Refugee Rights Turkey and partner organization Refugee Solidarity Network (RSN) held a one-day workshop in Istanbul on 24 February 2016, bringing together representatives of leading national and international NGOs undertaking refugee advocacy and assistance activities in Turkey.  The workshop brought together representatives of NGOs and INGOs operating in all parts of Turkey and allowed for a lively discussion on various developments in the Turkey asylum context, including the future implications of the new EU-Turkey Agreement in the pipeline and the latest developments in newly established DGMM’s takeover of migration management activities from the National Police, the state body previously in charge of migration affairs. The workshop was also aimed to strengthen the currently limited level of dialogue between national and

Refugee Rights Turkey launches a new set of legal information materials for non-Syrian asylum seekers in Turkey, who are subject to Turkey’s new “international protection procedure”. The brochures are made available in Turkish, English, Farsi, Arabic, French and Somali. While Syrian nationals and Palestinian refugees from Syria are subject to a “temporary protection” regime in Turkey, asylum seekers from all other countries of origin are subject to the new “international protection procedure” on the basis of criteria and procedures laid down by the new Law on Foreigners and International Protection. Our new information brochures on rights and obligations of international protection applicants and are intended to serve as a learning and reference resource for both asylum seekers as well as

On 13 February 2016, Refugee Rights Turkey held a 1-day specialization seminar for lawyers in Istanbul. The training focused on legislation and practices pertaining to the legal protection of particularly vulnerable asylum seekers. An expert from Dutch Council for Refugees has contributed to the seminar.  The seminar program covered relevant legal definitions and procedures provided by both the Law on Foreigners and International Protection and the Temporary Protection Regulation.  Dutch legal expert Angelina van Kampen contributed to the seminar with a presentation on relevant EU standards and ECtHR case law as well as an analysis of the identification and treatment of particularly vulnerable asylum seekers in the Dutch asylum system. Refugee Rights Turkey aims to contribute to capacity-building efforts of

On 13-14 February 2016, Refugee Rights Turkey held a legal counselling visit to the city of Bursa in Northwestern Turkey. Bursa currently hosts a significant population of Syrian asylum seekers. The visit to Bursa was undertaken in coordination with the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, the Provincial Directorate of Migration Management and several local NGOs that provide aid and assistance to Syrian refugees in the city. Over the past two years, Bursa has become one of the urban centers in Turkey hosting significant numbers of Syrian refugees. Syrian refugees in Turkey benefit from the Government of Turkey’s “temporary protection” policy on the basis of the Temporary Protection Regulation of 22 October 2014. The group counselling sessions were attended by representatives of the

Refugee Rights Turkey launches a new Legal Opinion Paper on problems encountered by asylum seekers in Turkey in notarizing a power of attorney to authorize lawyer to represent them and recommendations to key stakeholders. The Paper is made available in Turkish and English. In Turkey, nationals as well as foreigners have to notarize a power of attorney in order to authorize lawyers to represent them in legal proceedings. In current practice, asylum seekers encounter difficulties in authorizing lawyers because of an ongoing reluctance on the part of notaries to admit asylum documents as proof of identity. The ongoing hurdles experienced by asylum seekers and other vulnerable migrants in notarization of power of attorneys undermine the effectiveness of new remedies provided

Refugee Rights Turkey launches a new set of legal information materials for refugees from Syria subject to Turkey’s temporary protection regime. The brochures are made available in Arabic, Turkish and English. Syrian nationals and Palestinian refugees from Syria are subject to a “temporary protection” regime in Turkey. Our new information brochures on rights and obligations of temporary protection beneficiaries and are intended to serve as a learning and reference resource for both asylum seekers as well as lawyers and NGOs assisting them. The 4-piece set is accessible via the Publications section of our website. Print copies are also  distributed to refugees and NGO service providers around Turkey. The 4 legal information booklets cover topics related to registration, legal status, basic

