ReliefWeb: Updates by Country

28.03.2024 10:33 Countries: Syrian Arab Republic, Türkiye Source: Human Rights Watch Please refer to the attached file. No Access to Livelihoods; Dangerous Smuggling to Reach other Areas of Syria – authorities are deporting or otherwise pressuring thousands of Syrians to leave the country to Tel Abyad, a remote Turkish-occupied district of northern where humanitarian conditions are dire, Human Rights Watch said today. Between January and June 2023, the Tel Abyad border crossing administration published monthly or daily numbers of Syrian returnees on its Facebook page, labeling all as voluntary. An analysis of the page reveals an over twofold increase compared to the same period in 2022. While Türkiye in the past maintained that all returns are voluntary, Human Rights Watch research has that Turkish forces have, since at least 2017, arrested, detained, and summarily deported thousands of Syrian refugees, often coercing them into signing “voluntary” return forms and forcing them to cross into northern Syria. Turkish authorities did not respond to a letter Human Rights Watch sent on February 1 sharing research findings and requesting information. “Türkiye’s ‘voluntary’ returns are often coerced returns to ‘safe zones’ that are pits of danger and despair,” said , deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Türkiye's pledge to create ‘safe zones’ rings hollow as Syrians find themselves forced to embark on perilous journeys to escape the inhumane conditions in Tel Abyad.” Human Rights Watch has seen border crossing statistics from Türkiye into Syria provided by an informed source, revealing discrepancies with data published on the official Facebook pages of the three operational border crossing administrations in categorizing returns. The statistics provided reveal that between January and December 2023, Turkish authorities deported 57,519 Syrians and others over its border crossings, including 16,652 through the Tel Abyad crossing. Analysis of official page data show variations in reporting practices, with one crossing, Bab al-Hawa, distinguishing between returnees and deportees, which match the statistics shared with Human Rights Watch, while the Bab al-Salama and Tel Abyad crossings do not. According to the informed source, staff at all three border administrations interview every returnee and collect data, including on reason for return, but Turkish officials have successfully pressured the Bab al-Salama and Tel Abyad border administrations not to publish deportation numbers. This has left Bab al-Salama, since at least September 2022, categorizing all returns as simply “returns” and Tel Abyad, since at least January 2021, categorizing all returns as “voluntary.” Before September 2022, Bab al-Salama used to publish how many of the overall returns were voluntary. Tel Abyad stopped publishing data on returns in June 2023. In 2023, Türkiye increased the number of Syrians it sends back via Tel Abyad, which has been under the control of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army since 2019. Türkiye says it aims to turn areas of northern Syria under its control, including Tel Abyad, into “safe zones,” but in reality, these areas are rife with human rights abuses. Türkiye’s incursion into the 150 kilometer-long strip of land between Raqqa and al-Hasakeh provinces displaced hundreds of thousands of people, forcing them to flee their homes. In May 2022, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced a plan to create a “safe zone” in the Turkish-occupied territories of northern Syria and build homes to accommodate up to one million Syrians living in Türkiye. A Human Rights Watch published on February 29 documented serious human rights abuses and potential war crimes committed primarily by Türkiye-backed local armed groups in these lawless and insecure areas. Human Rights Watch also found that members of the Turkish Armed Forces and intelligence agencies were involved in carrying out and overseeing abuses. Human Rights Watch interviewed seven deportees sent to Tel Abyad, a human rights researcher, a border crossing official, the president of a local group in Tel Abyad hosting deportees, and a journalist. Six deportees said that they held a Turkish temporary protection ID permit when they lived in Türkiye, which should Syrian refugees legally against forced return to Syria.Six said they were forced or coerced to sign “voluntary” return forms. All said they were from other regions of Syria and had no meaningful ties to Tel Abyad. One said that Turkish police detained him on the street in Antakya one month after his wife and three children were killed in the February 2023 earthquake that devastated parts of southern Türkiye and northern Syria. He said that the authorities detained him on his way to work even though he held a valid protection ID. “They made me sign on documents written in Turkish, and I don’t speak Turkish,” he said. “They wouldn’t translate it. They are obliging us to sign these documents to make it look like voluntary returns.” All seven deportees said that Turkish authorities did not ask them their preferred border crossing for their return. Two said the deportations separated them from family members. “My wife and two kids are still in Istanbul, and I have no relatives and nowhere to go here and cannot bring them back to Syria,” said one man originally from Deir Ezzor. “I am trapped here.” As a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Türkiye is duty-bound not to separate children from their parents against their will except where competent authorities have determined that separation is necessary for the best interests of that child. Since Tel Abyad came under Turkish occupation in 2019, it has had no operating crossing points to other parts of Syria, leaving expensive and dangerous smuggling routes the only viable option to leave the border strip. Four deportees said they had used smugglers to reach other non-government-held areas of northern Syria. “I faced many hardships on my way,” said a 28-year-old deportee who was smuggled. “We were sure it was either we live, or we die. I left Tel Abyad at 8 a.m., and I arrived 30 hours later to my destination.” One said he hoped to find a way to return to Türkiye: “I am from Deir Ezzor but I can't go there. I don't have anything left in Syria. I can't go to my city at all.” An aid worker whose organization provides temporary shelter to deportees in Tel Abyad said that economic conditions in the region were poor. He said that residents struggled to find jobs, and many had to rely on subsistence agriculture. Many deportees have been forced to rely on limited external assistance. “I try to survive on one meal per day here, if by any chance I was able to secure the expenses for it,” one said. “Most of the days, we sleep hungry.” The aid worker said that his organization, the Al Bir Society for Social Services in Tel Abyad, hosts about 40 deportees a day and sheltered 1,500 total between June and December. “The organization’s capacity remains limited,” he said. He said that the deportees sleep in dire conditions as there is not enough space. One 22-year-old deportee originally from Idlib said: “When there is no place left for us , we sleep on the streets of Tel Abyad or in nearby mosques.” The lack of access to other parts of Syria has compelled some deportees to turn to expensive and dangerous smuggling routes to escape the harsh conditions of Tel Abyad. Deportees who have had to use dangerous smuggling routes said that there is unofficial cooperation between smugglers and the Syrian National Army and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces , which control the borders of the enclave. They said it costs between US$300 and $500 to be smuggled to another region in Syria, and