Press Release

UN expert to visit Türkiye to assess violence against women

15 July 2022

GENEVA / ANKARA (15 July 2022) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences, Reem Alsalem, will visit Türkiye from 18 to 27 July 2022.

During her visit, the Special Rapporteur will examine the multiple and intersecting causes of violence against women and girls in Türkiye, including nationals, migrants, refugees, and stateless persons. She will also review the implementation of Türkiye’s international commitments to the legal, institutional and policy frameworks put in place to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls.

“I look forward to productive and substantial discussions with State officials at the national and local level, as well as with civil society actors, United Nations agencies, women and girls who are survivors of violence, and other relevant stakeholders to take stock of efforts made to eliminate violence against women and girls,” Alsalem said.

In addition to Ankara, the Special Rapporteur will visit Istanbul, Izmir, Diyarbakir and Gaziantep.

Alsalem will hold a news conference to share preliminary findings from her visit at 1pm on Wednesday, 27 July 2022 at Hilton Hotel, Anadolu Meeting Room Çankaya, Ankara. Access is strictly limited to journalists. 

The Special Rapporteur will present her final report to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2023.

ENDS

Ms. Reem Alsalem (Jordan) was appointed as Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences by the UN Human Rights Council in July 2021, to recommend measures, ways and means, at the national, regional and international levels, to eliminate violence against women and its causes, and to remedy its consequences. She is an independent consultant on gender issues, the rights of refugees and migrants, transitional justice and humanitarian response. She holds a Masters in International Relations from the American University in Cairo, Egypt (2001) and a Masters in Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (2003). 

The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

 

For inquiries and media requests, please contact: Orlagh McCann (+41 079 444 4552/ orlagh.mccann@un.org) or Tuba Coşkun (+90 312 454 10 52/unic.ankara@unic.org)

 

For media enquiries regarding other UN independent experts, please contact Jeremy Laurence (+41 79 444 7578 / jeremy.laurence@un.org) or Dharisha Indraguptha (+41 79 506 1088 / dharisha.indraguptha@un.org)

 

Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on Twitter @UN_SPExperts.

 

 

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