Government of Turkey Leaves the Open Government Partnership

The Government of Turkey, as of September 21, 2017, is no longer participating in the Open Government Partnership (OGP).

On May 4, 2016, the OGP Steering Committee unanimously approved a resolution regarding Turkey’s participation in OGP. Turkey had been under review by the Criteria and Standards subcommittee for over 24 months due to failure to deliver a National Action Plan. The 2016 Steering Committee resolution granted a four-month extension to the Government of Turkey to publish a National Action Plan developed in consultation with citizens and civil society. As these requests were not met, the Government of Turkey was placed on inactive status on September 21, 2016.

OGP rules state that if a country remains inactive for 12 months without re-engaging in OGP, the Criteria and Standards subcommittee will inform the Steering Committee of the situation, and recommend that the country be removed from inactive status and no longer be listed as an OGP participant. In the last twelve months, the Government of Turkey did not engage with the OGP Steering Committee, and did not publish a new National Action Plan. Therefore, the OGP Steering Committee instructed the Support Unit to end Turkey’s inactive status and its participation in OGP. A letter indicating this decision has been sent to the Government of Turkey.

The OGP Steering Committee and Support Unit remain committed to engaging with all relevant stakeholders in OGP countries that have been or may be designated inactive, in order to provide the necessary support to remain active participants in OGP.