more than $1,000 to be smuggled back to Türkiye. They said safety is a serious concern. “If someone is trying to leave through smugglers, one of the parties may arrest them on suspicion of being an agent or spy, which might land him in jail,” said the aid worker. Informed sources said that Turkish authorities twice facilitated the transfer of Syrian deportees from Tel Abyad to Azaz, elsewhere in northern Syria, or back to Türkiye in August 2023 after deportees complained about the situation in Tel Abyad. Human Rights Watch is unaware of any facilitated transfers since. “I just want to be reunited with my family, and to be able to sustain a life for my kids and wife,” one deportee said. “This is impossible in Tel Abyad. We need to get out of here.” UN agencies have organized missions to the Ras al-Ain and Tel Abyad areas since October 2022. The most recent mission in May 2023 was the first time UN agencies had reached Tel Abyad city since 2019. All three missions involved UN staff crossing to the area to directly provide limited humanitarian assistance and perform assessments of humanitarian needs. However, the significant humanitarian needs remain largely unaddressed, according to humanitarian organizations, with Medecins Sans Frontieres the humanitarian situation there “alarming” in June 2023. The aid worker as well as several of the deportees interviewed said that they had not received any aid from Türkiye or local authorities. As the occupying power in Tel Abyad, Türkiye has an obligation to maintain law and order and public life and protect Syrians there from violence, whatever the source. Türkiye is bound by both its international humanitarian law and international human rights law obligations to ensure that its own officials and those under its command do not commit violations of international law, to investigate alleged violations, and ensure that those responsible are appropriately punished. Türkiye is a party to the European Convention on Human Rights , the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights , and the 1951 Refugee Convention. As such, and as a matter of customary international law, it is obliged to respect the principle of nonrefoulement, which forbids returning anyone to a location where they would face a real risk of persecution, torture or other cruel treatment, or a threat to their life. Turkish Law 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection , issued in April 2013, offers Syrians “temporary protection in Türkiye, ensures their non-refoulement, and guarantees their stay until safety is established in their original countries.” “Deportees to Tel Abyad have painted a bleak picture of conditions in Türkiye’s touted ‘safe zone,’ one where they are deprived of basic necessities, including shelter and sustenance, and forced to resort to perilous options to leave,” Coogle said.

27.03.2024 09:35 Country: Türkiye Source: Human Rights Watch Les autorités refusent de fournir des informations au sujet des enquêtes L'absence de poursuites pénales contre les responsables municipaux suite aux décès causés par les tremblements de terre du 6 février 2023 est profondément troublante et inacceptable. Pendant des années, les agents publics ont éludé leur responsabilité de garantir le respect de normes de sécurité pour la construction de bâtiments, et l'absence d'enquêtes entrave gravement les procédures engagées contre des entrepreneurs privés. Les autorités turques devraient autoriser des enquêtes criminelles et des poursuites contre tous les responsables des décès causés par les séismes, et contre les personnes n’ayant pas agi pour atténuer les risques mortels liés à ces séismes. – L’absence de poursuites pénales contre des responsables municipaux suite aux décès causés par les tremblements de terre survenus en le 6 février 2023 est profondément troublante et inacceptable, ont déclaré aujourd’hui Human Rights Watch et l’organisation non gouvernementale turque Citizens’ Assembly . Peu de poursuites ont été engagées, malgré les preuves selon lesquelles les autorités ont autorisé et approuvé la construction de bâtiments défectueux qui se sont ensuite effondrés, tuant plus de 53 000 personnes. Des rapports d'experts commandés par les procureurs des régions les plus durement touchées par les tremblements de terre, et que Human Rights Watch a pu consulter, identifient les responsables municipaux, entrepreneurs privés et gérants d’entreprises de construction coresponsables des défaillances des bâtiments qui se sont effondrés à Kahramanmaras, dans le sud-est du pays, et ailleurs. L’ONG Citizens’ Assembly a demandé aux autorités régionales de fournir des informations sur le nombre de cas dans lesquels l’autorisation d’engager une enquête pénale contre un agent public avait été accordée, conformément à la loi turque. À ce jour, Citizens’ Assembly n’a reçu des informations que sur l’autorisation enquêtes concernant trois agents publics, les autorités ayant refusé de fournir des réponses dans la plupart des cas. « Pour les habitants de la région turque touchée par le séisme, il est décevant de constater la lenteur des poursuites engagées contre des fonctionnaires municipaux ayant approuvé des projets de construction défectueux», a déclaré , directeur de la division Europe et Asie centrale à Human Rights Watch. « Plus d’un an après les tremblements de terre, l’absence de progrès sape la confiance du public dans l’engagement du gouvernement à garantir la justice pour les victimes. » En janvier 2024, Citizens’ Assembly a déposé des demandes d’informations auprès du ministère de l’Intérieur turc, des gouvernorats des 11 provinces du sud-est de la Turquie dévastées par les tremblements de terre, ainsi que des autorités de 46 districts au sein de ces provinces. Citizens’ Assembly a demandé combien de demandes d'ouverture d'enquêtes pénales ont été déposées par les procureurs, et combien d'enquêtes ont été autorisées, en vertu des dispositions de la loi turque. Cette demande portait sur des agents publics et élus, actuels ou à la retraite, tels que des maires et des membres du conseil municipal, ayant joué un rôle dans l’octroi de licences et la supervision de projets de construction que se sont avérés mortels, ou qui n’ont pas pris de mesures adéquates pour atténuer le risque de dommages. Par ailleurs, Human Rights Watch a mené des recherches dans la ville de Kahramanmaraş, chef-lieu de la province du même nom, qui était l'un des sites les plus touchés par les tremblements de terre ; Human Rights Watch y a examiné l’avancée des enquêtes et des procès contre les entrepreneurs privés et le personnel technique responsables de l'effondrement de bâtiments où d'énormes pertes en vies humaines ont été enregistrées. Le 5 février 2024, citant les chiffres fournis par les parquets de huit provinces, les médias turcs que 883 personnes – promoteurs privés, gérants d’entreprises de construction et chefs de chantier – étaient actuellement jugés pour des décès survenus dans des immeubles qui se sont effondrés. Dans les procès en cours à Kahramanmaraş, l’un des piliers centraux de la défense des promoteurs et des équipes de construction a été que la municipalité avait autorisé leurs projets et travaux de construction et que les fonctionnaires municipaux concernés et autres autorités publiques portaient donc la responsabilité des défauts de construction. L’absence d’enquêtes sur les agents publics entrave gravement les procédures dans ces affaires, ont déclaré Human Rights Watch et Citizens’ Assembly. Les tribunaux saisis de ces affaires ne sont pas en mesure de déterminer dans quelle mesure les constructeurs jugés ont pu ignorer les réglementations requises pour obtenir des permis, échapper à une inspection approfondie et vendre des bâtiments qui posaient des risques. Texte complet en anglais : en ligne .

