The Council of Europe maintains country-specific co-operation initiatives in Türkiye. The Council of Europe Programme Office in Ankara  co‑ordinates and supports project implementation and ensures co-ordination with both national and international partners present in the field.

Most of the co-operation activities with Türkiye have been undertaken via European Union/Council of Europe Joint Programmes, and Türkiye remains the biggest Beneficiary of the technical co-operation with the European Union. In the field of fundamental rights, support has been provided to the effective implementation of Turkish Constitutional Court judgments. Türkiye is also supported in enhancing the quality of foreign language education and alignment with international standards such as the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

The Council of Europe also provides support to Türkiye through voluntary contributions. The project “Enhancing the disciplinary and reward procedures for prisoners in Türkiye” is financed by the Human Rights Trust Fund (HRTF), as well as by Belgium, Norway, the Netherlands and Türkiye itself. The initiative strives to establish a comprehensive understanding of the existing disciplinary and reward mechanism for inmates.

Within the framework of the third phase of the European Union/Council of Europe “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”, important steps are being taken to increase the institutional capacity of Turkish authorities to foster women’s access to justice with the aim to increase legal awareness among women, especially those in vulnerable situations such as victims of domestic violence. In addition, Türkiye benefits from continued support to strengthen the human rights protection in the context of migration. Co-operation in the field of education was also reinforced with the introduction of a pilot action on digital citizenship education which aims to promote human rights, fundamental freedoms and democracy in schools by empowering students in their digital presence through digital citizenship education at the lower secondary level. Moreover, specific focus has been placed on addressing money laundering through a bilateral action in Türkiye.  

Türkiye also benefits from two European Union/Council of Europe regional Joint Programmes implemented in South-East Europe and Türkiye. The regional programme CyberSEE strengthens the rule of law, security and regional co-operation in South-East-Europe and Türkiye through a more effective response to the challenges of cybercrime and electronic evidence. Moreover, support is provided to the socio-economic integration, effective inclusion, and meaningful participation of the Roma population through the third phase of the “Roma Integration” Joint Programme.

Through the implementation of the aforementioned programmes and actions, the Council of Europe actively contributes contributed to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notably SDG 3 (target 8), DSG 4 (targets 1,5 and 7), DSG 5 (targets 1, 2 and c), DSG 10 (targets 2, 3 and 7), and DSG 16 (targets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, a and b).

More information: Overview of the Council of Europe Contribution to the UN 2030 Agenda.