Erdogan’s UN Remarks Followed Sweeping LGBTQ+ Raids in Turkey

Recep Tayyip Erdogan used his UN General Assembly address to cast what he called “global gender-neutralisation policies” as a campaign targeting families and children. His prescribed response was the protection of a “traditional family” made up of a man and a woman. The comments followed a major Turkish operation against LGBTQ+ organisations, activists and venues that the government branded “My Family Is Safe.” 24

What Erdogan said about gender and family

Erdogan’s framing was not a general call for neutral policy: he presented “gender-neutralisation” as a threat to children and the institution of the family. Reporting on the address says he argued that protecting the traditional heterosexual family was the way to counter it. 25

The timing mattered. The speech came roughly a week after coordinated raids and arrests under the government’s family-values campaign, which officials said was designed to protect children and families. 12

What the “My Family Is Safe” raids targeted

The September operation involved searches of LGBTQ+ association offices, gay bars and nightclubs, and activists’ homes. Early reports described at least 47 people detained across 12 provinces. Authorities later said legal proceedings covered 162 suspects, nine associations and 13 businesses across 15 provinces. 17313

The investigations were coordinated from Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydın and Mersin. Kaos GL, a prominent LGBTQ+ rights association, was among the targeted organisations. Human Rights Watch reported that raids from September 12 to 14 also targeted groups defending LGBT rights and organisations supporting people living with HIV. 3

Prosecutors tied the investigations to allegations including prostitution and obscenity. Those were allegations in ongoing proceedings, not findings of guilt. 177

Detentions, remand orders and online restrictions

The numbers reported during the crackdown should not be treated as a single, interchangeable total. They referred to different points in the process—people under investigation, initially detained by police, arrested or remanded by courts, and people still held.

• Reuters reported at least 47 initial detentions in the first wave of raids. 17
• By September 15, Reuters reported at least 31 people jailed pending trial and at least 126 people detained during protests in Ankara and Istanbul. 18
• On September 16, Reuters reported that eight Kaos GL members had been jailed pending trial and that at least 54 people had been jailed in other provinces. 1
• Human Rights Watch subsequently reported at least 112 arrests, with 82 people still detained by court order; it said at least 24 of those were LGBT activists, founders or executives of the targeted groups, and one was a journalist.

Authorities also moved against LGBTQ+ groups’ digital presence. Reports described blocked websites and social-media accounts belonging to LGBTQ+ organisations, while the Justice Ministry instructed prosecutors nationwide to review complaints involving material it said exposed children to obscenity or promoted “genderlessness.” 615

Government rationale and rights-group response

Justice Minister Akın Gürlek described the operation as protecting children, the family and public order.

Human Rights Watch said the raids struck at the rule of law, while other rights advocates and opposition figures described the measures as a widening campaign against the LGBTQ+ community and fundamental rights. 118 The core dispute is therefore not simply over the stated purpose of the operation, but over whether family-protection and obscenity allegations are being used to restrict LGBTQ+ organising, speech and public life.

The Family and Population Decade context

The government linked the campaign to the 2026–2035 Decade of Family and Population, a strategy announced amid official concern about Turkey’s declining birth rate. Reporting on the policy describes its stated aim as strengthening a traditional conservative family model and responding to falling fertility.

That context helps explain why the raids and Erdogan’s UN rhetoric were framed in similar terms: family, children, demographic concern and opposition to what officials call “genderlessness.” Critics argue that this framing turns population and family policy into a justification for discrimination against LGBTQ+ people. 15

What else Erdogan said at the UN

Erdogan’s address also focused heavily on war and the UN’s institutional limits.

Gaza

He urged countries to apply greater pressure on Israel, called for Gaza’s reconstruction to begin without delay and pressed states that do not recognise Palestine to reconsider their position. He also accused Israel of genocidal conduct in Gaza.

Ukraine and wider conflicts

His broader address covered conflicts and humanitarian crises including Ukraine, Syria and Sudan, presenting Türkiye as supportive of diplomatic efforts while arguing that the international system had failed people caught in conflict.

UN reform

Erdogan said the UN had been weakened and was no longer able to fulfil its mission of maintaining international peace and security. He again called for Security Council reform, criticising a system in which five permanent members hold decisive power—an argument associated with his “the world is bigger than five” slogan.

The speech’s domestic and international themes were connected by the same political message: Erdogan argued that institutions—from the family to the UN—need to be defended or remade against what he portrays as systemic threats. The sharpest immediate consequence, however, was at home, where the family-values campaign had already translated into raids, detentions and restrictions on LGBTQ+ groups.