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Fundamental Freedoms in Turkey

Freedom House works to assist civil society to defend and advance fundamental freedoms and rights enshrined in Turkey’s national and international obligations.

Advancing Fundamental Freedoms in Turkey

Turkey remains one of most challenging places in the European region to exercise fundamental freedoms. In this challenging environment, Freedom House seeks to empower civil society to contribute to the improvement of fundamental freedoms in Turkey and to advocate with national and international decision makers to uphold the country’s human rights commitments.

This project aims to create a common ground for different civil society actors to address human rights issues in the country. Freedom House and its partners intend to respond threats to fundamental freedoms by providing litigation support, research and analysis, support for grassroots initiatives, and advocacy.

Partner organizations:

Key Initiatives

Civic Space Empowerment Program:
Financial Support to Grassroots Initiatives to Strengthen Civic Engagement on the Local Level in Turkey

Freedom House invites applications for funding and support from local, registered non-governmental organizations based in Turkey that seek to expand civic engagement on a local level through building partnerships with local municipality offices in Turkey.

The “Civic Space Empowerment” grants program will serve the following objectives:

To provide financial support to cross-cutting grassroot initiatives that engage journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders, and other activists that seek to strengthen cooperation between local civil society organizations, communities, and municipalities to advance fundamental freedoms in Turkey;
To provide essential technical support, assistance, and tools to local grassroot initiatives in order to leverage their impact to develop projects in response to openings and opportunities in the aftermath of the previous municipal elections in Turkey;
To help improve initiatives focusing on promoting fundamental freedoms in Turkey through local community engagement.

Freedom House will select up to four (4) initiatives for up to $10,000 in funding each. Applications will be considered in the following thematic areas:

Raise awareness about human rights issues with local stakeholders in Turkey;
Engage officials in local civil society organizations and events;
Encourage dialogue between civil society groups and the government;
Building allies for civil society on local level

Applications must be received by Freedom House by 23:59 EST on March 27, 2023. All grant applications must be submitted electronically to [email protected] with “Turkey Civic Engagement Initiatives” in the subject line.

Application materials

Call for Proposals for Policy Brief Series

Freedom House calls for proposals from both rising and experienced independent researchers, scholars, and affiliated research analysts, especially those based in Turkey for forward-looking briefs on the increasing crackdown on the LGBTQI+ community in Turkey and the role of relevant stakeholders to protect LGBTQI+ rights in the context of defending fundamental freedoms in Turkey.

Please submit concept proposals to [email protected] by August 21, 2023, with “Turkey Policy Briefs” in the subject line.

The concept proposal should consist of an abstract of no more than 300 words, an outline of the argument and recommendations to be presented, and a CV of the principal researcher or researchers. Organizations may submit proposals for more than one brief. Priority will be given to concept proposals submitted in English. Freedom House encouraged non-traditional journalists, such as lawyers or students to apply.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, and one policy brief will be produced. Contracted researcher(s) will be asked to deliver a draft of 2500-3000 words. The brief will be copy-edited, published, and promoted by Freedom House, with the byline and affiliation of the researcher. An honorarium of between $500 and $1,000 will be provided, depending on the originality, scope and length of the brief.

Download Call for Proposals

Featured Program Publications

Policy Brief

The Role of Civil Society in the Post-Earthquake Period in Turkey

The sixth policy brief of the “Advancing Fundamental Freedoms in Turkey” policy series, focuses on how Turkish civil society stepped up after the massive earthquake to fill the void the inaction of state agencies created. Author Yunus Furkan Arıcan lists various policy recommendations and fields of potential cooperation among political parties and NGOs. The brief also underlines the importance for post-earthquake efforts to go beyond collecting donations and use human rights advocacy to challenge the government’s antidemocratic stance on Turkish civil society.

Policy Brief

The Impact of Turkey’s Recent Amendments to the Electoral Laws on Fundamental Freedoms and Electoral Integrity

The fifth policy brief of the “Advancing Fundamental Freedoms in Turkey” policy series, focuses on the amendments to the Law on Elections before the June 2023 elections. “The Impact of Turkey’s Recent Amendments to the Electoral Laws on Fundamental Freedoms and Electoral Integrity” discusses the problematic changes that have been adopted by the Turkish Parliament undermining fundamental freedoms and electoral participation in Turkey. Expert Başak Bozkurt offers recommendations to civil society organizations, the media, opposition parties, international organizations, and social media companies on how to protect electoral integrity following the adoption of these amendments.

Policy Brief

The Systematic Decline of the Freedom of Expression in Turkey

In the fourth policy brief of the “Advancing Fundamental Freedoms in Turkey,” author İpek Z. Ruacan investigates the systematic decline of freedom of expression in Turkey through the lens of anti-terrorism legislation and culture wars.

Policy Brief

"Smart" Repression at work: Shrinking Space for Academic Freedom in Turkey

The third brief of the “Advancing Fundamental Freedoms in Turkey” policy series focuses on the increasing crackdown on academia and shrinking space for academic freedom in Turkey. Political scientist İlker Kalın places the government’s attempts to silence academia and civil society into a broad perspective by introducing the concept of “smart” repression. The brief investigates the government’s systematic repression through simulated democratic actions and discusses its implications.

Policy Brief

Withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention:
War on Gender Equality in Turkey

The second policy brief of the “Advancing Fundamental Freedoms in Turkey” policy series, focuses on the reasons behind Turkey’s attempted withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention while also analyzing the withdrawal decision from a legal perspective. Experts Berfu Şeker and Ezel Buse Sönmezocak reveal the ruling AKP’s long-lasting anti-gender policies and examine potential impacts of the attempted withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention on women’s rights and LGBT+ rights.

Policy Brief

Stifling Lawyers and Bar Associations:
Restrictions undermining the right to legal defense in Turkey

Experts Benan Molu and İdil Özcan examine the increasing attacks on lawyers and their right to free association in Turkey since the state of emergency in 2016. This brief provides a comprehensive analysis of how the recent government policies and legislation create obstacles for lawyers to fully perform their fundamental duties of legal counsel and defense.

Past Programming in Turkey

Policy Brief Series: Call for Proposals for Advancing Fundamental Freedoms in Turkey

Freedom House seeks perspectives from independent researchers on issues concerning the upcoming Turkish presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled to be held in June 2023. Although the elections are not to be held for almost another year, political parties in Turkey are already in preparation for what is expected to be an arduous campaign. In March 2022, Turkey’s parliament passed a comprehensive and controversial new election law in a party-line vote. Although the law lowered the election threshold from 10% of the national vote to 7%, it raised some concerns over election security and fair representation. According to the Venice Commission, the law harms smaller, newer, and opposition parties’ chances in elections. The recent changes to the law raised the eyebrows of elections experts and international organizations. The policy brief will help identify challenges and possible solutions and build public awareness about them.

Learn more

Protection of Freedom of Expression in Turkey (2019-2020)

Featured Report: Perceptions towards Freedom of Expression in Turkey

Perceptions Towards Freedom of Expression in Turkey cover

In July 2020, Freedom House, together with RIWI Corp, released a new report on freedom of expression and the media in Turkey. The presence of a vibrant landscape for free expression may seem contradictory, given that Turkey regularly tops global charts for the number of journalists jailed, and is ranked as Not Free in Freedom in the World. This report reveals opportunities for free expression among Turkey's dynamic population, where preferences are shifting from traditional outlets to online platforms. From these contradictions rise not only a clearer picture of the contours of expression, but also hope that this fundamental right can still be exercised.

Download PDF — English