Migration Management in Turkey: Discourse and Practice

Social Transformation and Migration National and Local Experiences in South Korea, Turkey, Mexico and Australia, Stephen Castles, Derya Ozkul, Magdalena Cubas (Eds.), 2015

Turkey is currently the biggest refugee hosting country in the world without granting refugee status to any of its asylum applicants (UNHCR 2017: 3). This is without a doubt a direct result of the ongoing Syrian conflict that started in 2011 and the Eu-ropean Union's attempts to contain the onward movements of migrants further west. In addition to being a country with a long history of immigration and emigration, Turkey is still an EU candidate and a crucial partner in the process of externalization of the current EU migration and refugee regime. It is also a country where authori-tarianism is escalating, featuring a new record of human rights violations of citizens and noncitizens alike gathered over the course of the last 15 years of uninterrupted single party rule of the AKP, turning Turkey again into a refugee producing country as well. Turkey's unpromising EU accession process, its NATO membership as well as its geopolitical position makes it a unique case of cooperation on migration and border ›management‹ that distinguishes it from other unstable political regimes in the Balkans, MENA, and Eastern Europe. So how and ›where‹ can we situate Turkey within the larger context of migration and border studies after the beginning of the Syrian conflict? What are the implications of the European border regime's formation and its dominant policy of ex-ternalization in the case of Turkey? And vice versa: What effects do the Turkish border regime and migration policies have? How do the global and regional migration policies and institutions affect migrant groups in Turkey, who in return challenge, contest, and negotiate the current migration and border regimes? What are the consequences of legal and institutional ambiguities with regard to refugee protection in Turkey? And how do the continuing anti-democratic and authoritarian developments affect the field of migration? As a collaborative work of migration scholars and ac-movements | Vol. 3, Issue 2/2017 | www.movements-journal.org

Rome, IAI, March 2019, 8 p. (MENARA Future Notes ; 17), 2010

Previously being more a transit country for migrants trying to get asylum in Europe, Turkey has now become a country of immigration and turned into a country of residence for not only Syrian people but also other people from the MENA region. As a result of the growing trend in the number of arrivals the issue has also become a public and political agenda item and has prompted significant changes in the practices associated with the hosting and integration of refugees into the local community. Nevertheless, a number of steps still need to be taken to improve the standards of living of the refugees and to increase the sustainability of the process for the hosting state and society.

Respond Working Paper series, 2018

This country report focuses on developments that took place during the period of 2011-2017 in the field of migration in Turkey. Traditionally a country of emigration, starting from the early 1990s, it has also become an important country of immigration, asylum and transit. Most recently, the increasing pressure of the refugee challenge, particularly given the high number of arrivals from Syria, has put the country once again under international spotlights. This report provides relevant migration statistics that are available as open source data. It briefly reviews the socio-economic, political and cultural characteristic of the country as well as its brief migration history. The report also delves into a detailed analysis of the constitutional, legal and institutional framework of Turkey’s national migration management system, which has gone through significant transition in the last few years. The report points out that due to Turkey’s geographical limitation to the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951 Convention), and its associated 1967 Protocol; Turkey does not grant refugee status to people fleeing from conflicts and persecution in non-European countries. But it does provide ‘conditional refugee status’ along with ‘refugee’ and ‘subsidiary’ protection. The report reveals a key duality regarding European and non-European asylum seekers to be an important characteristic of Turkey’s asylum system. The first group can obtain ‘refugee’ status’; while the second group can only obtain ‘conditional refugee status’. However, regardless of their nationality, due to the Syrian mass migration, Syrian refugees1 are given another international protection status, which is called ‘temporary protection’. The report concludes by highlighting that part of Turkey’s recent migration policy efforts are tied to encouragement coming from the EU for Turkey to improve conditions regarding access to the asylum process and status determination as well as enhancement of its facilities forasylum-seekers’ protection. Although these developments bring Turkey closer to satisfying the EU demands on migration and asylum policy, Turkey is still expected to abolish the geographical limitation of the 1951 Convention to create a full-fledged asylum system and to solve remaining implementation problems. Ensuring equal and fair access to asylum procedures and facilitating the full access of asylum-seekers to legal aid remain priorities still to be achieved.

