of emergency and mobilization, those who are at the
call-up age, but not of
recruiting age pursuant to Article 8, as well as those
who are 19 years old may also be recruited upon the request of the Ministry
of
National Defense, the acceptance of the Council of Ministers and the approval of
the President”. According to this, Turkish
citizens to be conscripted in
states of emergency and mobilization should be those who underwent medical
examination, but were not
yet conscripted and who have reached at least the age
of 19.
- Under
article 35 of Law No. 1111, the procedures and examinations of those who are
considered to be incapable of accomplishing their
military service during their
last inspection due to the reasons prescribed by the law are postponed to the
year after. Pursuant
to the provision that reads “those who are not
physically grown up enough for military service”, all military service
procedures for those persons are postponed for one year, and they are reassessed
the following year after having undergone medical
examination. This process is
repeated for a period of five years, and after five years, those who have not
physically grown up enough
for military service are exempted from military
service.
- According
to article 81 of Law No. 1111, changes made in the ages after reaching the
military age do not affect the military service.
However, among the ones who did
not pass through the last call-up and whose ages recorded in the register of
births are considered
not fitting their personalities, are submitted by the
military committees, draft offices and top civil service superiors to the Public
Prosecutor in order to demand from the competent court the correction of their
age, and the military service for such persons is
processed according to the age
considered appropriate by the court. Pursuant to this provision, the
recruitment operations take
into account not only the persons’ ages
registered in the birth records, but also the considerations as to whether their
appearance
match with their known ages. Those whose ages are found not matching
with their appearances are referred to the Offices of the Public
Prosecutor for
rectification of their ages and the procedures concerning their military service
are ceased or continued on the basis
of the court decision.
- According
to article 27 of Law No. 1111, on the day determined, the names in the call-up
list belonging to those living in the villages
and areas where the call-up would
be carried out are read out aloud. The board of aldermen and their friends are
asked whether those
whose names were read have showed up. Their identity cards
are requested and compared with the names in the call-up list. If the
names do
not match, the reason for this situation is asked and they are legally corrected
upon mutual agreement, and a medical examination
is conducted by the board of
physicians. Decision is made as to whether they are suitable for the military
service or not and whether
they fulfill the conditions of the shorter service.
The decisions are notified to those who had their call-up completed and recorded
as such in their call-up list at the Draft Office and the Registry Office,
accordingly. This provision provides that due attention
is paid to the
determination of the actual age and the identity of citizens during the medical
examination process, carried out to
ascertain whether or not they are suitable
for enrolment.
- Article
4 of Law No. 1111 stipulates that persons who are 19 years of age can also be
recruited during a mobilization or state of
emergency, upon the request of the
Minister of National Defence, deemed necessary by the Council of Ministers and
by the approval
of the President.
- On
the other hand, in article 5 of Law No. 1111, the duration of military service
in respect of noncommissioned officers and privates
in the Land Forces Command,
Naval Forces Command, Air Forces Command and the General Command of Gendarmerie
is set at 18 months.
The Council of Ministers may reduce this period to 15
months or to 12 months in times of peace, taking into account the needs of
the
armed forces.
- The
determination of the duration of compulsory military service starts from the
date of induction by the Draft Office. The excessive
term served in the army for
more than the period specified is deducted as twice from the reserve military
period. In Turkey, as of
15 July 2003, pursuant to decision No. 2003/5795 of
the Council of Ministers of 23 June 2003 the period of military service is 15
months for noncommissioned officers and privates and 12 months for reserve
officers.
- According
to article 49 of Law No. 1111, “Those individuals, whose call-ups are
completed, are transferred on the date of their
induction from the Draft Offices
by the civil servants or gendarmerie, with their identity card marked and two
separate copies of
their post bills prepared according to their
destination.”
- In
summary, under the existing legislation it is not possible for persons below the
age of 18 to be recruited in the armed forces
or involved in an armed conflict
as a member. In Turkey, both the compulsory and voluntary military service age
is above this limit.
Article 3, paragraph 1
- According
to article 11 of Law No. 1111, the age of at least 18 must be completed for
admission to military service on a voluntary
basis. As a matter of fact,
voluntary recruitment does not take place in practice due to the sufficiency of
resources in respect
of the compulsory military service.
Article 3, paragraphs 2 and 4
- In
Turkish legislation, no problem exists concerning these
provisions.
Article 3, paragraph 3
- In
Turkish legislation, no problem exists concerning this provision.
Article 3, paragraph 5
- The
Military Academies, the Military Medical Academy, and the NCO Corps Profession
Colleges, within the organizational charter of
the Turkish Armed Forces, are the
actual source for training of officers and NCOs. These higher education
institutions offer university
education, and the education and instruction level
is above the level of the military high schools and their equivalent military
schools, where individuals below the age of 18 are educated.
- Within
the structure of and under the supervision of the Turkish Armed Forces, the
Military High Schools and the NCO Preparatory School
are schools attended by
students who might be regarded as children. Admission to these secondary
education institutions is on a voluntary
basis and subject to the consent of
families.
- Students
who wish to enter the Military High Schools and the NCO Preparatory School take
the admission examinations of their own will.
