The Sectoral Monitoring Committee Meeting covering the fundamental rights and civil society sector, led by the Directorate for EU Affairs, and the judiciary sector, led by the Ministry of Justice, was held online on 28 May 2025 under the co-chairmanship of the EU Delegation to Türkiye and the Directorate for EU Affairs.

Representatives from the National IPA Coordinator (NIPAC) Office, Central Finance and Contracts Unit, Ministry of Treasury and Finance -National Authorising Officer and Audit Authority, as well as beneficiary institutions, international organisations, and civil society organisations, took part in the meeting. During the meeting, updates on the progress made and implementation processes across all three areas were shared with Committee members, and project indicators and achievements were discussed.

Carried out under the 2020 programming of the Fundamental Rights Sector, the “Project on Supporting the Effective Implementation of the Provisions of the Turkish Constitutional Court in the Field of Human Rights” continues its activities at a fast pace.

As part of the project, university seminars have been held at Başkent University, Ankara University, Gaziantep University, Kocaeli University, Erzurum Atatürk University, and Antalya Bilim University. Key topics discussed during the seminars include freedom of expression, the right to cross-examine witnesses, the right to individual application, and the right to life. Within the scope of individual application trainings for lawyers, the competencies of lawyers from the Bar Associations of Yozgat, Zonguldak, Kastamonu, Giresun, Kocaeli, Burdur, Antalya and Mardin have been enhanced.

The project also hosts major events aimed at strengthening cooperation between high judicial bodies and public institutions. In this context, the “Workshop on Human Rights During Natural Disasters in Light of Constitutional Court Decisions” was held in cooperation with the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Türkiye, and the “Workshop on Additional Damages in the Context of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms” was organized in collaboration with the Court of Cassation. Furthermore, human rights training sessions for judges and prosecutors continue uninterrupted.

The principle of gender-responsive budgeting, which was included in the “Local Administrations Budget Preparation Guide” in the previous period with the support of successfully completed project titled “Implementation of Gender-Responsive Planning and Budgeting in Türkiye,” continues to be included and further developed in the new version of the guide. Under the section “General Principles” of the Guide, it is stated that: “In order to enhance effectiveness in women’s empowerment and achieving equality between women and men, the needs and priorities of women and men should be taken into account when providing services. In this framework, the budgeting responsive to equality between women and men approach should be incorporated into the budgeting process, and activities, allocations, and indicators related to the monitoring of equality between women and men should be included”

 Under the heading “Performance Indicators”, the importance of including indicators related to the monitoring of gender equality in institutional performance frameworks was emphasized.

Additionally, one of the 40 budget programs defined for municipalities has been designated as the “Women’s Empowerment” program. Under this heading, the following sub-objectives have been included:

• Preventing All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and
• Ensuring Women’s Equal Access to Rights, Opportunities, and Resources in All Areas of Social Life and Empowering Women.

The 2026–2028 Local Administrations Budget Preparation Guide can be accessed here.

The “Improving the Capacity of Lawyers and Bar Associations on the Promotion, Protection and Monitoring of Children’s Rights Project – ÇABA,” under IPA Fundamental Rights 2020 programming continues its activities in cooperation between the Union of Turkish Bar Associations and UNICEF.

In the last six-month period, bar association visits, regional meetings, and training activities were carried out as part of the project. In this context, the bar associations of Trabzon, Erzurum, Adana, Batman, and Aydın were visited and the Aegean Regional Meeting was held.

Through bar and ToT training sessions, approximately 200 people received training.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council at its meeting on 27 January 2025, adopted the EU’s 2025 Human Rights Priorities within the UN Framework.

The EU’s focus areas for 2025 include the key topics such as gender equality, combating gender-based violence, non-discrimination against minorities and vulnerable groups, digital rights and AI, and freedom of expression.

These priorities highlight the EU’s ongoing commitment to keeping human rights at the heart of its enlargement policy, including in its engagement with the candidate countries like Türkiye.

Learn more about the priorities.

On 10 June 2025, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) published its “Fundamental Rights Report 2025” covering developments in the fundamental rights across the EU.

In 2024, the Report provides an overview of the state of fundamental rights in the EU, addressing rising racism and hate crimes, human rights violations and the growing role of digitalisation and AI.

The Report also covers issues such as inclusive elections, gender-based violence, and the implementation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

In addition, it also includes data and analysis from both EU member states and candidate countries like Albania, North Macedonia, and Serbia.

Read the Report here.

On 7 March 2025, the European Commission adopted the Communication [COM (2025) 97 final] on the EU Roadmap for Women’s Rights.

With the “Declaration of Principles for A Gender-Equal Society”, the Roadmap outlines eight core principles:

• Freedom from gender-based violence
• The highest standards of health
• Equal pay and economic empowerment
• Work-life balance and care
• Equal employment opportunities and adequate working conditions
• Quality and inclusive education
• Political participation and equal representation
• Institutional mechanisms that deliver on women’s rights

Announced on the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the Roadmap serves as a cornerstone policy document for upcoming EU action.

View the Communication.

The European Accessibility Directive (EU) 2019/882, published on 17 April 2019, came into effect on 28 June 2025.

The Directive aims to improve the functioning of the EU market by setting accessibility standards for a wide range of products and services, from smartphones and banking services to audio-visual media and passenger transport.

While reducing costs for businesses and facilitating cross-border trade, the Directive also seeks to provide more accessible products and services for people with disabilities and the elderly.

Read the Directive here.