Migration Relevant Policies in Turkey , 2023

Ensari, P., Üstübici, A., Kavur, N. and Ekhtiari, M. (2023) Migration-relevant policies in Turkey. MIGNEX Background Paper (v2). Oslo: Peace Research Institute Oslo. Available at MIGNEX MIGNEX (Aligning Migration Management and the Migration-Development Nexus) is a fiveyear research project (2018-2023) with the core ambition of creating new knowledge on migration, development and policy. It is carried out by a consortium of nine partners in Europe, Africa and Asia: the

EUI Working Paper RSCAS 2014/122, 2014

Turkey, at the crossroads of Europe, Middle East and Asia, has confronted with mounting pressures of mixed migration flows in recent decades. This paper aims to explore Turkey’s contemporary approach to migration management by focusing on the adoption of the country’s first comprehensive immigration law (Law on Foreigners and International Protection) and the signing of the readmission agreement with the European Union in 2013. This incorporates an analysis of both policy continuities and changes in migration management in Turkey, while also providing an understanding of the interplay between internal and external factors, namely internationalisation and Europeanisation processes and the responsiveness of domestic actors to such pressures. The paper argues that migration policies driven solely by state-centric concerns are becoming increasingly inefficient in responding to the challenges caused by interlinked pressures of globalisation and multi-layered migratory flows. As Turkey’s role as a transit and receiving country grows, issues of international migration, and irregular migration in particular, are becoming dynamic topics in defining its role in a globalised world and as well as the trajectory of its relations with the EU.

2020

In addition to the Syrian Civil War, millions of people who are struggling with poverty, hunger, economic and political instability, famine and drought, and who have crossed borders to maintain their vital existence, have been moving from East to West, from North to South. Turkey is a country located in the heart of the phenomena of migration – a fundamental characteristic of human history – as well as of the global and regional crises. In line with her history, culture and social fabric, Turkey is home to the world’s largest immigrant/refugee/asylum-seeker population. The humanitarian aid delivered to these migrant groups constituting approximately 5% of the country’s population makes Turkey the largest donor country. On the other hand, the spatial distribution of immigrant groups within the borders of the country is disproportionate and the risk that this situation poses in terms of national security; the issues ranging from the events of theft and violence to child brides to polygamy, to various factors such as the impact on the social fabric of the country and the burden on the country’s economy within the scope of services such as education, health and social services should be carefully scrutinised. It should be questioned how long Turkey can sustain this situation, which assumes the responsibility and burden of the geographies that the developed/prosperous countries ignore, seem to be unable to hear and feel. Moreover, while dealing with a number of problems in human, political, social, cultural and economic fields, the current situation of Turkey, which is increasingly being alienated and tried to destabilize, shows the importance of this question. In particular, the psychological climate of the Turkish society and the social reactions that can be caused by the radical demographic and socio-cultural changes may cause some fractures and conflicts. Therefore, policies, and projects put forward in order to deal with the life/integration/ adaptation processes and to compensate for potential problems need to be produced on ‘’a common mind’’. Migration in Turkey is not only a matter of definition and classification but also a multi-disciplinary phenomenon that needs to be addressed within the framework of the relationship of understanding. This work, produced in different areas of theoretical and applied studies (such as History, Public Administration, Law, International Relations, Education, Economics, Sociology, Health Services, Geography, and Communication) discusses at length the phenomenon of migration in Turkey by combining historical and current views of: 1. In this course, Haluk Songur and Fatma Sırtkaya depict the course of migration in the historical process, which still preserves its importance in the present day, in terms of Turkish legal history and contemplation, and the reasons of migration from the Ottoman period to the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, and how the state adopts a policy in the face of migration.2. In terms of “The Turkish Public Administration, Migration Policy and Organizational Structure: A Current Perspective”, Erdal Eke depicts the current status of migration policies and the migration organization formed within the framework of these policies especially after the 2000s. Within the scope of the study, especially after the Law No. 6458, the migration management is described at the central and local level and in 2018, the effects of changes related to the Presidential Government System on the management of migration are evaluated and an up-to-date perspective is drawn accordingly. 3. With her work entitled “The Validity of Status and the Validity of Local Integration as a Permanent Solution”, Arzu Güler evaluates the status of refugees and the refugees brought by the international protection law and questions the impact of this status on local integration. 4. With his work entitled “Humanitarian Diplomacy in the Turkish Foreign Policy and the Syria Crisis”, Adem Ali İren the humanitarian diplomacy process of the Turkish Republic on migration and the mobility of migration from Syria. The study underlines the fact that the Turkish Republic has become the real practitioner of humanitarian values by becoming the initiator and the main donor of humanitarian aid campaigns as well as being a mediator in the solution of the humanitarian crises and political problems in recent years. 5. Ahmet Yıldırım evaluates the policies and practices of the Ministry of National Education for the education of Syrian children who come to Turkey/to take refuge in terms of process management with the project entitled “Evaluation of The Policies of the Ministry of National Education in Terms of Process Management” on the axis of migration and refugees. 6. “Humanitarian Aid for Refugees: Turkey Dimension” with their work, Ahmet Songur and İbrahim Demirtaş try to describe the economic burden of education, health, social services undertaken by the Republic of Turkey as a result of migration in recent years through various statistics. 7. Hasan Hüseyin Aygül, with his work entitled “Experiences Relating to Refugees Labour Force Participation and Markets” addresses the employment areas and conditions of different migrant groups in Isparta, one of Turkey’s 62 satellite cities, and sets out the current problems of migrant groups based on market experience. 8. Fatih Kahraman, with his work entitled “The situation of Syrian Unaccompanied Refugee Children in Turkey”, discusses the situation of unaccompanied refugee children, one of the most influential groups of the civil war that continues since 2011 in Syria, within the framework of statistics of national and international institutions and studies on the issue.9. “The Effects of Migration on the Turkish Health System: On the Case of Syrian Asylum Seekers”, Osman Çöllü, discusses the effects of Syrian asylum seekers on the Turkish Health System through various statistics in terms of both individual and community health and health services.10. With their work entitled “Problems of Nursing Students Studying in the Province of Border, Kilis and Providing Healthcare to Syrian Patients in the Clinical Practice Area”, Çiçek-Korkmaz, Şekeroğlu and Bilgen, convey the health care conditions offered to Syrian refugees in Kilis, and the problems experienced by nursing students studying in the clinical practice areas in Kilis. 11. With her work entitled “A New Life Beyond the Border Syrian Asylum Seekers and The Geographical Effects of Migration: On The Case of Kilis”, Muazzez Harunoğulları reveals the Syrian refugee migration in Kilis, which is a border city and has almost as many Syrian refugees as its population, and the socio-spatial, cultural and economic effects of this migration, as well as the new social structure and problems that occur in the city. 12. With his work entitled “Refugees and Asylum-Seekers in Turkey: A Comparison of Online Media Discourses”, Rıza Ersin Öztürk compares the rhetoric developed by Hürriyet and Takvim online newspapers for refugees on a digital basis and ultimately asks whether the viewpoint on migration can be singularized. This book, which examines the phenomenon of migration from the perspective of the 21st century in a multidimensional way, provides contribution to the relevant literature as well as to the dynamism given by the collective power in scientific production and reveals the historical mission of Turkey. We would like to thank all of our authors who contributed to the creation of this book, Gülfem Dursun and especially the Nobel Publishing House (Nobel Yayınevi).

