Expert Guide on Human Rights and Forced Labour in Turkiye

• European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), Article 4 (Prohibition of Slavery and Forced Labour): Pursuant to Article 90/4 of the Turkish Constitution, which stipulates that duly ratified international treaties have the force of law, the ECHR holds the status of law and is therefore directly applicable under Turkish law.
• Constitution of the Republic of Türkiye: Article 18 (Prohibition of Forced Labour), Article 90 (Adoption of International Treaties)
• Labour Law No. 4857: Article 5 (Prohibition of Discrimination), Article 18 (Prohibition of Arbitrary Dismissal), Article 71 (Minimum Working Age and Prohibition of Child Labour), Article 73 (Prohibition of Night Work for Minors), Article 41 (Prohibition of Forced Overtime)
• Turkish Criminal Code: Article 80 (Prohibition of Human Trafficking and Forced Labour), Article 94 (Prohibition of Torture), Article 117 (Prohibition of Interference with the Freedom to Work)
• International Workforce Law No. 6735
• Law on Foreigners and International Protection No. 6458
• Regulation on Combating Human Trafficking and Protection of Victims
• Regulation on the Procedures and Principles for the Employment of Child and Young Workers

No, there are no sector specific rules.

The Sustainability Reporting Standards of Türkiye (TSRS), introduced by the Public Oversight, Accounting, and Auditing Standards Authority (KGK), require certain companies to prepare and disclose sustainability reports in line with international standards, including disclosures on human rights, modern slavery, and forced labour risks within their operations and supply chains. The obligation applies to companies meeting specific criteria, such as having 250 employees, a total active assets of 500 million Turkish Liras, or an annual net sales revenue of 1 billion Turkish Liras. Besides, as a rule, banks are subject to reporting obligations regardless of any threshold.

The Communiqué on Corporate Governance No. II-17.1 requires publicly traded companies to adhere to fundamental principles based on the Sustainability Principles Compliance Framework and disclose their compliance while conducting ESG activities. According to these standards, companies must include in their annual activity reports not only whether they comply with corporate governance principles but also whether they adhere to sustainability principles. If they do not comply, they must provide a reasoned explanation and disclose the impacts of partial non-compliance on environmental and social risk management. Currently, however, the disclosure requirement remains voluntary.

Based on Article 22 of the ILO Constitution, Türkiye is obliged to submit annual reports to the International Labor Office for the treaties and conventions it has ratified. Currently, Türkiye is party to the Forced Labour Convention (No.29), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, Minimum Age Convention and Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention and is bound by the obligations therein.

One specific mechanism available for the enforcement of human rights related issues in Türkiye is through the Human Rights and Equality Institution established in 2016. The institution is authorized to examine, investigate, and decide on human rights violations, monitor their outcomes, and impose administrative fines when such violations are identified. We note that further enforcement mechanisms based on Turkish Penal Law and the Turkish Labor Law are detailed in our explanations to question 4.

Under Article 117 of the Turkish Criminal Code, violating the freedom of work and labour is punishable by imprisonment ranging from 6 months to 3 years. This provision criminalises compelling a person to work under conditions they have not agreed to, preventing someone from working, or interfering with their employment through threats, deception, or violence.

Articles 99 and 104 of the Labour Law provide for administrative fines for breaches of the respective obligations such as violations of Article 18 (Prohibition of Arbitrary Dismissal), Article 71 (Minimum Working Age and Prohibition of Child Labour), Article 73 (Prohibition of Night Work for Minors), and Article 41 (Prohibition of Forced Overtime). These provisions aim to safeguard fundamental labour rights, prevent exploitation, and ensure compliance with human rights standards, including protections against forced labour and modern slavery.

Although there is no specific provision under Turkish law that holds directors or executives responsible in particular for the companies' violations of the modern slavery and forced labour provisions, according to Article 369 and 553 of Turkish Commercial Code (TCC), there is a general provision that holds board members accountable for breaches of law causing harm to the company.

In other words, board members may be held liable towards the company, shareholders, and company creditors if they violate their statutory obligations through fault or misconduct concerning obligations arising from the statutory terms of law. Thus, as part of their duty of care to act in the best interests of the company, there is an implicit recognition that directors must ensure that the company is in compliance with all terms of the applicable Turkish legislation (including modern slavery and human rights laws). If the directors fail to do so, this could result in liability for the company, and the company would be able to seek recourse towards the related directors for such liability. Without prejudice to this principle, there will also be individual criminal law consequences for such directors or executives if their actions breach the related provisions of the Turkish Criminal Code, as indicated in our explanations in question 4.

Amendments to the Turkish Constitution are generally under discussion, however, the content and the extent of such amendments remain highly speculative and unclear. Hence, it is not possible to tell whether the proposed amendments would relate to forced labor and related human rights issues.