LGBTQ+ Activists Defy Crackdown to March at COP31 in Turkey
LGBTQ+ activists defied a government crackdown to lead a climate march in Antalya on Saturday.
Participants formed a protective cordon around the group as they displayed rainbow flags during the COP31 summit, highlighting the intersection of human rights and environmental advocacy.
Turkey’s LGBTQ+ groups have faced increased persecution since September, with police targeting activists in their homes and at NGO offices, according to the Guardian. Despite this, activists gathered in Aydin Kanza Park, where the march route was secured by steel barriers and a heavy security presence.
“It feels like I am living in a prison in this country. I am running all the time,” said Őzgǔr, a 20-year-old Turkish LGBTQ+ activist who marched with a rainbow flag. “We can do this because the eyes of the international media are here.”
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Another activist, who identified herself as Beren, noted the personal cost of the ongoing crackdown: “I feel very excited about being able to wave the flag, but I would love my friend to be here. She is detained right now because she is trans.”
International Solidarity
The inclusion of the LGBTQ+ block was a pre-planned effort to provide visibility for local voices. International civil society campaigners surrounded the activists to prevent interference from security forces.
Asad Rehman, the chief executive of Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland, stated: “It’s a very, very difficult time for Turkish movements who have faced a wave of repression. And so this is an important moment for us as the international movement to create some space for Turkish voices to be heard.”
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The demonstration, part of a global day of action, drew thousands to the streets to demand climate justice and an end to fossil fuel expansion. Tülay Hatimoğulları, co-chair of the DEM Party, described the summit as a “summit of oppressors” that prioritizes corporate interests over the rights of villagers and environmental defenders.
The march demonstrated public resistance, coming one year after the COP30 summit in Belém, Brazil, where parties agreed to establish the “Belém-Antalya mechanism” to support just transitions.
Demands for Justice
The event brought together the energy of the People’s Climate Summit and a network of movements working for systemic change. A spokesperson for the People’s Climate Summit said: “While world leaders meet behind closed doors at COP31, people are coming together on the streets to demand the real change our communities need.”
Greenpeace volunteer Ufuk Anil, dressed in a polar bear costume, said: “It is getting hotter and hotter every day. We need to keep 1.5 alive.”
I was extremely impressed to see more than 90,000 people at #COP31 in Antalya. I could feel their energy & determination to push for urgent #ClimateAction. Only the @UN can bring so many people from around the world together in defense of our planet & our common future. pic.twitter.com/xySRKsKnRL
“While the entire world is expecting concrete steps toward phasing out fossil fuels, Turkey continues to present new oil discoveries as good news for society,” she said.
Meanwhile, debates surrounding the Belém-Antalya mechanism (BAM) continue. Dr Leon Sealey-Huggins, a senior campaigner at War on Want, told Carbon Brief: “The cost to the [BAM] secretariat pales in comparison to the potential benefit of the action.” However, Romain Ioualalen, Global Policy Lead at Oil Change International, warned that the Australian COP31 Presidency appeared to have watered down the just transition text, leaving the proposed mechanism “dangerously weak.”
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo addressed the Antalya Leaders’ Summit at #COP31, calling world leaders to invest in the people and instruments that observe our planet and help protect lives and livelihoods. Read the full statement: https://t.co/4B5b9n1ICo pic.twitter.com/UiBh43QUbr
The summit reached its halfway point with little progress on substantive issues, following negotiations in Bonn in June 2026 that hit major sticking points.