NEW REPORT: “THE EVOLVİNG APPROACH TO REFUGEE PROTECTİON İN TURKEY”
The Evolving Approach to Refugee Protection in Turkey:
Assessing the Practical and Political Needs
Metin Çorabatır
September 23, 2016
Turkey currently hosts more refugees than any other country in the world. It has taken in more than 2.7 million refugees from neighboring Syria alone since the civil war began in 2011, in addition to smaller numbers from Iraq and Afghanistan—leaving authorities and local communities with the immense challenge of meeting the needs of nearly 3 million displaced people within its borders. Despite Turkey’s generous humanitarian approach, long-term integration prospects for these refugees remain limited.
Within the past year, several important policy developments have shaped the landscape for refugees in Turkey. First, the Turkish government has taken a number of steps to bring its protection framework more closely in line with international standards (though differences remain), and has adopted new measures to provide Syrian refugees access to the labor market and education. Second, the government has become more open to accepting international aid and reducing constraints on the operations of international humanitarian organizations and other NGOs within the country—a shift from its original stance of trying to meet the massive refugee needs on its own. But cooperation with the international community remains challenging in many respects. Turkey’s accord with the European Union, concluded six months ago, has proven notably difficult to implement, and the impact of this agreement—both on refugees and host communities—remains to be seen.
A new report from the Migration Policy Institute’s Transatlantic Council on Migration traces the rapidly evolving reality and policy environment in Turkey, examining the current policy approach to managing the influx of Syrians. The report, The Evolving Approach to Refugee Protection in Turkey: Assessing the Practical and Political Needs, asks what is needed to ensure the long-term stability and success of both refugees and their host communities in Turkey. Author Metin Çorabatır, President of an Ankara think tank, the Research Center on Asylum and Migration (IGAM), examines what Turkey requires practically and politically to continue to provide protection and livelihood opportunities to Syrians, now and over the long term.
The report also examines how countries in Europe and elsewhere could target their political and financial investments to maximize impact on Turkish capacity and willingness to provide meaningful protection. And it assesses whether the November 2015 joint action plan and March 2016 EU-Turkey deal provide a satisfactory basis for cooperation.
The report is the second in a series from the Transatlantic Council that focuses on innovative solutions to respond to the unprecedented global humanitarian crisis, both for overburdened host communities and for individuals fleeing persecution. The series also examines promising practices to promote the longer-term social and economic inclusion of refugees. The first report examines the growing use of livelihood programs for refugees. Next week, the Council will release a report examining ways to enhance humanitarian protection in Southeast Asia.
