Human Rights Watch – The EU-Turkey deal commits Turkey to accept the return of all asylum seekers who travelled through Turkey in exchange for billions of Euros in aid, visa liberalization for Turkish citizens, and revived negotiations for Turkish accession to the EU. The €3 billion funding is designated for projects to improve the lives of refugees as well as of host communities in Turkey. The deal also provides for the resettlement of one other Syrian refugee from Turkey for each Syrian returned to Turkey under the deal.
In a progress report on the implementation of the EU-Turkey agreement, published on September 28, the European Commission claimed that the deal is delivering results: arrivals from Turkey to Greece across the Aegean are down, millions of Euros have been disbursed to improve access to education and healthcare in Turkey, and returns and resettlement have been undertaken. Indeed, the commission and leaders of some member states cite the EU-Turkey deal as a model for agreements with other major transit countries.
We republish Academics for Peace‘s call for a gathering that took place on September 22. The original can be found on the homepage of Academics for Peace.
Academicians for Peace (Barış İçin Akademisyenler) (picture by Sedat Yağcıoğlu)
In occasion of the awarding of the Aachen Peace Price on 1st September 2016 to Academics for Peace, we post the content of the speech by Esra Mungan. You can find the speech on the homepage of the Aachen Peace Price (in Turkish and German).
The honorees of the Aachen Peace Price 2016: Academics for Peace and Citizens’ Initiative Open Heath (picture by Aachener Friedenspreise e.V.)
In occasion of the awarding of the Aachen Peace Price on 1st September 2016 to Academics for Peace, we post a shortened version of the laudatory speech by Georg Restle, managing editor and host of the German political TV magazine Monitor. You can find the speech on the homepage of the Aachen Peace Price (in German).
MPI –Turkey hosts more refugees than any other country in the world, having taken in more than 2.7 million refugees from neighboring Syria alone since the civil war began in 2011. Despite Turkey’s generous humanitarian approach, long-term integration prospects for these refugees remain limited.
KAOS GL – The report entitled “Tekin Olmayı Beklerken: LGBTI Mültecilerin Ara Durağı Türkiye” which was prepared by Kaos GL Association reveals life of Iranian refugees in Turkey. While the report focuses on the daily life, access to the fundamental rights, and discrimination in governmental agencies and society, it is emphasized that LGBT refugees are exposed to physical and oral violence and harassment.
Refucomm – This information is intended for Syrian asylum seekers in Greece who are considering opting for the Assisted Voluntary Return scheme to go back to Turkey, either with the intention to stay in Turkey or in order to return to Syria.
Human Rights Watch – Meanwhile on the other side of the sea: Women, Children Fearful, Unprotected; Lack Basic Shelter: (Athens) – Police are failing to protect people during frequent incidents of violence in closed centers on the Greek islands known as “hotspots,” Human Rights Watch said today. The centers were established for the reception, identification, and processing of asylum seekers and migrants. None of the three centers Human Rights Watch visited on Samos, Lesbos, and Chios in mid-May 2016, separate single women from unrelated adult men, and all three are unsanitary and severely overcrowded.
