WMA Council Resolution on the Use of Riot Control Agents and Human Rights Violations against Protesters in Turkey

Adopted by the 229th WMA Council Session, Montevideo, Uruguay, April 2025

PREAMBLE

In response to the arrest of Istanbul’s mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, and other opposition figures last March, important demonstrations are taking place across Turkey. Media reports the use of tear gas, plastic bullets, and water cannons by the police as weapons against demonstrators and passers-by of all ages, including children.

The documented severe short-term and long-term health consequences of tear gas and other riot control agents include respiratory distress, ocular damage, skin irritation, and potential psychological trauma, affecting not only protesters but also bystanders, residents, and medical personnel.

Ill-treatment and other practices contrary to international standards, such as the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) and the WMA Ethical Guidelines, were also reported, in particular:

• Detainees were handcuffed behind their backs by police and searched while still handcuffed.
• Physicians are being forced to carry out medical examinations on detainees in conditions likely to compromise their professional ethics, their independence, and the well-being of the detainees.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Recalling WMA ethical principles and its commitment to the health and human rights of all people, including the right of peaceful assembly, the Council of the WMA, meeting in Montevideo on 24-25 April 2025:

• Denounces the inappropriate use of riot control agents which risks the lives of those targeted and exposes people around, amounting to a potential breach of human rights standards, as stated in WMA Statement on Riot Control Agents.
• Unequivocally condemns any pressure or coercion exerted upon physicians to perform medical examinations of detainees in detention centers.

The WMA Council, therefore, urges the Turkish authorities to:

• Immediately cease the use of tear gas and other riot control agents against peaceful protesters.
• Ensure unimpeded access to medical care for all injured individuals during protests, and refrain from any actions that obstruct or endanger medical personnel.
• Ensure that health professionals can carry out their work in accordance with their ethical obligations, without fear of reprisals.
• Respect and protect the rights of peaceful protesters.
• Conduct thorough and impartial investigations into allegations of human rights abuses against protesters, and hold perpetrators accountable.