Refugee-Asylum Seeker Policy of Turkey in the Light
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REFUGEE-ASYLUM SEEKER POLICY OF TURKEY IN THE LIGHT OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS The Journalists and Writers Foundation Press: 38 ISBN: 978-975-6714-46-1 The views presented are those of authors and do not reflect or represent the views of the editors or the Journalists and Writers Foundation All rights reserved. Copyright JWF. No parts of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form or by any means. Editors: Engin Akçay and Farkhad Alimukhamedov Project Editor: Ferin Merve Yılmaz Text and Cover Designer: Fokus Ajans Date of publishing: 2013 Limited edition www.gyvkadinplatformu.org | www.gyv.org.tr REFUGEE-ASYLUM SEEKER POLICY OF TURKEY IN THE LIGHT OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS APRIL 25, 2013 - ANKARA WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS Contents Editors’ Note ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Opening Speech .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 SECTION I Turkey’s Refugee Policy from International Perspectives Turkey’s Policy on Refugee-Asylum Seekers: Current Practices ...................................................... 13 EsEn Altuğ The UN Refugee Agency’s Focused Studies on Turkey and the Latest Update .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 17 CAROL BATCHELOR Trends in Migration Management: The Case of Turkey ........................................................................................................ 23 MEERA SETHI Turkey’s Refugee Policy and Practices from the Civil Society Perspective ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 29 OK TAY DURUKAN SECTION II Turkey’s Position and its Practices Pertaining to Syrians in Turkey Fellow’s Hand Reaches to the Neighbor: Syria ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 39 TURAN ERKOÇ Syrian Crisis from the European Union Perspective ............................................................................................................................. 45 FRANÇOIS NAUCODIE Types of International Protection and the Legal Status of the Syrians in Turkey ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 51 Prof. nurAy EKŞİ, PhD The Aid Activities of Kimse Yok Mu Association with Regards to Syrian Refugees .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 71 CElAl türKoğlu SECTION III The New Legislation: Law on Foreigners and International Protection The Role of Civil Society in the Field of Asylum, Situation in the Satellite Cities and Syrian Refugees in Turkey ........................................................ 81 TANER KILIÇ The Country Embracing the Refugees the Most: Turkey ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 93 NEVVAL SEVINDI Law on Foreigners and International Protection .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 101 MEHMET METINER Final Declaration ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 111 Speakers .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 113 Images ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 117 Editors’ Note The history of migration is parallel to the history of mankind... The process of migration, regardless of its causes, can be resumed as a ‘search for something better’. Turkey being at the crossroads of civilizations, its geographical location is crucial for migration routes and targets. Today, migration is a global phenomenon and its axis is moving eastwards from the West. The issue of migration in the Turkish context during the past times was mainly understood as migration to Europe. Yet, as it is often stressed today, Turkey is not only a transit, but also a target country for migrants. Throughout several years Tur- key accepted refugees coming from East and West with extreme hospitality. Even though Turkish nuances of the term refugee/asylum-seeker (sığınmacı and mülteci) deriving from the political stance of the country have been criticized by the west- ern sources, the country’s sui generis location has also complicated handling the issue. Since the acceleration of forced migration movements due to the so-called Arab Awakening, undoubtedly a complex situation has been brought up for the country’s decision-makers. The workshop entitled “Refugee-Asylum Seeker Policy of Turkey in the Light of Recent Developments” organized by The Women Plat- form of the Journalists and Writers Foundation on the 25th April 2013 in Ankara has a particular importance also due to its timing. This event was organized just a short time after the adoption of the Law on Foreigners and International Protec- tion, which was a fruitful basis for a better evaluation of some aspects of the law related to its application. Another asset of the workshop was the ability to rally all the interested bodies incuding international organizations, academicians, govern- ment agencies, and civil society organizations. 7 REFUGEE-ASYLUM SEEKER POLICY OF TURKEY IN THE LIGHT OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS The outcomes of the workshop, where our recommendations on the structuring of the event and selection of the topics were taken into account, are to be found in the present publication. The book, in which we took part as editors, is published in English and Turkish. Its objectives would be reached if public awareness both in Turkey and on international platforms could be attained. Stressing our gratitude to all panelists we note that it has been unfeasible to give an academic design to the transcribed texts. From this stance, only the speakers’ papers have been selected; the moderators’ and discussants’ presentations are therefore omissed. However, the Final Declaration, drawn up by every participant to the workshop reflects all their contributions. Within this framework, along with the speakers of the workshop we would like to express our gratitude to the moderators: Associate Professor Dr. Mah- mut Akpınar, Professor Dr. Cengiz Başak, Professor Dr. Ahmet Nuri Yurdusev; and discussants: Yahya Munis, Assistant Professor Dr. Zeynep Şahin Mencütek. Wishing a better world for humanity, Engin Akçay Farkhad Alimukhamedov 8 Opening Speech Good morning to you all. I welcome you to the workshop on the “Refugee-Asy- lum Seeker Policy of Turkey in the Light of Recent Developments” organized by the Women’s Platform of the Journalists and Writers Foundation (JWF). Since the day it was established, JWF has organized local, regional and interna- tional events and carried out projects for the sake of building the culture of coexis- tence. We started preparing for this workshop one year ago. What really distinguish- es it is the fact that it brings together not only the officials (of ) bureaucracy but al- so academicians, civil society organizations and international agencies involved in services of refugees and asylum seekers. One main reason for this