The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission's Communication of 8 November 2006 entitled "Enlargement Strategy and Main Challenges 2006-2007" (COM(2006)0649), and especially to the progress report on Turkey contained therein,

–   having regard to the Commission's Communication of 9 November 2005 entitled "2005 enlargement strategy paper" (COM(2005)0561),

–   having regard to its resolution of 27 September 2006 on Turkey's progress towards accession(1),

–   having regard to its resolution of 6 July 2005 on the role of women in Turkey in social, economic and political life(2),

–   having regard to the decision of the European Council of 17 December 2004 to open negotiations with Turkey on accession to the European Union on 3 October 2005,

–   having regard to the Community acquis in the field of women's rights and gender equality,

–   having regard to the Recommendation Rec(2003)3 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe of 12 March 2003 to member states on balanced participation of women and men in political and public decision-making,

–   having regard to the ILO's Home Work Convention No 177 of 1996,

–   having regard to the 'Women and Employment' report of the EU-Turkey Joint Consultative Committee of the European Economic and Social Committee, produced in Kayseri (Turkey) on 14 July 2006,

–   having regard to the Turkish Parliamentary Commission report on custom and honour killings and violence against women and children of 2006,

–   having regard to the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights of 10 November 2005 on Turkey's regulations on wearing the Islamic headscarf in higher education institutions(3),

–   having regard to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) of 1979 and its Optional Protocol of 1999, which form part of international law and to which Turkey has been party since 1985 and 2002 respectively, and having regard to Article 90 of the Turkish Constitution which states that international law takes precedence over Turkish national law,

–   having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (A6-0003/2007),

A.   whereas adoption of the Community acquis is obligatory for candidates for accession to the EU and whereas women's rights and gender equality are part of the Community acquis,

B.   whereas the Commission's report on Turkey's progress towards accession, contained in its above-mentioned strategy paper of 9 November 2005, identifies, as regards the situation of women, the following main areas of concern, inter alia: violence against women, particularly domestic violence and crimes in the name of honour, a high illiteracy rate, a low level of participation by women in parliament and in local representative bodies, and the low level of women's participation and the prevailing discrimination in the labour market, given that economic independence is essential for their emancipation and should be of particular concern to Turkey,

C.   whereas the Commission has concluded, in its 2006 progress report on Turkey, that the legal framework as regards women's rights is satisfactory overall, but that the implementation thereof remains a challenge,

1.  Emphasises that respecting human rights, including women's rights, is a conditio sine qua non of membership of the EU and calls on the Commission to make the issue of women's rights central to the negotiations with Turkey;

2.  Welcomes the fact that the active phase of the accession negotiations between Turkey and the European Union has begun; regrets, however, the slowing-down of the reform process in Turkey over the last year and the persistent problems with women's rights;

Implementation of legislation and coordination

3.  Notes that the legal framework on women's rights has in general been satisfactory but considers that its implementation remains flawed; therefore, reiterates its call for full and effective implementation of the Community acquis in the field of women's rights, particularly in the poorer regions of the country;

4.  Urges the Turkish Government to speed up implementation of the new legislation on women's rights and to ensure that it is absolutely in line with the requirements of the Community acquis and that it is effectively implemented in practice;

5.  Points out that the new Turkish Penal Code, which entered into force in June 2005, substantially strengthens the basic rights of women, but that the European directives on the equality of men and women have still not been completely transposed; notes with concern the (unsuccessful) attempts made to repeal legislation on women's rights;

6.  Deplores the fact that, in parts of south-east Turkey, girls are not registered at birth, and that this hampers the fight against forced marriage and crimes in the name of honour, since the victims have no official identity; urges the Turkish authorities to continue taking all necessary measures to ensure that all Turkish children are registered at birth;

7.  Emphasises that the Turkish Government should maintain and establish, where necessary, its countrywide legal registration of marriages so as to guarantee the full entitlement of every man and woman to the benefits of citizenship, such as access to education and to health care as well as equal access to the labour market;

8.  Welcomes the establishment in Turkey of an Advisory Board on the Status of Women ("the Board") which will provide advice on the planning and implementation of state policies related to women's rights;

9.  Emphasises the need to include social partners, representatives of bodies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) dealing with gender equality issues and representatives of trade unions within the Board, which is not currently the case, and urges the authorities concerned to use the Board effectively in order to achieve efficient coordination between stakeholders;