27.03.2024 09:35 Country: Türkiye Source: Human Rights Watch Please refer to the attached file. Authorities Refuse to Provide Information About Investigations The absence of criminal proceedings against municipal officials in deaths stemming from the February 6, 2023 earthquakes, is deeply troubling and unacceptable. Public officials for years have evaded responsibility to make sure buildings are safe, and the lack of investigations severely hampers proceedings in cases against private contractors. The Turkish authorities should permit criminal investigation leading to prosecution of all officials responsible for earthquake deaths and those who failed to mitigate the deadly risk of such quakes. – The absence of criminal proceedings against municipal officials in deaths stemming from the February 6, 2023 earthquakes, is deeply troubling and unacceptable, Human Rights Watch and Citizens Assembly, a nongovernmental organization from , said today. There has been little action despite evidence that officials authorized and approved defective buildings that collapsed, killing over 53,000 people. Expert reports commissioned by public prosecutors in regions hardest hit by the earthquakes, and seen by Human Rights Watch, identify municipal officials, alongside private contractors and builders, responsible for defects in buildings that collapsed in the southeast city of Kahramanmaras and other places. Citizens’ Assembly has asked state authorities to provide information about the number of cases in which permission has been granted, as Turkish law requires, to pursue a criminal investigation against a public official. As of publication of this report, Citizens’ Assembly had received information that permission to investigate just three public officials has been granted, with the authorities for the most part refusing to provide answers. “It is sobering for citizens in the earthquake-hit region to find out that cases against municipal officials who signed off on defective building projects seem to be barely moving forward,” said , Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Over a year after the earthquakes, the failure to demonstrate progress damages public trust in the government’s commitment to securing justice for the victims.” In January 2024, Citizens’ Assembly filed information requests with the Interior Ministry, governorates of the 11 provinces in southeastern Türkiye devastated by the earthquakes, and 46 relevant district governorates in those provinces. Citizens Assembly asked how many applications to pursue criminal investigations prosecutors had filed and how many investigations they had been permitted under provisions of the into current or now retired appointed officials and elected officials such as mayors and municipal council members for their role in licensing and overseeing deadly construction projects or failing to take adequate steps to mitigate the risk of harm. While in four cases, governorates and a district governorate said that permission on whether to investigate is pending, Islahiye district governorate in Gaziantep province said that permission to investigate three public officials has been granted, and in two of those cases the decision is being appealed. The majority of authorities however failed to provide any data, claiming that such information falls outside the scope of permitted freedom of information requests or concerns confidential information. Human Rights Watch also conducted research in the city of Kahramanmaraş, in Kahramanmaraş province, one of the places most affected, examining the progress of investigations and trials against private contractors and technical personnel responsible for collapsed buildings in which there was huge loss of life. A man who was rescued from block E of the Kahramanmaraş Ebrar housing complex reflected the views of many, saying: “The first person I blame here is not the contractor. First of all, I blame those who gave permission to build the block. Whoever has the smallest finger in the permitting processes, allowed the building to be built, and turned a blind eye to its inspection, I blame them.” Human Rights Watch examined 14 expert reports concerning large apartment buildings in Kahramanmaraş that collapsed, killing most of their residents, as well as six more concerning buildings in other provinces. Of the 14 commissioned by the Kahramanmaraş chief public prosecutor’s office from university construction engineering departments, all but one report point to serious failures by builders to adhere to applicable technical standards, with municipal building department officials apparently turning a blind eye by issuing building permits for flawed projects and later signing off on inadequate and unsafe finished construction. These expert reports have provided the basis for indictments of private actors and give ample basis for investigations of public officials, many of whom are identified by name, Human Rights Watch and Citizens’ Assembly said. On February 5, 2024, citing figures provided by prosecutors’ offices in eight provinces, are now on trial in connection with deaths in buildings that collapsed. In the trials now underway in Kahramanmaraş, a central pillar of developers and building teams’ defense has been that the municipality authorized their projects and building work and that the relevant municipal officials and other public authorities therefore bear responsibility for flawed construction. The lack of investigations into public officials severely hampers proceedings in these cases, Human Rights Watch and Citizens’ Assembly said. Courts hearing the cases are being prevented from determining the full background of how builders on trial were able to flout applicable building regulations to secure permits, evade thorough inspection, and sell to the public buildings that were known to be unsafe. Municipalities have also failed over many years in their duty to take bold steps to mitigate the risk of earthquakes to the local population, ignoring the recommendations outlined in the reports of Türkiye’s Disaster Management Directorate . These reports have identified areas of cities at risk and in need of detailed ground studies and advised that municipalities should evacuate defective buildings. “The Turkish authorities should permit criminal investigations capable of resulting in the prosecution of all responsible public officials alongside private actors for their role in earthquake deaths,” Williamson said. “Beyond that the government should undertake a wider inquiry into municipalities and any other relevant public authorities for their failure to take measures to mitigate the deadly risk of earthquakes, despite the available recommendations from Türkiye’s Disaster Management Directorate, AFAD.” For detailed findings, please see below. Deaths in Kahramanmaraş and the Search for Justice The two earthquakes that struck on February 6, 2023, were centered on districts of Kahramanmaraş province in southeastern Türkiye and had a magnitude of 7.7 and 7.6 on the Richter scale. Over 53,000 people were killed during the earthquakes and their immediate aftermath, and hundreds of thousands more were injured and displaced across 11 provinces. The most badly affected provinces were Hatay and Kahramanmaraş. According to a February 16, 2023 internal report by the national Building Works General Directorate of the Ministry for Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change, seen by Human Rights Watch, 1,670 buildings collapsed in Onikişubat and Dulkadiroğlu, the two central districts of Kahramanmaraş city