A Reconsideration Of Turkey's Geographical Limitation To The 1951 Geneva Convention

Abstract

The aim of this study is the reconsideration of Turkey's geographical limitation to the 1951 Geneva Convention.Turkey has signed the 1951 Geneva Convention for the Status of Refugees, by making use of its right to sign the Convention with ‘the geographical limitation’ due to its unique geographical position. Turkey has declared that it will not grant 'refugee status' to those coming from outside of Europe albeit hosting millions of migrants under ‘guest’ status for humanitarian reasons. The lifting of the geographical limitation of the 1951 Geneva Convention has been brought to the negotiation table during Turkey’s still ongoing attempt to become a member to the European Union. Discussions on the legal status of the Syrians in Turkey during the Syrian Civil War, which started in 2011 and continues in 2017, as a result of the 'open door policy' followed by Turkey, are frequently debated in the EU negotiations regarding the geographical limitation annotated in the Geneva Convention. In the scope of the study, asylum policy of Turkey and geographical limitation are discussed again in the last point reached.

Key Words geographical limitation, refugee, asylum seeker, temprorary protection, Syrian asylum seekers, EU Common Immigration and Asylum Policy, 1951 Geneva Convention, Readmission Agreement