A/HRC/44/14 European Court of Human Rights following the coup attempt, only 41 had been communicated to Turkey. 26. The representative from the Ministry of the Interior said that the procedural safeguards to prevent torture and ill-treatment in the context of the fight against terrorist organizations included medical examinations at every stage of judicial proceedings, immediate notification of detainees’ relatives, free access to a lawyer and video monitoring of detention rooms. In order to increase the effectiveness of investigations and to prevent impunity, Turkey had established a law enforcement supervision commission in September 2019. It was an independent mechanism, which had received 19 applications to date. 27. In order to ensure that peaceful demonstrations occurred in a safe and free environment, the law on meetings and demonstrations had been amended, a new regulation had been introduced on the use of tear gas and numerous training courses had been conducted on proportional use of force. On average, more than 30 million people participated annually in meetings and demonstrations in Turkey; some 99.3 per cent of those activities took place without any interference. There was no systematic ban on events involving lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons; between 2015 and 2019, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex organizations had held 97 activities in different cities. Nearly 20,000 people had participated in those events. 28. With regard to non-discrimination, freedom of religion, minority and refugee rights, the delegation provided several examples illustrating the significant progress that had been made to ensure that all individuals, including woman, members of religious minorities, and persons with non-conventional backgrounds or lifestyles, enjoyed their rights without any discrimination. Those measures included the introduction of Kurdish language courses, the lifting of the ban on headscarves and the return of property to community foundations. 29. In response to the advance questions by Sweden and Canada, Turkey noted that the absence of a specific reference to sexual orientation in article 10 of the Constitution did not mean that it allowed discrimination on that ground. The phrase “any such considerations” in that article ensured that the grounds for the prohibition of discrimination were not limited to those listed. 30. Concerning the Human Rights and Equality Institution established in 2016, in conformity with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles), the delegation noted the Institution’s administrative and financial autonomy and its objective to seek accreditation with the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions. 31. The head of the delegation recalled how deeply rooted freedom of religion was in Turkish history and traditions. In accordance with the Treaty of Peace, signed at Lausanne, on 24 July 1923, non-Muslim minorities had their own schools, places of worship, foundations, hospitals and media organizations. Several places of worship for non-Muslim citizens had been renovated and reopened and in several cases, immovable property had been returned to non-Muslim foundations. In response to an advance question by Canada, he provided information on programmes and ceremonies organized for Alevi citizens. 32. With around 4 million externally displaced persons, including approximately 3.6 million Syrians, Turkey had become home to the largest refugee population in the world. It had granted Syrians temporary protection status, giving them rights similar to those granted under the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. In the past five years, the proportion of refugees enrolled in education had increased from 30 to 63 per cent. Syrians with temporary protection status benefitted from health-care services free of charge. They could move freely from one province to another for reasons such as education and family reunification. Special protection was afforded to unaccompanied minors and separated refugee children. In cases of voluntary repatriation, measures were taken to ensure respect of the non-refoulement principle. 33. The authorities had adopted a regulation against human trafficking and protection of victims, established a coordination commission against human trafficking and set up protection desks in 50 provinces, in addition to two shelters for victims. 5