EU Supports Turkey’s National Asylum Procedures

The launch of an European Union project, aiming to reinforce the effectiveness of national asylum procedures in line with international standards was held in Ankara on 31 March 2022. The event was attended by Director General for International Protection of the Presidency of Migration Management (PMM) Mr Selami Yazıcı, UNHCR Turkey Representative Mr Philippe Leclerc, the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Turkey Ambassador Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut as well as representatives of other public institutions and international community.

The right to seek asylum is firmly enshrined in international law and the Turkish legislation. As a transit and destination country, Turkey continues to host the largest refugee population in the world, with 3.7 million Syrians and more than 370,000 asylum seekers of different nationalities.      

While new conflicts emerge around the world, drivers for migratory movements and protection needs of asylum seekers become more diverse. In response, asylum authorities need to be more agile with solid expertise and with procedures that are protection-oriented, efficient and fair.

In his speech at the event, the Head of the European Union Delegation to Turkey Ambassador Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut said: ‘In the framework of our long-standing cooperation on migration, the EU has been supporting Turkey’s national asylum system with successive actions implemented with UNHCR and PMM. We are confident that this project will further strengthen asylum procedures in Turkey, with a view to increasing compliance with European and international standards’.

With an EU contribution of € 3 million, this new project will help PMM reinforce all aspects of asylum procedures from interviews to case adjudication. By establishing an online interviewing platform, the project will contribute to PMM’s digital transformation, while making the process more easily accessible to asylum seekers. With UNHCR’s expert assistance the project will also foster quality assurance systems of PMM, raise awareness against fraud and misconduct, and mainstream gender considerations in asylum procedures.

Date/ Time: 31 March 2022, 14:00

Venue: Wyndham Hotel, Ankara

For more information, please contact the Delegation:

Nazlı Yıldırım Schierkolk , Tel:0312 4598700, E-mail: nazli.yildirim-schierkolk@eeas.europa.eu

 For press enquiries please contact:

Miray Akdag, Press Officer for the Delegation of European Union to Turkey

Tel: 0312 4598700,  E-mail: miray.akdag@eeas.europa.eu