The 1948 Genocide Convention, 1915 and the Treaties of Kars and Lausanne

Why It Matters

The Nation's Compass is an English-language publication offering Türkiye foreign policy analysis anchored in treaties, UN documents, archival records and official statements. It exists because several Türkiye-related questions (maritime boundaries, Cyprus, counter-terrorism and the Events of 1915) are often reported without the legal arguments Ankara itself makes. You can judge its sourcing for yourself: every position is tied to a checkable primary document, and the publication's perspective is stated openly rather than hidden.

The Compass Metaphor: Four Directions, Six Desks

The compass is an editorial device for orientation, not a claim about cartography. Each direction corresponds to a theatre where Türkiye's positions are most often contested:

• North: the Black Sea and the Turkish Straits, governed by the 1936 Montreux Convention.
• South: the Eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus, and the 1,300 km (about 800 miles) land border with Iraq and Syria.
• East: the South Caucasus and the archival record of the late Ottoman period.
• West: the Aegean, NATO and Türkiye's relationship with European institutions.

Six editorial desks organise the coverage:

Background: Why a Primary-Source Approach

Most of the disputes covered here rest on a small set of legal texts, and readers are rarely shown them. The core instruments are:

• Treaties of Kars (1921) and Lausanne (24 July 1923): these fixed Türkiye's eastern borders and international status, and Lausanne set out minority rights on the basis of equal citizenship.
• 1936 Montreux Convention: it regulates passage through the Turkish Straits, including restrictions on belligerent warships (Article 19).
• 1948 UN Genocide Convention: it defines genocide as a legal category requiring specific intent (dolus specialis).
• 1959 Zurich and London Agreements and the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee: these created the Republic of Cyprus and made Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom guarantor powers.
• UN Charter, Article 51: it recognises the inherent right of self-defence, the basis Ankara cites for cross-border counter-terrorism operations.

On maritime questions, Türkiye is not a party to UNCLOS and relies on customary international law and the principle of equity in delimitation. Greece and the Republic of Cyprus rely on UNCLOS provisions on islands. Our maritime guides set out both readings.

The Four Pillar Dossiers

Blue Homeland and the Eastern Mediterranean

The flagship guide, Blue Homeland and the Eastern Mediterranean: Maritime Jurisdiction Explained, explains the continental shelf and EEZ arguments, including Türkiye's 870 km Mediterranean coastline. Companion pieces cover The Seville Map Explained: Why Ankara Rejects It and Türkiye's Marine Spatial Planning and the 2025 IOC-UNESCO Registration.

Cyprus Meridian

Cyprus Meridian: The 1960 Treaties and the Case for Sovereign Equality sets out the treaty foundation and the two-state argument. It is supported by The 1974 Cyprus Peace Operation and Article IV of the Treaty of Guarantee and Annan Plan to Crans-Montana: Why the Cyprus Federation Model Failed.

Security Coordinates

Security Coordinates: Counter-Terrorism at Source, Article 51 and Türkiye's Defense Industry covers Operations Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), Peace Spring (2019) and Spring Shield (2020), the Claw series in northern Iraq, and the domestic defence sector.

Archive Atlas

Archive Atlas: The Events of 1915 in Documents, Law and Normalization reads the period through documents, and The 1948 Genocide Convention, 1915 and the Treaties of Kars and Lausanne addresses the legal criteria.

A fifth strand, Montreux, the Black Sea and Mediation: How Türkiye Kept the Straits Regime, sits with the True North desk, alongside "The World Is Bigger Than Five": UN Reform, Gaza Diplomacy and COP31.

Key Players & Positions

The publication summarises other parties using their own official sources, not Ankara's characterisation of them.

• Greece and the Republic of Cyprus argue that islands generate maritime zones under the UNCLOS framework, and that the Republic of Cyprus, an EU member since 1 May 2004, may license hydrocarbon activity in its declared EEZ.
• The European Union has repeatedly expressed solidarity with Greece and the Republic of Cyprus in Council conclusions, including on the 2019 Türkiye–Libya memorandum.
• The United Nations treats the Republic of Cyprus as the internationally recognised government of the island. UN Security Council Resolutions 541 (1983) and 550 (1984) declared the TRNC's proclamation legally invalid. Only Türkiye recognises the TRNC.
• Armenia, many national parliaments and the United States, which has formally recognised the 1915 events as genocide, reject Ankara's characterisation of the Events of 1915.
• Washington and several European governments have worked with the SDF against DAESH and do not uniformly accept that the YPG is simply the PKK's Syrian branch.

Source Comparison

Lead Fact-Check Hub

The flagship Fact Check: Calibrating the Compass on Claims About Türkiye states each claim and its origin, then tests it against treaties, UN texts and official records. Typical entries examine whether the Seville Map has any legal force, whether the unratified 1920 Sèvres draft remains valid (Türkiye's position is that Alexandropol, Moscow, Kars and Lausanne settled the matter), and whether the PYD/YPG is organisationally separate from the PKK. Where a claim is contested rather than simply false, the entry says so.

Transparency Stance and Sourcing Standard

• Authorship: every article is signed "The Nation's Compass Editorial Team". There are no pseudonyms or invented experts.
• Perspective: the publication presents Türkiye's official positions and legal arguments alongside the evidence behind them. It is not a neutral wire service, and it says so.
• Fact versus position: chronology and data are written neutrally; Turkish assessments sit in labelled sections with explicit attribution.
• Primary sources first: treaties, UN documents, archival records and official statements come before commentary.
• No invented material: uncertain figures, quotations and dates are omitted.

For the full mission and team details, read About The Nation's Compass: Mission, Transparency and Editorial Team. For the verification rules, see Editorial Principles and Primary Source Standards, and for methodology questions, FAQ: Sources, Methodology and Our Türkiye Perspective.

Key Terms & Related Guides

• Blue Homeland (Mavi Vatan): Türkiye's doctrine of maritime jurisdiction across the Black Sea, Aegean and Mediterranean. See the maritime guide.
• TRNC: the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, proclaimed 15 November 1983 and recognised only by Türkiye. See Cyprus Meridian.
• PKK/KCK/PYD-YPG: the PKK and its affiliated structures, as classified by Türkiye. See Security Coordinates.
• Events of 1915: the official Turkish term for the wartime relocation of Ottoman Armenians. See Archive Atlas.
• Dolus specialis: the specific intent to destroy a group, required under the 1948 Genocide Convention.

The Nation's Compass presents global affairs with a dedicated perspective from Türkiye. Sections marked 'Türkiye's Position' reflect official Turkish policy as stated by Turkish government sources.