In the first six months of 2024, at least 343 children in Turkey lost their lives due to preventable causes, according to data compiled by the FİSA Child Rights Center. The majority of these deaths resulted from the government's negligence and failure to fulfill its obligations.
The center's report highlights several key findings:
34 children died as a direct result of government negligence. These deaths were linked to public officials' direct and indirect neglect:
Deaths directly caused by public officials
- Crushed or struck by armored vehicles or police cars: 1 child
- Landmine and conflict debris explosions: 1 child
Negligence by public officials during care, education, and other services led to deaths:
- While receiving care services: 2 children
- During educational activities: 7 children
- Forest fires: 2 children
- Healthcare services: 13 children
- Border crossings: 7 children
- Local government services: 1 child
Government's failure to fulfill positive obligations
309 children died due to the government’s failure to fulfill its positive obligations, including:
- Suicides: 32 children
- Gun violence: 8 children
- Conflict between rival groups: 1 child
- Suspicious deaths: 17 children
- Various forms of violence:
-Child murders: 6 children
-Domestic violence: 4 children
-Genderbased violence: 9 children
-Peer violence: 4 children
- Negligence:
-Domestic accidents: 28 children
-Incidents in urban and rural open spaces: 44 children
-Stove/natural gas poisoning: 2 children
-Traffic accidents: 95 children
-Fires: 15 children
-Other circumstances: 11 children
- Work-related deaths: 33 children
-Child labor deaths: 22 children
-Workplace incidents: 11 children
FİSA's report emphasizes that the deaths of these children are not 'natural' and that a child’s natural course should be to grow and develop. The organization calls attention to the ongoing loss of hundreds of children each year due to preventable causes in Turkey. (EMK/VK)