where Human Rights Watch conducted research. On February 5, 2024, the to the media that courts had accepted 70 indictments of private actors for their role, that 15 more indictments were ready, and that there were 152 defendants, of whom 10 were in pretrial detention. Human Rights Watch interviewed 32 people including relatives of people who died, lawyers, an architect, construction engineers, a geological engineer, and city planners. The organization examined expert reports from university construction engineering departments commissioned by prosecutors investigating earthquake deaths, and met with a public prosecutor handling earthquake-related investigation cases in Kahramanmaraş. Many of those interviewed noted the importance of investigations into private contractors and other private actors but pointed to the glaring lack of progress on holding the municipal and other public authorities to account. Families of earthquake victims said that they had been given no information on when investigations into municipal and other public authorities might begin. Officials at the Kahramanmaraş courthouse and governorate verbally confirmed that although permission to investigate municipal officials had been requested, the Interior Ministry had not yet granted permission. Human Rights Watch researched 11 buildings that collapsed in Kahramanmaraş, all but one of them built in the years directly after the deadly 1999 Marmara earthquake in western Türkiye that triggered stricter building regulations and in theory a greater awareness about the importance of adherence to building standards. While provisions of Türkiye’s building regulations that address mitigating the risk of earthquakes have been amended seven times, the February 6, 2023 earthquakes revealed a massive implementation gap, evident in widespread lack of adherence to safety standards. Ebrar Housing Complex While figures for the number of dead and injured in Onikişubat and Dulkadiroğlu districts are not publicly available, the highest number of deaths in a single site in Kahramanmaraş were in a housing complex in Onikişubat known as the Ebrar Sitesi . Eighteen out of 22 blocks ranging between 8 and 11 stories and built between around 2000 and 2011 . Human Rights Watch is aware of five ongoing trials of private developers and builders concerning deaths in individual Ebrar blocks that collapsed, but no investigations or prosecutions of public officials. Human Rights Watch conducted a focus group interview with eight people whose relatives had died in the Ebrar complex as well as individual interviews with six more. Sıla Danyeri, 20, a university student, lost her closest family members when the Hünkar Apartment in the Ebrar complex collapsed. “At first when I arrived at the scene I couldn’t even understand where our apartment was,” she said. “There were body bags everywhere, people waiting to be rescued, those hopeless screams…. The weather conditions … it was minus 2 or minus 3 degrees …. And at first the voices from the rubble of people expecting help....” After three days, the bodies of her parents and brother had been recovered and two days later, her paternal grandmother. Danyeri estimates that over 100 people died in the Hünkar Apartment. A construction engineer, Cafer Nalçacı, 39, said that he had rushed to his older sister’s building, B block in the Ebrar complex, where 109 people died. He was able to locate his two nephews, but only rescue the older one. “We spoke to my other nephew for close to three hours as we attempted to rescue him. He was 14. We didn’t manage to save him.... At Ebrar there were no work machines, not even a hammer.” Nalçacı was only able to identify his sister’s body 42 days later via a DNA sample. Her body had been removed from the rubble and buried in an unnamed cemetery. In some other cases, families were unable to find the bodies of their loved ones. Fadime Gökçe, 55, spent 10 days beside the rubble of E block, attempting to rescue her 26-year-old daughter Fikriye Aybüke Körük, who lived there. Despite reports at the time that Aybüke was rescued from the building and taken to a hospital, her whereabouts is unknown. Along with others whose loved ones were never recovered from the rubble, Gökçe continues her search. “When I am in my house and I look out of the window I see the Ebrar complex,” she said. “I see the collapsed buildings and I am waiting beside the rubble. I can’t get away from it, I am still there. There is no way to describe it.” The Ebrar construction began after the municipality authorized the building to go ahead on soft fertile alluvial ground previously used for growing lettuce. Mehmet Kuruçay, a geological engineer who formerly headed the chamber of geological engineers in Kahramanmaraş, said that for years he had raised concerns about the failure to conduct proper ground studies to determine the suitability of the location for high-rise buildings. An architect who preferred to remain anonymous blamed the municipality for opening the area where the Ebrar blocks are built for development in the first place. Human Rights Watch has seen six expert reports concerning Ebrar housing complex blocks prepared at the request of the Kahramanmaraş prosecutor’s office by the Karadeniz Technical University engineering department. The reports form the basis of the prosecutors’ case against contractors and their building teams. The expert reports identify a pattern of failure by the developers and builders to adhere to building standards applicable at the time of construction, lack of or inadequate ground survey reports prior to building, and an absence of effective oversight of projects by the municipal building license and control department. Five of the six expert reports concerning blocks F, K, L, Reyyan Apartment, and Hünkar Apartment within the Ebrar complex attribute secondary liability for flawed construction to municipal personnel from the project licensing department and building control department who originally signed off on projects alongside private contractors held primarily liable. The sixth expert report concerning Ebrar block N attributes primary liability to both the municipal personnel from the project licensing department and the private contractors. Hamidiye, Palmiye, Penta Park, Ezgi, Fazilet, Sait Bey Housing Blocks In another seven expert reports seen by Human Rights Watch concerning single multistory buildings and multiple block housing complexes in various locations of Onikişubat and Dulkadiroğlu districts, which collapsed killing hundreds of people, secondary liability is also attributed to municipal personnel. In the case of the Hamidiye, Palmiye and Fazilet Apartment blocks, primary liability is attributed to municipal personnel, alongside private contractors and personnel. So far trials have begun in the cases of the Ezgi and Sait Bey apartments. The experts said in their reports that in some cases defects in the original building were compounded by later refitting the ground floors of buildings, removal of supporting columns and weight-bearing walls, and additions of mezzanine floors. It is the responsibility of municipality construction departments to ensure that such modifications are licensed and approved. From 2011 onwards, building controllers working for private building inspection companies have also played a role in overseeing the conformity of buildings and modifications to buildings with relevant regulations. Nurettin Çağdaş Çakmak, 45, whose parents and other relatives died in the Fazilet Apartment block A in the Onikişubat district, said that the