Attachments
Close to 4 million refugees Turkey continues to be home to the world’s largest refugee population.
Key locations
Almost 50 percent of all refugees in Turkey are registered in four key provinces: Gaziantep, Hatay,
Istanbul and Sanliurfa.
Youth refugees
Approximately one million refugees in Turkey are aged between 15 and 24, of which 60 percent are male.
Working with Partners and Public Institutions
■ The Government leads the refugee response in Turkey with UNHCR providing direct operational support, capacity development and technical advice to the authorities. UNHCR programmes in Turkey are implemented through various partnerships, including supporting public institutions at the national and local levels (5), and working with international (4) and national NGOs (10), UN sister agencies (3) but also directly using private service providers to ensure a coordinated, holistic approach to meeting the needs of refugees and asylum-seekers.
■ As the Refugee Agency, UNHCR coordinates the efforts of partners to support Turkey’s refugee response and avoid duplication and gaps in international assistance. In this function, UNHCR co-leads the Regional Refugee and Resilience Response Plan (3RP) for the Syria crisis with UNDP and leads the International Protection and Migration Pillar of the Turkey 2016-2020 UN Development and Cooperation Strategy (UNDCS).
Strategic Directions
■ UNHCR supports the development and implementation of the national refugee response strategy. Turkey’s legal framework for international and temporary protection provides refugees and asylum-seekers with a broad range of rights, including access to education, health care and social services. While refugees and asylum-seekers enjoy increased access to services provided through the public system, the capacity of the existing infrastructure and personnel, including in hospitals and schools, is stretched. Support by the international community is required to enable and sustain the successful inclusion of refugees and asylum-seekers into national systems and structures.
■ UNHCR advocates for the effective access by refugees and asylum-seekers to services through their increased inclusion in existing state systems and advocates for continued support of national systems to be able to respond to the needs of refugees.