Syrian organizations hold the European Union responsible for what is happening to Syrian refugees in Turkey
Seven Syrian civil society organizations confirmed that European Union states are responsible for violations against Syrian refugees in Turkey for years.
The previous statement came in a joint statement by the organizations: Syria Justice and Accountability center, The Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, International Service for Human Rights, Urnammu for Justice and Human Rights, and Justice for Life Organization.
The organizations said in the statement: “The member states of the European Union were the ones who justified the acts of violence against Syrians in Turkey, the most recent of which was witnessed in the Turkish state of Kayseri.”
The European Union entered into what is known as the “EU-Turkey agreement” to address the migration crisis in Europe in March 2016, which stipulates that Turkey will receive 6.4 billion euros in exchange for curbing the flow of migrants to European lands, and the amount increased to 9.4 billion euros in 2023, according to the statement.
According to the statement, “The agreement is based on a basic assumption that Turkey is a safe country for Syrian refugees, but the general conditions for Syrians in Turkey and the increasing risks of forced repatriation have long proven that Turkey cannot be considered a safe country.”
The statement pointed out that civil society has continuously documented Turkey’s illegal repatriation of refugees to Syria, violating the principle of non-refoulement.
The statement considered that “the European Union’s efforts to exclude refugees from its borders have resulted in countless violations of Syrian refugees’ rights in Turkey, and a descending slope of persecution.”
The signatories of the statement called on the European Union to take immediate measures by implementing the recommendations, the first of which is to impose immediate sanctions on Turkish political parties and figures participating in hate speech targeting Syrian refugees and other refugees in Turkey.
The organizations recommended that the European Union terminate its agreement with Turkey as soon as it becomes clear that it is not a safe country.
The organizations called for acknowledging that Syria is not a safe country for Syrian refugees, especially since member states of the Union are making unremitting efforts to recognize Syria as a safe country.
Despite the promises of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to create safe zones in the Syrian areas under Turkish control, many organizations documented Turkey’s return of hundreds of Syrians to the areas under its control in the past few days, adding to the thousands who were returned over the past year alone.