On 30 January 2016, Refugee Rights Turkey held a 1-day workshop in Istanbul with representatives from Turkish refugee advocacy NGOs, selected academics, and European experts from ECRE and Dutch Council for Refugees. The workshop sought to take stock of the recent EU-Turkey deal on migration and discuss the impact of the new cooperation measures on refugee protection. During the workshop, discussions were held regarding key aspects of the  migration cooperation framework agreed between EU and Turkey on 29 November 2015. Participants raised questions, concerns and recommendations in relation to the various cooperation measures in the pipeline, including the channelling and focusing of EU financial solidarity to strengthen Turkey’s refugee response, more dedicated deployment of migration control measures and the impact

On 17 January 2016 Sunday, Refugee Rights Turkey held a 1-day workshop in Istanbul with journalists and media workers representing various media organizations operating at national level as well as at local level in key asylum locations around Turkey. Participants of the workshop represented media organizations from Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Gaziantep and Sanliurfa. Discussions during the workshop focused on the current state of migration and asylum flows affecting Turkey and relevant recent developments in domestic policy and legislation as well as an analysis of the media coverage in Turkey of asylum issues. The workshop explored how refugee rights advocacy actors and journalists can work together more effectively to present up to date information and perspectives to Turkish public opinion with

Refugee Rights Turkey held a comprehensive two-day Refugee Law Training for Lawyers in the city of Van in Eastern Turkey on 16-17 January 2016, in collaboration with the local bar association. The city of Van by the Turkey-Iran border is a key point of arrival for both Afghan and Iranian asylum seekers. Currently the city hosts a growing population of Syrian refugees in addition to Afghans and Iranians registered with authorities. The city also hosts one of the largest removal centers in Turkey used for the administrative detention of foreign national subject to deportation proceedings. The two-day introductory training aimed to assist the efforts of the local bar association towards building expertise and capacity to extend legal aid services to

On 28 December 2015, Refugee Rights Turkey published a comprehensive report in English on the Turkish asylum system within the framework of the ECRE-led Asylum Information Database (AIDA) Project, which provides comparative analysis of national asylum systems in 18 European countries. The Asylum Information Database (AIDA) project is an initiative by refugee rights advocacy NGOs from 16 EU member states and 2 non-EU European countries under the leadership of ECRE (European Council on Refugees and Exiles). Project partners deliver detailed country reports analyzing the national asylum systems of countries within the scope of the initiative – with a particular focus on the structure and functioning of the asylum procedures, reception conditions for asylum seekers and use of administrative detention in

Refugee Rights Turkey held legal counselling and consultation visits to Isparta and Burdur in South Western Turkey on 11 through 14 December. Isparta and Burdur are two provinces that host significant populations of Somali and Afghan asylum seekers, among others, in addition to relatively smaller numbers of Syrian refugees. In subsequent group counselling sessions organized in Somali and Farsi in both cities, RRT legal advisors provided information about the new asylum procedures administered by Directorate General of Migration Management (DGMM)  and rights and obligations  of asylum seekers under Turkey’s new Law on Foreigners and International Protection, which came into force in April 2014. Our legal advisors have also answered asylum seekers’ questions about the UNHCR refugee status determination and resettlement

Refugee Rights Turkey held a roundtable in Istanbul on 1 December on the ocassion of a visit by ECRE Board of Directors to discuss the implications of the recent agreement between EU and Turkey on migration and refugees. ECRE (European Council of Refugees and Exlies), a Brussels-based umbrella organization of refugee assistance and advocacy NGOs from around Europe, advocates for improvements in asylum and migration policies at EU level. Refugee Rights Turkey and Izmir-based Mülteci-Der are among ECRE’s member agencies. On the ocassion of a work visit by ECRE Board of Directors to Istanbul, Refugee Rights Turkey hosted a roundtable discussion on 1 December with contributions of expert colleagues from Turkish NGOs and UNHCR to discuss the gaps and needs