Civil society

10.  Notes its continuing concern in relation to cooperation between NGOs and the Turkish Government;

11.  Calls for all NGOs, including free and autonomous women's organisations, to be treated in the same way;

12.  Considers that the meeting of Turkey's State Minister in Charge of Women's Rights with the representatives of 55 women's organisations in Turkey, together with the decision to establish more structured cooperation and effective coordination between the ministry and NGOs, constitute good practices which should be repeated regularly; expects to see this political will assume practical expression in future in the form of specific initiatives and measures;

13.  Calls on the Commission and the Turkish Government to acknowledge the role of women's rights NGOs as fundamental and essential partners through official and permanent structures and institutions and to involve NGOs in the process of negotiating EU accession in a structured manner on the basis of the procedures laid down;

14.  Calls on the Turkish Government to launch a large-scale campaign to convey to the whole of society the image of women as players driving economic and social development;

15.  Acknowledges the growing concern of women's rights NGOs about the problems they face during the extensive procedures for obtaining grants from the EU and while conducting the projects for which they obtained grants; notes that many women's rights NGOs hesitate to apply and, as a result, fail to benefit from a critically important resource;

16.  Welcomes the establishment of the STGM (Civil Society Development Centre), which works on helping civil society development;

17.  Calls on the Commission to provide additional assistance, inter alia by building up the capacity of other assistance centres;

Data, benchmarks and goals

18.  Notes that there is still a lack of accurate data on the situation of women in Turkey and that existing data do not yet cover all problems relating to the situation, role and rights of women;

19.  Welcomes, in this respect, the initiative launched at the beginning of 2007 by the Turkish State Institute of Statistics to provide 'gender statistics' relating to social, cultural and economic life, including data on the gender pay gap;

20.  Welcomes the EU-Turkey joint project entitled "Promoting gender equality", the objective of which is to strengthen the capacity of stakeholders to protect women from domestic violence, and welcomes, as part of the project, the initiative entitled "National research on the causes and consequences of violence against women", which is designed to set up a database on violence against women;

21.  Calls on the Turkish Government to provide specific and reliable data on the illiteracy rate among women, on equal access for women to education, on problems related to the participation of women in the labour force, on violence against women and on honour killings and forced marriages;

22.  Calls on the Commission, in its reports to the European Council on the pace of reforms, to come up with clear guidelines and precise short, medium and long-term goals for women's rights;

23.  Calls on the Turkish Government to ensure that all women, regardless of their language, race, ethnicity, colour, political opinion, belief and religion are involved in women's rights programmes;

24.  Is alarmed at the Commission's observation that the Law on the protection of the family is only partially applied, and calls upon the Turkish authorities forthwith to implement it correctly and effectively, since this will contribute to protecting the position and rights of women within the family;

Violence against women

25.  Notes that violence against women is still a problem and condemns instances of violence against women, including honour killings, domestic violence, forced marriages and polygamy;

26.  Takes note of the Commission's remark that, despite the provisions in the new Turkish Penal Code listing "honour killings" as an aggravated circumstance for the crime of murder, the sentences issued by courts, as the Commission points out, reflect a mixed picture; calls on the judicial authorities to apply and interpret correctly and effectively the provisions of the Penal Code in order to avoid this kind of crime and to guarantee that crimes against women cannot benefit from reduced sentences or extenuating circumstances;

27.  Is deeply concerned about the fact that suicides committed by women due to the influence of the family continue to occur, especially in the regions of the East and the South-East; urges the Turkish authorities to protect women from this kind of pressure exerted upon them by their families and to submit specific and reliable data on suicide among women, particularly in those regions;

28.  Calls on the public institutions (the judiciary, the administration, the police, the health- care system, etc,) to ensure that women affected by violence in Turkey receive all necessary protection;

29.  Stresses that, in cases in which there has been a failure to protect and assist victims, a judicial investigation should be initiated through the public institutions and efforts made to take disciplinary measures against those responsible;

30.  Welcomes the official circular issued by the Prime Minister following a Turkish Parliamentary Commission report on custom and honour crimes and violence against women, instructing all ministries, public institutions and local administrators to enforce proposed solutions to deal with violence against women; calls on the Turkish Government to formulate binding and practical instructions for the implementation of that official circular, to provide a sufficient budget to take the necessary measures and to spell out the consequences of non-compliance;

