The European Union (EU) has multiplied its initiatives in support of Turkey’s progress towards the establishment of a modern, fair and efficient migration and asylum management system.
In recent years, there has been a steep increase in the number of people coming to Turkey to find refuge from persecution or violence, war or civil unrest, economic crises or natural disasters. The growing influx of asylum seekers (they were 7,834 in 2009 and 16,017 in 2011) show how important it is for Turkey to complete the reforms that will make it better equipped to manage asylum and to boost its overall reception capacity.
Currently, the EU is helping Turkey to build new reception centres for asylum seekers in various locations across the country. People in need of protection will be temporarily accommodated in these centres while a first screening of their applications is carried out by the responsible national authorities. Through its pre-accession financial instrument, IPA, the EU is currently financing the construction of seven new reception centres.
The EU has allocated substantial financial resources (more than 90 MEUR) for the purpose of supporting Turkey’s efforts to upgrade its reception infrastructure not only in terms of quantity but also in terms of quality. A modern reception system is not only efficient but also a fair one which respects the human rights of those who depend on it. People temporarily hosted in the centres, will be under shock and psychologically fragile, will have most likely gone through long and difficult journeys and suffered from starvation or violence. While they wait for the screening procedures to be completed, their living conditions will have to be acceptable, their human dignity preserved and their basic needs - material, religious and psychological - fulfilled.
The centres will rise in the outskirts of Ankara, Erzurum, Gaziantep, İzmir, Kayseri, Kırklareli and Van. Each of them will have accommodation for up to 750 residents and 100 staff. They are expected to start functioning by 2014.
On 20th June, at the occasion of the World Refugee Day, Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, and Egemen Bağış, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator, took part in the ground-breaking ceremony held in Gaziantep to mark symbolically the beginning of the construction works of the new reception centres. The European Union Delegation to Turkey which is tasked with overseeing the implementation of this seminal project was represented by Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert, Head of Delegation.
The centres will perform three basic functions: reception, screening and accommodation of asylum seekers. Every centre will include:
> An accommodation section with rooms for families, single males, single females and groups who need special attention;
> Public spaces for residents, with classrooms, ateliers, a canteen, a library, prayer rooms, TV rooms (one common and one for each bedroom floor or unit), an internet room, a barber shop, a tailor shop, children playgrounds (indoor and outdoor), an indoor sport field and outdoor facilities;
> A self- service restaurant;
> A health-care unit;
> A laundry unit;
> A kitchenette with electrical heating unit(s) (cookers/stoves/kettles) at each floor.
