Article 6 TPR guarantees protection from refoulement to persons granted temporary protection. However, an exception to this rule was introduced by way of emergency decree in October 2016, providing that a deportation decision “may be taken at any time during the international protection proceedings” against an applicant for reasons of: (i) leadership, membership or support of a terrorist organisation or a benefit-oriented criminal group; (ii) threat to public order or public health; or (iii) relation to terrorist organisations defined by international institutions and organisations.[1] The reform was consolidated by Law No 7070 on 1 February 2018. According to changes to the LFIP in December 2019, entry bans shall be applied to those who are in the country,[2] and Syrians that are under temporary protection shall be deported if they do not comply with their notification duty three times consecutively.[3]
Since 2018, deportation decisions have been increasingly issued to registered Syrians based on the abovementioned provisions, similar to persons seeking international protection in Türkiye. Voluntary, safe, and dignified returns have continued to be a priority policy area for the PMM in 2023, which established its voluntary return programme in 2021. This process is less transparent, and it is unknown how many people are returning. Previous minister, Soylu stated that 554 thousand voluntary returns have been provided by May 2023, and the return of 1 million refugees in Türkiye will be ensured with the 240 thousand permanent houses to be built in northern Syria[4]. The Minister of Interior Affairs, Yerlikaya, stated that the number of Syrian refugees who returned voluntarily from Türkiye to Syria reached 625,000 due to the normalisation of the life on the safe zone in Syria by February 2024[5]. PMM mentioned in the Annual Report 2023 there was 30% increase in voluntary and safe returns[6], and in July 2023 it was announced that the number of voluntary returns was 562 thousand[7].
Stakeholders have worries regarding whether they are voluntary or forced returns. According to Human Rights Watch[8], since 2017, thousands of Syrian refugees have been often coerced into signing “voluntary” return forms and deported to northern Syria, in July 2023 alone, Türkiye sent back over 1,700 Syrians into the Tel Abyad area. It is claimed that there were Syrians who were deported because they did not have an ID or they involved in a crime, but these people were able to come back to Türkiye through crossing border in irregular way[9].
The European Court of Human Rights found a violation of article 3, 5 and 13 of the ECHR in Akkad v. Türkiye judgement on the ground of expulsion of the temporary protection holder applicant to Syria.[10] In the Abdulkerim Hammud decision (Application No. 2019/24388, Decision Date May 2, 2023)[11], the Constitutional Court of Türkiye examined, for the first time, an individual application alleging forced return to Syria. The Court unanimously ruled that there had been violations of the right to life and the prohibition of ill-treatment as protected under Article 17 of the Constitution, as well as the right to an effective remedy under Article 40, in parallel with the European Court of Human Rights decision in Akkad v. Türkiye (Application No. 1577/2019, Decision Date June 21, 2022[12]). The Court also ruled 50,000 TL in non-pecuniary damages for the applicant. The incidents in both the Hammud and Akkad cases are similar, involving Syrian applicants under temporary protection in Türkiye who were placed in administrative detention and allegedly forcibly returned to Syria based on a voluntary return form within a few days[13].
For a discussion on case law of Administrative Courts and the Constitutional Court on the derogation from non-refoulement, see also International Protection: Removal and Refoulement. For more information on the safe third country concept as applied to Syrians in 2023 see the section on the Safe third country.
[1] Article 54(2) LFIP, as amended by Article 36 Emergency Decree 676 of 29 October 2016. The provision cites Article 54(1)(b), (d) and (k) LFIP, the latter inserted by Emergency Decree 676.
[2] Mülteci-Der, Joint Assessment: Proposed Amendments in the Law on Foreigners and International Protection of Türkiye, 4 December 2019, available here
[3] Evrensel, ‘Statü hakkı tanınmayan mülteciler yeni yaptırımlarla karşı karşıya’, 25 December 2019, available in Turkish here
[4] AK PARTİ | Bakanımız Soylu “Gönüllü, Güvenli, Onurlu Geri Dönüş Projesi Temel Atma Töreni”nde konuştu 24-05-2023, available here
[5] AA, İçişleri Bakanı Yerlikaya: 625 bine yakın Suriyeli ülkesine geri dönüş kapsamında geçiş yaptı, 16.02.2024, available here
[6] PMM, Faaliyet Raporu 2023, available here
[7] Mülteciler Derneği, Türkiye’deki Suriyeli Sayısı Mayıs 2024, available here
[8] HRW, “Everything is by the Power of the Weapon”, 29 February 2024, available here
[9] BBC Turkiye, Düzensiz göçmenlere yönelik kontroller arttı: ‘Aylardır evden dışarı çıkmıyoruz’, 19.12.2023, available here & Information provided by stakeholders, March-April 2024.
[10] HUDOC, Akkad v. Türkiye judgement available here
[11] Resmi Gazete, Abdulkerim Hammud decision (Application No. 2019/24388, Decision Date May 2, 2023), available here
[12] HUDOC, Akkad v. Türkiye judgement available here
[13] Refugee Rights Turkey, RRT, Sığınma hukuk bülteni