31.  Welcomes the official circular of the Turkish Ministry of Interior Affairs of 9 January 2007 establishing an action plan for the coordination of policies to prevent honour and custom crimes, which asks for firm implementation of the law on the establishment of a shelter in all municipalities with over 50 000 inhabitants, for the establishment of special committees in every city in order to coordinate the efforts to help the victims of honour and custom crimes and for taking measures to provide psychological and financial support and protection to the victims;

32.  Welcomes the initiative designed to provide soldiers in military service with education on the prevention of violence against women and to include in the curriculum of police schools issues such as women's rights as part of human rights, gender equality, violence against women and honour crimes;

33.  Calls on the Turkish Government and the Commission to tackle violence in general and honour crimes in particular as a priority and to set up special high-security shelters, including in regions in south-east Turkey, so that women have shelters in their own neighbourhood; calls for support and assistance measures for the free women's advisory centres in south-eastern Turkey, for example KA-MER, urges economic development that focuses on women in regions in which women are vulnerable to violence; stresses the importance of systematic investigation and effective punishment and therefore the training of police and judicial authorities in gender equality issues and the fight against violence; points out the need to instruct judges to apply new laws to severely punish violence in general and honour crimes, forced marriages and polygamy in particular and the importance of the protection of witnesses; urges the Turkish Government to conclude a special agreement with the Commission on participation in the programme to prevent and combat violence against children, young people and women and to protect victims and groups at risk (Daphne programme) and to set aside the necessary financial resources in the national budget for this purpose;

34.  Points out that women must be offered not only protection but above all psychological care and advice; demands that such services be provided in women's shelters and on the ground in regions with high rates of suicide among women and violence against women;

35.  Calls on Turkish Government to build alliances with all groupings – civil, social or religious – in society so as to initiate campaigns, targeted in particular at the young, to spread awareness that violence against women and children is a serious breach of human rights, and to generate repugnance for all forms of violence;

Shelters

36.  Notes that the shelters in Turkey for women who have been victims of violence, which are reported to have capacity for 469 women and which have thus far provided services for 5 512 women(4), do not meet the needs of a population of approximately 70 million, while even the modest possibilities afforded under the law in force, namely a shelter in all municipalities with over 50 000 inhabitants, are not being sufficiently utilised;

37.  Calls on the Turkish Government to ensure the efficiency, security and availability of sufficient numbers of shelters for the needs of women;

38.  Welcomes the establishment of the "183 Family, Woman, Child and Handicapped Social Services" telephone helpline to report violence and also welcomes the establishment of a nationwide urgent assistance line, 157, for the victims of human trafficking, and believes that these helplines may serve as a good example for the EU;

39.  Once again calls on Turkey to ratify Additional Protocol No 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights1;

40.  Calls on the Turkish Government to carry out structural and personnel improvements in women's shelters and to eliminate shortcomings that have given rise to complaints;

41.  Encourages the Turkish Government to do more to promote cooperation between state institutions/local authorities and independent women's organisations; urges it also to provide financial support for independent and autonomous women's shelters;

Political participation

42.  Notes that the political participation by women in Turkey is too low; underlines the fact that discrimination against women can sometimes best be remedied by temporary positive discrimination measures, as allowed by, inter alia, CEDAW, and that there is an absolute need for female role models in positions of power and decision-making;

43.  Suggests the proposal of measures to ensure appropriate representation of women on election lists as the best way to improve female participation in Turkish politics in the short term;

44.  Calls on the Turkish political parties to adopt internal rules guaranteeing the presence of women in their management bodies at all levels;

45.  Urges the political parties in Turkey, starting from the upcoming elections in 2007, to include more female candidates on election lists, to give women an appropriate role in the party hierarchy and to raise awareness of the importance of female political participation;

46.  Strongly regrets that a standing committee on women's rights and gender equality has still not been established within the Turkish Parliament; emphasises that promises made by the Turkish Government and by some political parties in their party programmes should be upheld and underlines that the committee should be established as soon as possible;