RESPOND Working Paper Series, 2019

This report examines the border management and migration control regime in Turkey, analysing its main legal and policy framework as well as the organisations and actors involved in policy implementation. Drawing from the empirical material, the report focuses on pre-entry measures, “at the border” controls, controls within the national territory, and return policy fields. The report aims to understand to what extent, and how, Turkey’s border management and migration control measures have changed from 2011 to 2017, how the changes have influenced policy implementations, and what the main gaps are between the legal frameworks and actual practices. The report also focuses on how relevant (state, non-state and national, local international and supranational) actors interact in implementing measures and what the patterns of cooperation and tensions are among them.

Turkey is the country that hosts highest number of refugees in the world. The paradigm of crisis nurtures and sustains legislation and policies in the field of migration and asylum in the country. Migration legislation of the Turkish state consists mainly of the subsequent codifications of its practice relating to different crises constructed around the mass influxes of migrants into its territory. This context of crisis determines not only the scope and content of the legislative and political measures but also shapes the structures of the institutions in the field of immigration. The second paradigm governing Turkish migration policies is ‘Europeanization.’ This paradigm materializes in the effort of the subsequent governments of Turkey to align national legislation with the two contradicting legal regimes governing migrants in Europe: the European Union’s migration regulations and the Council of Europe’s regime framed by the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. This chapter aims to study the dynamics of migration policies in Turkey and the self-interest of Turkish state as a motivating factor to its legal responses to refugee ‘crises.’