municipality had failed to meet its responsibilities over a period of 12 years, despite a court case initiated by apartment residents, to prevent the owners of a bakery from making unlicensed alterations to the ground floor of the building that fundamentally undermined its structure. Those alterations, he contended, contributed to the collapse of the building during the earthquake. The Kahramanmaraş prosecutor has indicted the contractor as well as the owners of the bakery whose whereabouts are currently unknown. The experts also found that the builders of the Fazilet Apartment did not adhere to the building regulations and said that municipal officials and private actors shared liability for the building’s collapse. In the case of the 8-floor Ezgi Apartment, which collapsed, killing 35 of the 37 people in it at the time, there is strong reason to believe unlicensed building modifications played a role. Nurgül Göksu, 46, said that she spent 12 days at the site of the building from which the bodies of her son, daughter-in-law and 6-month-old granddaughter were recovered. Seeking to understand what happened, Göksu found evidence that a key supporting column and parts of supporting walls had been removed when the owners of a restaurant café on the ground floor undertook refitting work with no municipal license. She also found that a complaint by the apartment manager to the municipality in 2021 had resulted in no action and the provincial directorate of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change found no irregularities in the refitting work despite removal of the supports. The whereabouts of the café owners, who have been indicted, is currently unknown. In the case of the one of two Penta Park apartment blocks that collapsed, killing 115 people, the expert report said it was not only lack of compliance with building standards in the original building but also unlicensed refitting of the ground floor by the Ziraat Bank that was responsible for problems. The municipality neither enforced the original standards nor prevented the unauthorized refit. A trial concerning deaths in the Penta Park blocks is scheduled for August 12. Some blocks that were constructed more recently also collapsed, among them the Sait Bey apartment blocks, which were built in 2016 and subject to the private building control inspection system in place since January 2011, as well as inspections by municipalities. Human Rights Watch learned from a construction engineer and two expert reports that floors of the Sait Bey apartments were built before the municipality had even issued a building license and before the works could be inspected. Instead of ordering the illegal construction to be demolished, the municipality building commission allowed the developer to continue. Turkish Authorities’ Failure to Mitigate Risk of Earthquakes Multiple public authorities share an obligation under Turkish law to protect the right to life by taking adequate preventive steps to reduce harm and mitigate risk. Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, affiliated with the Interior Ministry, leads on disaster response in Türkiye, but its duties laid out in Presidential Decree no. 4, dated July 2018, include “ensuring coordination between the institutions and organizations that carry out the preparation and risk reduction before the occurrence of incidents....” In cases in which a municipality is alerted to areas at serious risk of natural disasters, high-level municipal decision makers bear the main duty of ensuring that preventive steps are taken to reduce the risk of harm to the local population. The law on municipalities lays out municipalities’ duties in disaster management, including for making contingency plans in advance of disasters, and sole responsibility for identifying and, if necessary, evacuating buildings judged to pose a risk. Concerning Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye’s government and local municipal authorities had sufficient information to know and to take steps to determine in advance that buildings in some areas of the province would not withstand a strong earthquake, the groups said. In 2020, the Disaster and Emergency Management agency published a detailed , and Türkiye’s earthquake experts have issued over many years. Because the city was built on active intersecting fault lines, the agency warned, during an earthquake some alluvial areas of Kahramanmaraş would be prone to liquefaction of the ground, a process in which the soil literally assumes a liquid-like state, greatly increasing the likelihood of buildings collapsing. A key recommendation advised that “to reduce loss of lives and property in the event of an earthquake, detailed ground studies of residential areas and the evacuation of buildings in dangerous areas is necessary … Earthquake-proof buildings with the right concrete structure and technical specification must be constructed at a distance from active fault lines and on stable ground.” The agency identified in its report the neighborhoods of Kahramanmaraş most at risk in this respect. All those interviewed were aware of how little had been done by national and local authorities to carry out the agency’s recommendations by immediate evacuation and rebuilding of unstable structures. Nebahat Paçala, 69, rescued from the rubble of the Selam Apartment in the Ebrar complex, said: “The disaster and emergency management presidency knew the risk of earthquakes, and all public officials knew that the buildings in this area were not durable, but no one did anything about it.” Experts such as a geological engineer and the two construction engineers interviewed in Kahramanmaraş expressed the same view. Successive governments in Türkiye have dealt with the widespread practice of irregular and unsafe building activity by granting amnesty to contractors and others responsible for unlicensed construction or unauthorized refitting of existing buildings. The previous Erdoğan government passed the most recent of such amnesty laws in May 2018. Experts have how deeply troubling and problematic pardoning those responsible for unlicensed and uninspected construction can be, in light of the well documented risk of earthquakes and other natural disasters. Investigation of Public Officials The Law on the Trial of Public Servants, no. 4483, requires the government and state authorities grant prior administrative permission to investigate and prosecute a public official for crimes committed in the course of their public duty. Regardless of the weight of evidence, prosecutors cannot open investigations of officials on their own initiative but must first send preliminary evidence and recommendations for criminal investigation to the relevant administrative authority. The authority must then conduct a preliminary investigation of its own and decide whether to give the prosecutor permission to proceed. The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly criticized this requirement. The court has found that the administrative bodies determining whether permission should be granted lack independence from the executive, and that there is inadequate judicial scrutiny of their decisions. This denies victims access to effective remedies. The issue of prior permission is particularly problematic in cases involving the liability of public officials for violations of the right to life. In January, under the , Citizens’ Assembly submitted 58 information requests – to the Ministry of Interior, the governorates of 11 provinces, and the district governorates of the 46 most damaged