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Turkey: Resettlement Update - July 2017

Countries
Türkiye
+ 2 more
Sources
UNHCR
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Durable Solution

■ Resettlement is the most accessible durable solution for the majority of refugees in Turkey. The situations in the countries of origin of the largest refugee groups in Turkey remain volatile and not conducive to return.

UNHCR Resettlement Strategy and Activities

■ UNHCR continues to use resettlement as a protection tool for the most vulnerable Syrian refugees: At least 300,000 (10% of the total) Syrians are estimated to be in need of resettlement in Turkey.

■ Given the growing number of non-Syrian asylum-seekers, UNHCR is seeking to identify persons with specific needs to prioritize them for refugee status determination and resettlement. Conditional refugees (non-Syrians) recognized by the Department General for Migration Management (DGMM) of the Ministry of Interior would also be processed for resettlement according to UNHCR criteria.

Resettlement Processing Modalities

■ As UNHCR is only able to resettle a fraction of refugees with resettlement needs it concentrates on extremely vulnerable individuals and those with serious protection risks. Less than 1% of the refugee population in Turkey are submitted for resettlement every year.

■ Resettlement identification and referral of non-Syrian refugees: non-Syrians are registered by UNHCR and go through an individual RSD process. The protection team identifies the most vulnerable asylum-seekers and refers them for RSD, then the cases are referred for resettlement processing.

■ Resettlement identification and referral of Syrian refugees: currently the majority of resettlement referrals for Syrian refugees are from DGMM. DGMM coordinates the collection of referrals from the provincial authorities (multi-agency committees doing initial identification based on global resettlement criteria, which include: legal and/or physical protection needs, survivors of violence and torture, medical needs, women and girls at risk, family reunification, and children and adolescents at risk) and forwards them to UNHCR. Referrals identified through multiple other sources (protection referrals) are discussed with DGMM through a consultative mechanism that was established in 2015.

■ Since 2014, merged RSD/resettlement for Syrians in a multi-stage resettlement review process has been implemented. Cases are selected based on the global resettlement criteria. This process consists of two phases:

  • Case Identification:

  • Pre-assessment – a phone interview to establish the refugee’s presence in Turkey, family composition and interest in resettlement;

  • Assessment – an in-person interview, the initial assessment of the cases’s suitability for resettlement and to formally register the case in UNHCR’s proGres database.

  • Resettlement interview – an in-person interview with each person in the family followed by the drafting of a Resettlement Registration Form (RRF) for submission.

■ Turkey is also one of three countries, with Jordan and Lebanon, implementing the identification-based methodology (IBM), which is a streamlined form of resettlement for Syrian refugees.

■ DGMM provides important logistical support for missions to conduct resettlement interviews in the various provinces across Turkey by providing facilities for interviews, facilitating the movement of refugees and coordinating with security/police.

■ IOM works closely with UNHCR and resettlement countries to provide support with health assessments and travel health assistance, pre-departure orientation/integration and movement/travel operations. A total of 30 resettlement selection missions have been hosted in 2017.