14 January 2016
The updated AIDA report on Turkey provides detailed information on the country’s evolving international protection system, as well as compiling up to date statistics based on publicly available data.
It outlines the current state of transition to a new legal framework, which is set out in the Law on Foreigners and International Protection (LFIP). It also explains recent changes to the special role of UNHCR in Turkey, as a ‘complementary’ protection actor, during the process of establishing the new national asylum procedure. Since May 2015, police authorities no longer handle asylum caseloads and this has been taken over by a new agency, the Directorate-General for Migration Management (DGMM), which is now in charge of migration and asylum.
The report also documents reception conditions and the use of detention in Turkey. Refugee Rights Turkey, author of the report, explains that Turkey currently only has one operation reception centre. Out of six planned centres, only one will be dedicated to the reception and accommodation of asylum seekers, while the remaining five will become detention centres, following the EU-Turkey Action Plan of 29 November 2015. DGMM which has now taken over the administration of detention centres has indicated that it plans to achieve a detention capacity of 10,000 places in Turkey by June 2016.
For further information:
- Asylum Information Database (AIDA), Country report: Turkey, December 2015
- Asylum Information Database (AIDA), AIDA Update Turkey: less reception, more detention following EU-Turkey Action Plan, 23 December 2015
- Amnesty International, Europe’s Gatekeeper: Unlawful detention and deportation of refugees from Turkey, December 2015
- ECRE Statement, ECRE fears human rights being left behind in the rush to an EU-Turkey deal, 1 December 2015
This article appeared in the ECRE Weekly Bulletin of 15 January 2016. You can subscribe to the Weekly Bulletin here.