districts in those provinces – about the number of criminal investigations prosecutors have requested and the number permitted into current or now- retired public officials and elected political actors. The 11 provinces are Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep, Hatay, Adana, Kilis, Adıyaman, Osmaniye, Diyarbakır, Şanlıurfa, Elazığ, and Malatya Although there is no legal obstacle to disclosing statistical information in response to access to information requests, on January 12, the Interior Ministry refused on several grounds to share such information. It cited articles 19, 20, and 21 of the Right to Information Law, which provide that information should not be shared if it conflicts with obligations to protect confidentiality, could jeopardize an administrative or criminal investigation, could lead to crimes being committed or jeopardize the prevention of crime and the capture of suspects, the right to a fair trial, and the right to private life. On February 1, Citizens’ Assembly appealed the ministry’s refusal to provide statistical information. At the time of writing there had been no response to that appeal. Seven of the 11 provincial governorates also refused to provide information on the basis of one or more of articles of the Right to Information Law cited by the Interior Ministry. An eighth, the Kahramanmaraş governorate, did not respond at all. Only three governorates – Sanliurfa, Gaziantep, and Adana – provided substantive answers. On January 19, Şanlıurfa governorate informed Citizens’ Assembly that the prosecutor’s office had submitted four investigation permit requests and that the governorate had asked the Interior Ministry to assign an inspector to conduct a preliminary investigation into these cases. The governorate was also processing a fifth request from Birecik district. None of the preliminary investigations had been concluded and no investigation permits have yet been granted for any public official in Şanlıurfa. On January 26, Gaziantep governorate informed Citizens’ Assembly that the four pre-investigation files had been completed and had been forwarded to the district governor’s office for a decision. In three other cases, the governorate itself had requested a pre-investigation and the process was continuing. In nine cases a pre-investigation request and request to appoint an inspector had been forwarded to the Interior Ministry and the process was continuing. On January 11, the Adana governorate informed Citizens’ Assembly that it had communicated the information requests to the Adana district governorates with a request to reply directly to Citizens’ Assembly. Eleven Adana district governorates informed Citizens’ Assembly that no investigation permit process concerning public officials was underway or refused to answer. Seyhan district governorate stated that it could not reveal the content of 47 decisions from various dates since Citizens’ Assembly was not a party to the decisions, and Çukurova district governorate stated that it had not existed as a district at the time the relevant buildings that collapsed there dating from before 2008 were built. Out of the 45 other district governorates Human Rights Watch approached, only three more provided substantive answers. The Hatay Dörtyol district governorate, on January 18, provided a detailed answer to the Citizens’ Assembly information request. In response to a prosecutor’s office’s request for permission to investigate three public officials named by profession, a request had been made to the Interior Ministry to assign an inspector to conduct preliminary investigations. In a February 1 response, the Malatya Akçadağ district governorate said that there had been no applications for permission to investigate in the district. On March 26, the Gaziantep Islahiye district governorate sent a response saying that it had issued decisions granting permission to investigate three public officials and that in two of those cases appeals against the decisions had been lodged at the regional administrative court.

25.03.2024 22:10 Country: Türkiye Sources: Shelter Cluster, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached file. Overview • Introduction • This chapter explains the purpose of this guidance • And provides visual descriptions of the activities. • Technical Approach • Technical description of each activity • Types of defects and solutions • Method Statement of correct implementation • Safety Measures • Protective Personal Equipment • Tools and Equipment Organization • Waste Management

19.03.2024 22:21 Country: Türkiye Source: Water Mission International Going one day without it is challenging. Going three days without it is life-threatening. Water is essential for life, yet, around the world water is scarce due to the environment or unsafe due to natural or human-related contaminants. For centuries, the lack of access to this life-giving resource has caused conflicts among communities and nations. As we celebrate with its theme, “Water for Peace,” Water Mission joins the United Nations and others in the fight to end the global water crisis. According to the , “More than 3 billion people worldwide depend on water that crosses national borders. Yet, out of 153 countries that share rivers, lakes, and aquifers with their neighbors, only 24 countries report having cooperation agreements for all their shared water.” Disasters and climate change complicate this situation even more. Just this past year, hundreds of thousands of people have lost access to safe water sources due to a and natural disasters. Father Aptullah, leader of the Samandağ Greek-Orthodox Church in Hatay, Turkey, understands this struggle all too well. Following the last year, Father Aptullah’s community was suddenly left without any safe water resources. “There was rain and mud everywhere. People had to stay in their cars. Our water infrastructure was damaged,” Father Aptullah shared. “Our water was contaminated with sewage. It was unsafe. We could not drink it or even brush our teeth with it.” In the face of this life-threatening trial, people became desperate to find water to survive. Upon hearing of the need, within days of the event. With the aid of local partners, Water Mission installed a safe water system in the shadow of Father Aptuallah’s church, which was damaged in the earthquake. This brought peace to the community and made the church a central point of refuge, hope, and unity. “Thank you very much for installing this water purification system,” says Father Aptullah. “Now that we have safe water, we are able to give it away indiscriminately. Everyone—Christian, Muslim, Alevi, Armenian—can use this water for drinking and cooking. Water is life.” For months following the disaster, through drinking water and meals served at the church. Water builds peace. Yet, as we commemorate World Water Day 2024, we remember that .

18.03.2024 20:30 Countries: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syrian Arab Republic, Türkiye, World Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached Infographic. Durable solutions for refugees from Syria are based on a comprehensive protection and solutions strategy which seeks to: 1) support host country and community resilience; 2) enable refugee self-reliance, including access to services, legal work opportunities and livelihoods; 3) expand access to resettlement in third countries and other complementary pathways, and; 4) plan for the return of refugees to Syria, on a voluntary basis, when conditions for a safe, dignified and sustainable return are in place.

