As voter support for the Erdogan government continues to erode in the run up to the 2023 parliamentary and presidential elections, there are hopes that this could end Turkey’s democratic backsliding and restore the rule of law and fundamental rights and freedoms. Many of the structural problems afflicting Turkey’s various Christian communities, however, predate Erdogan’s rise to power and cannot simply be resolved at the ballot box. Turkey requires a new policy vision to institutionalize equal citizenship, ethno-religious inclusion, and freedom of religion or belief for all. This panel will offer policy suggestions for reversing the worrying trends that have continued to bring Turkey’s various Christian communities to the brink of extinction. What steps can the United States, the European Union, international organizations, and advocacy groups take to end the systematic discrimination targeting Turkey’s Christian citizens
and residents.
