MINISTER TUNÇ: WE MUST DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO PROTECT OUR CHILDREN FROM ALL KINDS OF ABUSE
Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç emphasized that children should be protected from all kinds of abuse and said “Children are our future, so we must do whatever it takes to protect our children against all kinds of emotional, physical, psychological and sexual abuse.”
Attending the WeProtect Global Summit 2024 in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Minister of Justice Tunç mentioned in his speech that Türkiye is a country that has signed conventions such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Lanzarote Convention to protect children from sexual abuse.
Minister Tunç said that the spirit of brotherhood, solidarity and strong communication between Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates has also come to the fore in regional and global issues.
THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM HAS A ROLE TO PLAY FOR CHILDREN
Explaining the importance of the summit, Minister Tunç emphasized that the protection of children is very important. Minister Tunç said, “Especially in the digital age, it is becoming increasingly difficult to protect children. They are the most vulnerable to the dangers around them, so it is not enough to leave their protection only to their families, the state and the international system must also fulfill very important duties in protecting children. We congratulate the WePROTECT Global alliance on this issue. We would like to contribute as Türkiye, as well.”
WE NEED TO PROTECT OUR CHILDREN FROM ALL KINDS OF ABUSE
“Children are our future, so we must do whatever it takes to protect our children from all kinds of abuse, whether emotional, physical, psychological or sexual abuse,” said Minister of Justice Tunç and continued his speech as follows;
“As Türkiye, we are a country that has signed conventions such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Lanzarote Convention to protect children from sexual abuse. In the laws of our country, especially with the amendment made to our Constitution in 2010, we have regulated the protection of children in more detail and emphasized the measures that the state should take in this regard. Again, we have a law on the protection of children from harmful broadcasts on the internet, which was put into force in 2007 and which we have gradually updated in line with the needs. We are also working on the implementation of this law.”
Minister of Justice Tunç stated that it is not easy for states to fight against global issues alone and said, “If, especially child abuse, crimes committed on the internet, an act committed in the virtual world is a crime according to the law of a country, it is in question to punish it, otherwise we cannot talk about law there.”
WE ARE SENSITIVE ABOUT FREEDOM OF THOUGHT, FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Touching upon the issue of freedom of thought and expression, Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç said:
“We are sensitive about these issues, but it is also the duty of all of us to prevent crimes from being committed. Therefore, we want to work together with companies on this issue. We need this to protect our children.
If a country has a court decision, and if you are broadcasting in that country, you are broadcasting with the means of that country. You do it with the internet infrastructure and satellite facilities created by that country. Therefore, when there is a court decision of that country, it is a requirement of the law to implement that decision without delay.”