18.03.2024 11:50 Countries: Syrian Arab Republic, Türkiye Sources: International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies, Turkish Red Crescent Society Please refer to the attached file. Introduction This Post-Distribution Monitoring activity was carried out following the additional payment made in November 2023 to assist vulnerable households with their essential needs after the earthquake. A total of 98,620 households were targeted to receive a one-time payment of 1,300 TRY. This cash assistance aims to support and empower households impacted by the earthquake to address their most important needs with the freedom of choice and dignity. The targeted households were identified based on vulnerability, residential area, and the extent of damage to their buildings. Eligibility and entitlement information was provided to participants who were notified via SMS and they were directed to withdraw assistance from ATMs using a reference code provided through SMS. The 168 Kızılay Call Centre remained operational to address inquiries about the Project, and a website was created for two-way communication, allowing targeted populations to access information, report issues, file complaints or provide any feedback related to the assistance. A self-administered survey was employed as the method of data collection and 1,636 participants completed the survey. This method allowed participants to complete the surveys at their convenience. The flexibility not only improved participant engagement but also sped up the data collection process, resulting in quicker analysis. This report presents the main findings of the post-distribution monitoring exercise to support evidence-based decision-making and ensure the intended assistance reaches the most vulnerable.

13.03.2024 21:50 Country: Türkiye Source: UN Development Programme Please refer to the attached files. Türkiye ranks 45th of 193 countries in human development, new UNDP report says Globally, rich countries achieve record levels while poorer countries fall behind as polarization and inequality block solutions to global challenges Türkiye ranks 45th among 193 countries in this year’s edition of the Human Development Index released today by the United Nations Development Programme . Based on 2022 data, Türkiye lands in the “very high human development” category — the highest of four — for the fourth year in a row. But while the ranking offers good news for the most prosperous countries, it shows a worrying divergence in human development outcomes, with poorer countries failing to regain ground lost to the pandemic. Globally, the HDI hit a record high, rebounding from two years of pandemic declines. The average conceals widening inequality, however, as half of the world’s poorest countries failed to regain their pre-pandemic level. “Like most of the world’s wealthier countries, Türkiye has bounced back vigorously from pandemic setbacks,” said UNDP Türkiye Resident Representative Louisa Vinton. “But this encouraging progress is overshadowed by resurgent inequality that threatens millions of people around the world with the risk of being left behind.” UNDP’s HDI was created 34 years ago to provide a fuller measure of human wellbeing than that afforded by financially focused indicators such as gross domestic product . It combines three key measures: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living. Türkiye has shown remarkable improvement over three decades: the country’s HDI value rose from 0.598 in 1990 to 0.855 in 2022, a 43 percent increase. Türkiye has seen advances across all three dimensions of the HDI: life expectancy at birth increased by 10.8 years between 1990 and 2022; mean years of schooling increased by 4.4 years; and expected years of schooling increased by 10.8 years. And the country’s gross national income per capita surged by 154.3 percent in the same period. But Türkiye’s ranking slips when the HDI is adjusted for inequality. Overall men enjoy a higher level of human development than women, so when adjusted for gender equality, Türkiye’s ranking falls to 66th of 166 countries. The new ranking is based on national statistics and data reported in 2022, so it does not reflect the impact of the February 2023 earthquakes. Despite the huge loss of life and the vast scale of the damage caused by the disaster – a prepared with UNDP’s support estimated total damages and losses at US$103.6 billion, or 9 percent of forecast GDP for 2023 – the earthquakes are not expected to affect the country’s HDI ranking. The HDI rankings are a core part of the Human Development Report published each year by UNDP. The 2023/24 edition, entitled , warns that uneven development progress is leaving the poorest behind, exacerbating inequality and stoking polarization on a global scale. The report finds that international collective action is hindered by an emerging “democracy paradox”: while nine in ten people worldwide endorse democracy, over half of global survey respondents express support for leaders that may undermine it by bypassing fundamental rules of the democratic process. Half of people surveyed worldwide report having no or limited control over their lives, and over two-thirds believe they have little influence on their government’s decisions. Such feelings of powerlessness combined with growing political polarization are causing some countries to turn inward precisely when renewed cooperation is vital, the report concludes. Pronouncing “deglobalization” an irresponsible illusion, the report recommends collective action to create “a new generation of global public goods” to provide solutions to cross-border challenges such as climate change. “In a world marked by increasing polarization and division, neglecting to invest in each other poses a serious threat to our wellbeing and security,” said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner. “Protectionist approaches cannot address the complex, interconnected challenges we face, including pandemic prevention, climate change, and digital regulation. Our problems are intertwined, requiring equally interconnected solutions.” To learn more about the 2023/24 Human Development Report and UNDP’s analysis on navigating the new uncertainty complex, visit: * * * Contact information: Faik Uyanık, UNDP Türkiye,

13.03.2024 13:00 Countries: Afghanistan, Iran , Iraq, Syrian Arab Republic, Türkiye Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached files. Impacted by devastating earthquakes in 2023, Türkiye continues to host one of the largest refugee populations in the world with a comprehensive and inclusive legal framework. Almost half the refugee population has spent most of their lives in Türkiye; some 800,000 were born there. UNHCR supports the government and works with diverse stakeholders, including civil society organizations in advancing refugee protection, inclusion in services, access to solutions and improving social cohesion, in a coordinated and collaborative manner. Responsibility sharing remains key, with diversified and flexible funding for the refugee response, complemented with resettlement and complementary pathways.

13.03.2024 13:00 Country: Türkiye Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached file. The objective of this guidance note is: Inform about the CBI TWG MPCA Transfer Value and its coordination; Inform about reporting tools for MPCA and sectoral cash activities. 1. 1. CBI TWG’s role in MPCA Coordination and Reporting Cash Based Interventions Technical Working Group holds a leadership position in coordination of cash assistance provided by humanitarian actors in Türkiye and is accountable directly to the National InterAgency Task Force, which is the inter-agency and inter-sector coordination platform of the 3RP, and works in collaboration with other relevant platforms and frameworks of coordination. The purpose, role and scope of the CBI TWG in coordination of cash and voucher assistance is defined by its ToR . CBI TWG is an inter-sectoral technical platform; therefore, it aims to harmonize and coordinate cash from all sectors. Achievements are not reported under CBI TWG as it is not a sector, but CBI TWG provides support and guidance for reporting of achievements as well as mapping of CVAs.

