NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS AS A HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION MECHANISM: THE CASES OF THE OMBUDSMAN AND HUMAN RIGHTS AND EQUALITY INSTITUTION OF TURKEY Three reports covering 2017, 2018 and 2019 have been prepared up to know under Articles 9(1)(k) and 9(3) of TIHEK Law and submitted to the Office of the President, GNAT, the Human Rights Examination Committee and the Committee on Equality of Opportunity for Women and Men of GNAT.22 There is only one report that has been prepared and published in an ex officio fashion within the scope of Art. 9(1)(l) of TIHEK Law.23 No step has been taken up to now regarding TIHEK's duty as specified in the Paris Principles "drawing the attention of the Government to situations in any part of the country where human rights are violated and making proposals to it for initiatives to put an end to such situations and, where necessary, expressing an opinion on the positions and reactions of the Government" and TIHEK has not made any critical statement on the Government with regard to any human rights problem in the country. It is observed that a cooperation policy limited to the Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation that has not conducted any considerable activity on human rights and tries to introduce local or regional standards that could be contrary to human rights instead of universal standards is adopted by the Institution in terms of cooperation with international organizations under Article 9(1)(m) of TIHEK Law.24 Cooperation with the United Nations and the Council of Europe has proved to be very limited and is unlikely to be considered as effective cooperation. It is seen that no cooperation is established with any public institution and professional organization performing activities towards fight against discrimination under Article 9(1)(n) of TIHEK Law. The only university with which cooperation has been established is Uskudar University, which does not have any activity related to the mandate of the Institution.25 Collaboration with CSOs remained very limited and the CSOs with which cooperation has been established are composed of the CSOs with no experience and knowledge on fight against discrimination. Activities of the Institution do not provide any transparent information on cooperation with CSOs.26 The Institution has not performed any activity for monitoring the implementation of international human rights conventions under Article 9(1)(ö) of TIHEK Law. On the contrary, the social media accounts of the Chairman of the Institution and the Board members frequently share posts against the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention) 22 TIHEK, 2017, 2018 and 2019 Activity Reports, https://www.tihek.gov.tr/kategori/faaliyet-raporlari/ (accessed: July 31, 2020) 23 TIHEK, Report on the Right to Education of Autistic Children and Non-Discrimination, March 2020, https://www.tihek.gov.tr/ upload/file_editor/2020/04/1585822889.pdf (accessed: July 31, 2020). 24 For instance, see: TIHEK, "As TIHEK, We Represented our Country at the Symposium Held in Morocco on the “Role of the Media in the Fight Against Hate Crime”", October 23, 2017, https://www.tihek.gov.tr/fasta-duzenlenen-nefret-soylemiyle-mucadelede-medyanin-rolu-konulu-sempozyumda-tihek-olarak-ulkemizi-temsil-ettik/; “National Human Rights Institutions of the Member Countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Met in Istanbul”, October 24, 2018, https://www.tihek.gov. tr/islam-isbirligi-teskilati-uye-ulke-ulusal-insan-haklari-kurumlari-istanbulda-biraraya-geldi/; “TIHEK Delegation attended the 6th International Seminar of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.”, October 15, 2019, https://www.tihek.gov.tr/tihek-heyeti-islam-isbirligi-teskilatinin-6-uluslararasi-seminerine-katildi/; “A Panel on 'Human Rights Protection Mechanisms' Was Organized at SETA (Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research)”, December 13, 2019, https://www.tihek.gov.tr/setada-insan-haklari-koruma-mekanizmalari-baslikli-panel-duzenlendi/ (accessed: July 31, 2020) 25 See, TIHEK, “TIHEK Signed a Cooperation Protocol with Uskudar University”, February 27, 2020, https://www.tihek.gov.tr/ tihek-uskudar-universitesi-ile-isbirligi-protokolu-imzaladi/ (accessed: July 31, 2020) 26 For instance, see: TIHEK, “TIHEK Organized the Third Provincial Consultation Meeting in Sakarya.”, February 26, 2020, https:// www.tihek.gov.tr/tihek-il-istisare-toplantilarinin-ucuncusunu-sakaryada-gerceklestirdi/; “TIHEK's Konya Provincial Consultation Meeting Was Organized.”, https://www.tihek.gov.tr/tihek-konya-il-istisare-toplantisi-gerceklestirildi/; “TIHEK's Istanbul Provincial Consultation Meeting Was Organized”, https://www.tihek.gov.tr/turkiye-insan-haklari-ve-esitlik-kurumu-istanbul-il-istisare-toplantisi-gerceklestirildi/ (accessed: July 31, 2020) 20