Turkey

Working environment 

• Regional instability in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic (Syria) has led to continuous arrivals of refugees to Turkey. Although the national infrastructure is severely stretched to accommodate the needs of such a large number of refugees, the Turkish population continued to demonstrate solidarity and generosity in receiving people in need of international protection. 
• The Government of Turkey continued to lead the response to protect and assist all persons of concern.  Despite generous Government policies, and support from UNHCR and its partners, responding to the large number of asylum-seekers and refugees continued to create challenges. Additional support from the international community is required to address gaps to improve access to livelihood opportunities, health and education services.

Population Trends

• In 2015, Turkey hosted 2.5 million Syrian refugees and over 250,000 refugees of other nationalities. Nearly 90 per cent of Syrians and all non-Syrian refugees live in host communities. An increasing number of people from various nationalities also transited through Turkey to Europe. 

Achievements and impact

• Strengthened the implementation of the national asylum framework at all levels; 
• Provided equipment to increase the national capacity in registration, education and health care;
• Scaled up education support, focusing on supporting the integration of refugee children into national education system, Turkish language courses and access to higher education;
• Distributed core relief items and cash assistance, prioritizing vulnerable urban refugees;
• Funded nine community centres, nine child-friendly spaces, seven women centres in urban areas, and covered 36 satellite cities through partner presence to expand urban outreach;
• Supported authorities in Western Turkey to implement activities targeting people transiting through Turkey.

Unmet needs 

• The availability of protection-sensitive data is limited, which compromised UNHCR’s outreach capacity and effective targeting of protection and assistance interventions.
• Insufficient funding resulted in limited coverage in meeting needs across all refugee groups. This was compounded by the geographical spread of the refugee population, making access difficult.
• The Office continued to support the Government in the management of the largest RSD and resettlement programme among UNHCR’s operations globally. The increasing number of non-Syrian asylum-seekers placed additional strains on UNHCR’s resources, resulting in a prolonged waiting period for strategic RSD.

Working environment

Since the new Law on Foreigners and International Protection came into force in April 2014, the Directorate General of Migration Management has become the sole institution responsible for asylum matters. While Turkey still maintains the geographical limitation to the 1951 Convention, the law provides protection and assistance for asylum-seekers and refugees, regardless of their country of origin.

Since the Syrian crisis began in 2011, Turkey – estimated to host over one million Syrians – has maintained an emergency response of a consistently high standard and declared a temporary protection regime, ensuring non-refoulement and assistance in 22 camps, where an estimated 217,000 people are staying. Turkey is currently constructing two additional camps.

In 2014, Turkey also witnessed an unprecedented increase in asylum applications from Afghans, Iraqis and Iranians. Deteriorating security in Iraq saw a sudden increase in Iraqi refugees: an estimated 81,000 were in Turkey by September 2014, with numbers expected to grow to 100,000 by year-end.

The number of refugees and asylum-seekers in Turkey in 2015 is expected to rise to nearly 1.9 million, including 1.7 million Syrian refugees. UNHCR will continue to work closely with the Government of Turkey to support protection measures and facilitate access to public services and assistance available to both Syrian urban refugees and non-Syrian people of concern.

Needs and strategies

In 2015, UNHCR will support the Turkish authorities in building the capacity of the country’s new asylum institution and establishing a rights-based reception system. While UNHCR will continue to work on case management, it will start a phased handover of registration and refugee status determination (RSD) for non-Syrian refugees.

UNHCR will advocate for the adoption of a regulation governing temporary protection; access by people of concern to legislation that prevents and responds to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV); a national child protection framework; and measures supporting the self-reliance and social integration of people of concern.

The Of­fice will try to strengthen the existing preregistration system for non-Syrian asylum-seekers, to allow the identi­fication of the most vulnerable. Capacity building of NGOs will focus on effective access to state services, with particular attention paid to the protection of refugee children and their effective access to education. Regular protection monitoring and outreach to local authorities, NGOs, and refugees will remain a priority.

From the outset of the Syrian crisis, UNHCR has supported Turkey through the provision of core relief items, ­field monitoring and technical advice. In 2015, UNHCR will continue to support the authorities in addressing basic needs and core protection areas.
The greatest challenge in supporting the authorities will remain the size of the refugee population and the geographical area they cover.