47.  Is concerned by the Commission's comment that women remain vulnerable to discriminatory practices, due inter alia to a lack of education and a high illiteracy rate in the country, and calls on the Turkish Government to ensure gender equality in access to education and the labour market, especially in the south-eastern regions; calls, in this regard, for measures in the educational sector in order to equip teaching staff with gender competence and to maintain a system of incentives to keep girls in school; calls also for schoolgirls and schoolboys to be made aware of equal rights for men and women and women's rights to self-determination, including through gender-sensitive education manuals;

Education

48.  Notes that, according to UNICEF estimates, each year between 600 000 and 800 000 girls who have attained the mandatory age for going to school are either prevented by their families from doing so or do not attend school because of logistical difficulties;

49.  Welcomes the girls' education campaign entitled "Let's go to school, girls", which has resulted in the enrolment of 222 800 girls in school; also welcomes the "Campaign to Support National Education" that reached almost 5 million adults in four years, most of whom are women from rural areas and girls who could not attend school;

50.  Underlines the importance of education and its potential contribution to the economic independence of women; calls on the Turkish authorities to establish a monitoring system to keep girls in the education system; stresses the importance of females in school having increased access to colleges and universities and greater involvement in disciplines such as psychology, to prepare and educate them so that they are able to assist other female victims of abuse.

Participation in the labour market

51.  Notes that the percentage participation of women in the labour market remains exceptionally low, below 25%, and is very low compared to the average women's employment rate in the EU-27 of 49% and that the female employment rate has dropped to around 20%, in contrast to the rise of women's participation in the informal sector, which is often the result of a combination of the low level of education of many women, the lack of an institutionalised, widespread, accessible and affordable system of care facilities for children, elderly and disabled relatives and the gender division of labour in society;

52.  Highlights the Commission's remark, as regards equal opportunities, that alignment is required in respect of the Community acquis, in particular concerning parental leave, equal pay, equal access to employment and statutory and occupational social security;

53.  Welcomes, in the light of the above, projects such as the joint Dutch-Turkish project entitled "Strengthening Equality in Employment" and the forthcoming project entitled "Support for Women's Entrepreneurship", and the cooperation between Garanti Bank and KAGIDER (Female Entrepreneurs Association) concerning credit facilities of up to USD 30 000 and free training provided for women entrepreneurs;

54.  Calls on the Turkish Government to establish a body or bodies for the promotion, analysis, monitoring and support of equal treatment on the labour market, including vocational training within the meaning of Article 8a of Council Directive of 76/207/EEC 9 February 1976 on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions(5);

55.  Calls on the social partners and the Turkish Government to take all necessary measures to ensure the transition of the informal economy to the formal economy; asks the Commission to make support for this effort one of its priorities;

56.  Requests the Turkish Government to provide accurate data on discrimination against women, including the access of women wearing headscarves to the labour market, in order to establish whether there is a risk of indirect discrimination based on gender;

57.  Calls on the Turkish Government to improve the situation of home workers, most of whom are women; in this connection, urges Turkey to sign and ratify the above-mentioned ILO Home Work Convention No 177 and to expand the Turkish Labour Code in order to cover home workers;

58.  Once again calls on the Turkish Government to draft and implement national action plans on women and employment with a limited time-frame and concrete goals, as is currently the practice in the Member States of the EU;

59.  Calls on the Turkish Ministry of Labour and the social partners to include gender equality issues in their policies and in the collective labour agreements, and calls on the Turkish trade unions to organise labour in the informal sector and to train union representatives on gender equality issues; welcomes in this respect the initiatives of the trade union confederation Türk-IS;

60.  Stresses the important role of the social partners in promoting women's rights and their participation in economic, social and political life; encourages the social partners to do more to promote women's participation in bodies engaged in social dialogue;

61.  Decides to evaluate, on a regular basis, progress in the field of women's rights in Turkey in addition to, and in conjunction with, the yearly progress report of the Commission, and to measure Turkey's progress in the field of women's rights in accordance with the benchmarks established in the progress report;

o
o   o

62.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, the Director-General of the International Labour Organization and the Government and Parliament of Turkey.

(1) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2006)0381. (2) OJ C 157 E, 6.7.2006, p. 385. (3) Leyla Şahin v. Turkey, Application No. 44774/98. (4) Source: Nimet Çubukçu, Turkey's State Minister in Charge of Women's Rights. (5) OJ L 39, 14.2.1976, p 40. Directive as amended by Directive 2002/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 269, 5.10.2002, p. 15.)