#defendMETUpride : Turkey’s hypocrisy

Turkey charges LGBTI activists while claiming inclusion

19 students stand trial in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. They are charged with having joined a pride march on Middle East Technical University in Ankara – or rather for “participating in unlawful assembly”. It is common for Turkey to violate the rights of LGBTI persons and allies. The hypocrisy, however, is striking when considering the LGBTI-related recommendations from other countries to Turkey, which the Turkish state has accepted. For instance:

Norway: Ensure non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity
Turkey: Accepted

The LGBT committee has used it’s own tool, the Human Rights Annotation Browser, to look at the LGBTI-related recommendations and observations regarding Turkey which are produced in the different United Nations human rights monitoring mechanisms.