BY MURAT CELIKKAN
RADIKAL- On Monday night an office was opened in the Tunel district of Istanbul for a nongovernmental group called the Refugees Commission which will provide refugees in the city with legal and social support. Thousands of refugees, the victims of such hardships and catastrophes as wars, ethnic disputes and poverty, are of great importance not only to our country but also to the entire world as globalization and local conflicts displace more and more people each day, depriving them of their basic rights. These refugees are growing in number.
According to the 1951 Geneva Convention, every state is obliged to grant these people equal rights with its own citizens. However most refugees in Turkey cannot enjoy these rights because Ankara ratified the convention with a reservation that it will accept only Western refugees.
These people have been waiting on our soil for years, hoping that the United Nations will one day give them the status of refugees. Those who feel great desperation are sometimes ensnared by human traffickers. Turkey has recently pledged to prepare a new Refugees Law as part of its efforts to harmonize with the European Union acquis.
The Helsinki Citizens Association (HYD), which is operating the Refugees Commission, and the Heinrich Boll Foundation will hold a symposium at Istanbul’s Bilgi University this weekend to discuss this issue. The aim of the symposium will be to provide a platform for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to exchange information on the refugee laws and regulations. In addition, international analysts will discuss Turkey’s current situation, comparing it with international practices and standards. The gathering is also expected to ensure the participation of the relevant NGOs in the law-making process and launch a Europe-wide campaign in Istanbul, as the applicable laws and regulations are still among the most reactionary ones. The participants will probably also criticize UN practices, since the organization can sometimes violate even its own main principles when it comes to refugees. The symposium will also prepare an advisory text for both the UN and our government to guide them towards good and fair implementation.