{"id":25421,"date":"2024-07-18T18:33:13","date_gmt":"2024-07-18T15:33:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stj-sy.org\/civil-society-organizations-call-on-the-eu-to-stop-funding-and-endorsing-rights-violations-against-syrian-refugees-in-turkiye\/"},"modified":"2024-07-18T18:35:09","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T15:35:09","slug":"civil-society-organizations-call-on-the-eu-to-stop-funding-and-endorsing-rights-violations-against-syrian-refugees-in-turkiye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stj-sy.org\/en\/civil-society-organizations-call-on-the-eu-to-stop-funding-and-endorsing-rights-violations-against-syrian-refugees-in-turkiye\/","title":{"rendered":"Civil Society Organizations Call on the EU to Stop Funding and Endorsing Rights Violations Against Syrian Refugees in T\u00fcrkiye"},"content":{"rendered":"

The undersigned organizations \u2013 representing a diverse collection of civil society \u2013 raise serious concerns regarding the sharp rise in anti-Syrian sentiment and accompanying violence in T\u00fcrkiye. The actions carried out by the Turkish government and emboldened civilians have been, at best, ignored by the European Union (EU), which has financially supported T\u00fcrkiye as part of its externalization efforts. In response to the recent and serious escalation of actions taken against Syrian refugees in T\u00fcrkiye, the undersigned organizations call on the EU to act swiftly to protect the rights of Syrian refugees by adopting the outlined recommendations.<\/p>\n

Anti-Syrian sentiment in T\u00fcrkiye is reaching a crossroads \u2013 one that civil society has warned about for years \u2013 and the EU must address the role it has played in creating unsafe conditions for Syrian refugees in T\u00fcrkiye. On June 30th, 2024, anti-Syrian riots erupted<\/a> across T\u00fcrkiye in the city of Kayseri and spread to areas as far as Hatay just two days after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that restoring bilateral relations with Bashar al-Assad<\/a> remains a possibility. Rioters attacked Syrian-owned shops and property and demanded that Syrians be kicked out of the country in what some are now labeling as attempted pogroms<\/a>. Tensions then spilled over into Syria, where hundreds of Syrian civilians in Turkish-Controlled regions held counter-protests<\/a> and at least seven people were killed in clashes with Turkish troops. In response, T\u00fcrkiye shut its main border crossings<\/a> into northwest Syria.<\/p>\n

Now, the personal data of approximately three million Syrians living in T\u00fcrkiye has been leaked online<\/a>, including their names, ID numbers, and addresses, among other things. The data was shared widely on Telegram groups<\/a> and was paired with violent language that called for attacks on Syrian refugees living in T\u00fcrkiye. The timing of the leak suggests that it had one objective \u2013 to threaten Syrians and put them on notice that they remain in danger so long as they reside in T\u00fcrkiye.<\/p>\n

EU member states have enabled this violence. In March 2016, the EU entered<\/a> what is commonly referred to as the EU-Turkey deal<\/a> to address the EU\u2019s \u201cmigration crisis.\u201d The deal outlined that T\u00fcrkiye would receive 6.4 billion euros in exchange for T\u00fcrkiye curbing the flow of migrants to the EU, an amount that was increased to 9.4 billion euros<\/a> in 2023. The EU-Turkey deal rests on a basic premise: that T\u00fcrkiye is a safe country for Syrian refugees. However, the overall conditions for Syrians in T\u00fcrkiye and the increasing risk of forcible returns have long demonstrated that T\u00fcrkiye cannot be designated as a safe country.<\/p>\n

Civil society has consistently documented that T\u00fcrkiye has unlawfully returned refugees<\/a> to Syria in violation of the principle of non-refoulement<\/a>. With President Erdogan promising to create safe zones<\/a> in Turkish-Controlled regions of Syria as recently as 2022, several of the undersigned organizations have documented that T\u00fcrkiye has returned hundreds of Syrians to Turkish-Controlled regions in the last few days, adding to the thousands returned over the past year alone.[1]<\/a> These returns have been carried out despite the fact that Syrians in Turkish-Controlled regions are still subjected to arbitrary detention<\/a>; conflict-related violence; inhumane and degrading treatment in detention; housing, land, and property violations<\/a>; and a lack of access to justice mechanisms \u2013 all of which may threaten the lives and freedoms of forcibly returned refugees.<\/p>\n

These forcible returns violate the principle of non-refoulement enshrined in International Treaties agreed by T\u00fcrkiye, including the Convention against Torture<\/a> and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; the International Covenant<\/a> on Civil and Political Rights; and the European Convention<\/a> on Human Rights<\/a>. As the principle of non-refoulement is considered customary international law<\/a>, it binds T\u00fcrkiye even as it maintains a geographical restriction to the 1951 Geneva Convention. In addition to violating non-refoulement, these deportations threaten other fundamental rights such as the right to family unity, as cases have emerged in which the Turkish authorities forcibly return only one family member, often either parent, to Syria.<\/p>\n

In addition to the government carrying out forced returns of Syrian refugees, the conditions in T\u00fcrkiye have consistently deteriorated<\/a>, with Syrians experiencing increasing rates of arrest, violence, deportation, and denial of services. The devastating earthquake that affected T\u00fcrkiye and northern Syria in early 2023 further worsened conditions<\/a>, displacing many Syrians who then faced increased discrimination in relief efforts and exploitation in the labor market. These deteriorating conditions have coincided with a rise in hate speech<\/a> spewed by politicians but also online, where such speech is often accompanied by threats of violence.<\/p>\n

Instead of heeding the consistent and numerous warnings issued by civil society regarding T\u00fcrkiye’s flagrant international law violations, the EU has doubled down on its efforts to externalize migration to T\u00fcrkiye and other nations. While the EU-Turkey statement presented itself as a \u201ctemporary and extraordinary measure,\u201d continued developments show that this state of exception \u2013 and accompanying lack of accountability for rights violations \u2013 have become the norm. One need look no further than the additional externalization agreements the EU has recently entered with other countries including Tunisia<\/a>, Lebanon<\/a>, and Egypt<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As demonstrated, the EU\u2019s efforts to externalize its borders have resulted in countless rights violations against Syrian refugees in T\u00fcrkiye and an ever-worsening climate of persecution. The EU\u2019s unwillingness to act in accordance with its fundamental principles and uphold the right to seek asylum must be addressed to prevent further violence against Syrian refugees and to avoid further undermining the EU\u2019s commitment to fundamental rights. The undersigned signatories thus urge the EU to take immediate action by carrying out the following recommendations:<\/p>\n