# Turkey decrees withdrawal from Istanbul Convention

Date: 2021

On 20 March 2021, Presidential Decision No. 3718, published in the Official Gazette, announced Turkey’s withdrawal from the [Council of Europe](/organizations/council-of-europe) Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, known as the Istanbul Convention. Turkey had been the first state to ratify the Convention, which opened for signature in Istanbul in 2011. The treaty obliges its parties to prevent violence, protect victims, prosecute perpetrators and accept monitoring by the GREVIO expert group. The United Nations in Türkiye issued a joint statement in response that identified the decision by number and date, and Council of Europe bodies criticized the withdrawal. Legal scholarship has examined how the decision was taken by presidential decree alone, without a vote in the Grand [National Assembly](/organizations/national-assembly), under the executive presidency introduced in 2018. The withdrawal took effect on 1 July 2021. [Recep Tayyip Erdoğan](/people/recep-tayyip-erdogan) carries direct responsibility because the decision was issued under his authority as president.

## People

- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: https://factrail.ai/people/recep-tayyip-erdogan

## Drivers

- Protection of Minority Rights: https://factrail.ai/drivers/protection-of-minority-rights

## Sources

- https://turkiye.un.org/en/122727-un-joint-statement-response-turkey%E2%80%99s-withdrawal-istanbul-convention
- https://academic.oup.com/ejil/article/33/2/579/6647760

## Methodology

https://factrail.ai/methodology

Canonical: https://factrail.ai/facts/turkey-istanbul-convention-withdrawal-decree-2021-03