Honourable Members of Parliament,
The situation of pensioners continues to be one of the most pressing issues on our country’s agenda.
The submission of a Bill to the Speaker of the Parliament aimed at increasing the minimum pension is an important step. However, despite this improvement effort, it is evident that the minimum pension still remains below the starvation line.
This situation seriously hinders the realisation of the ‘right to aging with dignity, free from poverty, deprivation and isolation’, which our Association has long advocated.
Yet the right to ageing with dignity is explicitly guaranteed both in our Constitution and in international texts to which our country is a party:
• The Preamble to our Constitution states that ‘Every Turkish citizen has the inherent right and authority to lead a dignified life and to develop their material and spiritual existence in this direction.’
• Article 60 of the Constitution states that ‘Everyone has the right to social security,’ while Article 61 states that ‘The elderly shall be protected by the State.’
• Articles 22 and 25 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights define the right to social security and the right to live in well-being and security in old age as fundamental human rights.
• Article 23 of the European Social Charter, adopted by our country in 2007, states that signatory states ‘undertake to provide adequate resources to enable the elderly to live a good life and participate effectively in public, social and cultural life.’
• The 1991 United Nations Principles for Older Persons emphasise that ‘older persons should have access to the educational, cultural, spiritual and recreational resources of the community’ and ‘live in dignity and security’.
• The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), signed by our country in 1985, recommends that ‘states take special measures to protect older women from poverty, isolation and all forms of violence.’
Honourable Members of Parliament,
The Bill, which will be debated starting with the Planning and Budget Committee in the coming days, presents an important opportunity to raise the minimum pension to a level that respects the right to age with dignity.
We believe that the potential of our economy, which has been growing uninterrupted for 21 quarters, will be evaluated with a non-partisan approach and a sense of social solidarity, thereby turning this opportunity into reality.