Those who succeed the examinations
and enter the quota must pass a second phase of procedures (health examinations,
tests for physical
qualification and interview). The applicants who are
successful in this process are then admitted to the schools. A “liability
document” approved by the notary is requested from the parents for
possible compensation claims.
- The
minimum age of admission to these secondary schools of the Turkish Armed Forces
is 13 years and the maximum age is 16. Students
who study at these schools are
not, in any way, under any military liability under the military legislation
such as the Law on Military
Service No. 1111, the Law for Reserve Officers and
Reserve Military Servants No. 1076, the Military Penal Law No. 1632 and the Law
on the Establishment and Procedures of the Military Courts. They are not
entrusted with any military service or duty, and therefore,
not considered as
soldiers. They are not entitled to hold a military status, authority or rank.
They do not belong to any military
unit other than being a military school
student. Therefore, these students cannot be considered as members of the armed
forces within
the scope of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its
Optional Protocol.
- Students
who graduate from the Military High Schools and the NCO Preparatory School do
not hold any military status. As graduates
of high school and its equivalent
schools, they are only entitled to become student candidates to the military
schools providing
higher education. In these schools, basic military training or
military skills are not provided. However, in case they may wish
to become
candidates for professional soldier, education on military courtesy rules,
elementary military general culture etc. is
provided –provided that
regular education and instruction are not hindered– in order to attach
them to the profession
of arms. Accordingly, these schools do not run counter to
the contents of articles 28 and 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child.
- The
educational and instructional activities at such schools are conducted within
the scope of the Personnel Law, the Military High
Schools Regulation and the NCO
Preparatory Schools Regulation of the Turkish Armed Forces. At these schools,
educational activities
are carried out within the framework of weekly course
charts approved by the Instruction and Training Board of the Ministry of
National
Education. The duration of this education is four years (annex1).
Moreover, these schools use the courses and textbooks which are
approved by the
Instruction and Training Board of the Ministry of National Education and
included in the curriculum of secondary
education institutions. Within this
framework, human rights education is also provided. The courses in these
institutions are delivered
by army officers and civilian teachers, who have
received their university education in this field.
- The
current number of students in military secondary schools is 1,817.
- In
case an actual military requirement or state of emergency arises in times of
mobilization or military conflict, the military
student status of the students
being trained at the Turkish Armed Forces military institutes does not change,
and they are not assigned
to participate in combat or subsidiary
operations.
- These
students are allowed to leave the Turkish Armed Forces secondary school
institutions at any time, if they so wish. They do not
assume any obligation
other than the matters specified in the letter of undertaking signed by their
family concerning tort and law
of damages.
- Guidance
activities in the Turkish Armed Forces military institutes are duly carried out.
The military students may consult with the
student adviser at any time and may
share their problems. Furthermore, students are closely monitored by the
military officers responsible,
who may contact the families to discuss the
situation of the student, if deemed necessary.
- All
students of a military institute within the establishment of and under the
supervision of the Turkish Armed Forces have the opportunity
to communicate
claims, demands or complaints through appropriate application procedures within
the scope of the right of petition.
This right is guaranteed by both the
Constitution and the In-Service Law.
Article 4
- In
Turkey, there exists no situation or issue concerning this
matter.
Article 5
- Information
on Turkey's accession to the international instruments to which this report
refers and/or are found to be related to the
subject of the Optional Protocol is
as follows:
- The domestic ratification process to the four Geneva Conventions of 12 August
1949 on the rules to be followed in armed conflicts
was issued in the Official
Gazette, No. 8322 of 30 January 1953, following the enactment of the approval
law (Law No. 6020 of 21
January 1953). Ratification of the Geneva Conventions
was made conditional to its being effective as of 10 August 1954. With this
condition, Turkey ratified the four Geneva Conventions.
- The European Convention on the Exercise of Children’s Rights was signed
in Strasbourg on 9 June 1999 with a statement. Following
the enactment of Law
No. 4620 of 18 January 2001 regarding its ratification; Decree No. 2002/3910 of
the Council of Ministers of
12 March 2002 was issued and the Convention came
into force on 1 October 2002 upon its promulgation in the Official Gazette, No.
24743, dated 2 May 2002.
- In 2001, Turkey became a party to International Labour Organization Convention
No.182 concerning the Prohibition and Immediate
Action for the Elimination of
the Worst Forms of Child Labour.
Article 6, paragraph 1 and 2
- The
Social Services and Child Protection Institution was assigned as the
“coordinator institution” to monitor the implementation
of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child in Turkey, by the instruction of the
Office of the Prime Minister, on 11 January 1995.
- As
mentioned above, Turkey does not have a concrete problem with regard to the
Optional Protocol and so far, no complaint has been
made to the administration
about its implementation. Therefore, there is no need for special measures to be
taken, as envisaged by
this provision.
Article 6, paragraph 3
- In
Turkey, no situation or issue has arisen within the content of this
Article.
Article 7
- No
technical cooperation or financial assistance programme, as referred to in this
article, was requested by or provided to Turkey
in the course of the preparation
of this report.
-----
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