Topic:
Country: Turkey
Delegate Name: Vivi Westenberg
The death penalty, otherwise known as capital punishment, is a form of punishment in which a crime is declared horrific enough to warrant execution and has historically been used as a form of punishment in almost all countries around the world. Since the 1970s, various countries have begun to abolish the death penalty, deeming it unethical and a violation of human rights. Today, roughly 1/3 of all nations still practice this type of punishment whilst the other 2/3 have either illegalized the use of execution as a form of punishment or stopped practicing it. The United Nations Office of Human Rights has called multiple times for international adherence to an anti-death penalty approach. That being said, the UN also tries to take different cultural and religious practices into account, and it has therefore not been severely internationally outlawed nor restricted.
The Republic of Türkiye has not used capital punishment since 1984 and abolished the death penalty in 2004 as part of their process towards potential accession to the European Union (EU). As of 2019, discussions of adding Türkiye to the EU have been suspended but the EU and Türkiye still remain close partners. In recent years there has been talk of reinstating the death penalty in Türkiye with the President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stating in 2022 that he would approve reinstatement of capital punishment if it was passed by parliament.
The country has not reinstated the death penalty but is not opposed to it being reintroduced to the nation. Türkiye believes that it is important to hold criminals accountable for their actions. Although brutal, The Republic of Türkiye believes that this punishment may serve to be the most effective in reducing terrorist attacks. The Republic of Türkiye believes the decision about the use of capital punishment should be left up to the nation and shouldn’t constitute cause for international intervention.
