Türkiye denies claims refugees are sent to Syria involuntarily

BY|Daily Sabah

The Presidency of Migration Management in a letter on Oct. 3 denied allegations by Human Rights Watch (HRW) that Türkiye is deporting refugees to Syria without their consent.

Describing the recent HRW accusations as “scandalous,” the body highlighted that Türkiye’s efforts in regard to migration are appreciated throughout the globe.

In the letter, the migration authority said that Türkiye conducts work in line with international law and national legislation.

“A foreigner is only removed to his/her safe origin country or a safe third country. Syria is currently one of the countries to which the non-refoulment principle is applied and all foreigners returned there on a voluntary basis. In this respect, the allegations that Syrians were compelled to move to Syria unlawfully do not reflect the truth,” it underlined.

“In the procedures for voluntary returns, Syrians sign the voluntary return forms in the presence of a witness. The foreigners are directed to the border gates from which they want to exit by issuing required documents,” the letter said further.

HRW last week claimed that Turkish authorities “arbitrarily arrested, detained, and deported hundreds of Syrian refugee men and boys to Syria between February and July 2022.”

So far, 530,000 Syrian nationals have voluntarily returned home since 2017.

The Presidency of Migration Management said that the U.N. Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) visited and monitored removal centers, the migration management authority and the Interior Ministry between Sept. 5 and Sept. 14.

Similarly, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) also visited and monitored the same institutions between Sept. 9 and Oct.1.

“During those visits both committees did not encounter any adverse findings. “

“The allegations that Syrian nationals are ill-treated, their access to rights and services has been denied, and they are unlawfully deported or being threatened with deportation do not correspond to reality,” it added.

It underlined that reports based on such a “narrow sample” do not reflect the truth, but rather risk damaging the culture of tolerance between the host and the foreign societies by falsifying reality and fueling xenophobia around the world, particularly in Europe.

When the Syrian civil war began, Türkiye opened its doors to those who had to flee the country to save their lives and now hosts more refugees than any other country in the world. Ankara also spearheads humanitarian aid efforts for Syrians in opposition-controlled parts of northern Syria and in Türkiye while making large investments for Syrians in Türkiye in social cohesion policies to help them integrate into society smoothly.

Since launching several operations in northern Syria to fight terrorism, Türkiye also rolled up its sleeves to reconstruct hospitals, schools, mosques and roads destroyed by the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terrorist organization, the YPG.

Within the scope of improving the region’s social infrastructure, people were provided food and clothing by several nongovernmental organizations while roads and buildings were rebuilt. These efforts paid off as hundreds of displaced Syrians started to return to the liberated areas.

In line with its goal to rejuvenate the region, Türkiye is also building briquette houses for Syrians in the northwestern province of Idlib, the last opposition bastion.