13.03.2024 04:40 Country: Türkiye Source: Relief International Since starting operating in Northwest Syria in 2012 and in Northeast Syria in 2018, Relief International has emerged as a leading healthcare provider in the country, delivering lifesaving health and nutrition services while bolstering the resilience of health systems in both regions. RI expanded its services to include prevention and response to gender-based violence and protection monitoring, becoming a recognized protection actor in NWS and NES. RI’s quality service provision and coverage of hard-to-reach areas have reached over 1.77 million individuals in Syria since 2020. Amid the Syrian crisis, 15.3 million people need urgent humanitarian aid, including vulnerable groups like internally displaced populations and children. The health system faces challenges due to insecurity, limited facilities, and recurring outbreaks like COVID-19 and cholera. February 2023 earthquakes worsened healthcare access, damaging facilities and suspending services. Malnutrition rates are high, especially among children and women. Psychological support is crucial, with many experiencing anxiety and depression, worsened by the earthquakes. Access to specialized services remains limited in Northeast Syria, contributing to high levels of anxiety and depression among women and girls. Urgent and sustained intervention is needed to address these challenges. RI directly supports 33 healthcare facilities, including hospitals, primary healthcare centers, and mobile medical units, across Idleb, Aleppo, DeZ, and Al-Hassakeh governorates, supporting around 405,000 individuals through comprehensive emergency obstetric and neonatal care, trauma care, and major surgical procedures, among others. RI integrates nutrition interventions focusing on acute malnutrition management and infant and young child feeding counseling into health services. RI also offers institutional water, sanitation, and hygiene services to ensure safe and clean facilities in the supported facilities. Collaborating with the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations since 2014, RI looks to expand its Action to enhance the reach and impact of health and protection services in Syria. Through sustained efforts, RI remains committed to addressing critical needs and building resilient communities in conflict-affected regions.

13.03.2024 04:40 Country: Türkiye Source: Relief International In 2014, Türkiye became the country hosting the world’s largest number of refugees. More than 3.6 million of an estimated 4 million refugees that have sought safe haven in Türkiye are from neighboring war-torn Syria. In 2022, southern Türkiye and Northwest Syria were struck by devastating earthquakes, impacting over 9 million people and causing widespread destruction. Relief International swiftly responded to this crisis, leveraging over a decade of continuous service delivery in Türkiye . Our comprehensive intervention focuses on ensuring safe and inclusive access to rehabilitation services for earthquake-affected communities, including refugees and internally displaced individuals. With a targeted approach towards vulnerable groups, particularly persons with disabilities, RI partners closely with local organizations to provide essential physical rehabilitation services. Our proposed action encompasses a holistic case management approach, delivering comprehensive physical rehabilitation and psychosocial support services, prosthetic and orthotic devices, and assistive devices. Through a network of referral pathways, RI identifies and addresses protection risks, with a survivor-based approach for gender-based violence and child protection cases. We prioritize gender-inclusiveness, ensuring same-sex therapists and staff are available to cater to diverse needs. Additionally, RI engages in advocacy, capacity building, and coordination efforts to enhance the inclusion of persons with disabilities in communities. Our advocacy papers, workshops, and coordination mechanisms, including the disability and inclusion task team and the annual inclusion summit, aim to foster inclusive services and programs. As part of our commitment to comprehensive rehabilitation, RI continues support for physical rehabilitation centers in Kilis and Hatay, providing physiotherapy, mobility aids, and psychosocial counseling. In response to the heightened need post-earthquake, RI raises awareness on health-related topics and promotes healthy community practices. We address immediate and long-term rehabilitation needs, ensuring individuals regain their independence and well-being in earthquake-affected regions. As of 2023, RI has provided 1,320 individuals with specialized rehabilitation services, underscoring our dedication to holistic care and community resilience amidst crisis.

12.03.2024 19:31 Country: Türkiye Sources: International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies, Turkish Red Crescent Society, World Food Programme Please refer to the attached file. Executive Summary In the second phase, the Collective Kindness Project targeted 111.000 vulnerable households by providing 2,600 TRY for those who had received the previous two payments, 5,600 TRY for those who had received either one of the previous payments, and 8,600 TRY for households that hadnot received any payment but had reached out to the toll-free 168 Kızılay Call Center. A large-scale humanitarian assistance effort was initiated after two earthquakes centred in Kahramanmaraş caused great destruction and loss of life in 11 provinces in February 2023. As an extension of this humanitarian effort, the Türk Kızılay KIZILAYKART, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies , and the World Food Programme jointly developed the Collective Kindness Project to provide multipurpose cash assistance to vulnerable families affected by the earthquake through an integrated cash assistance platform. The Collective Kindness Project aims to support adversely impacted economies and offer households affected by the earthquake the means with which they can meet their prioritized needs with the freedom of choice and dignity. The Project leverages the extensive experience and capacity of Türk Kızılay, IFRC and UN WFP in providing cash support to millions of people in need both in Türkiye and across the world. In the second phase, the Collective Kindness Project targeted 111.000 vulnerable households by providing 2,600 TRY for those who had received the previous two payments, 5,600 TRY for those who had received either one of the previous payments, and 8,600 TRY for households that hadnot received any payment but had reached out to the toll-free 168 Kızılay Call Center. Targeted households were informed about their eligibility for the Project and their entitlement via Short Message Service and were directed to cash out the assistance from Automated Teller Machines through a reference code provided via SMS. Tollfree 168 Kızılay Call Center continued to operate responding to inquiries about the Project, and a website was developed to ensure a two-way communication, enabling the targeted populations to receive information, report any issues including access to assistance, raise complaints and provide feedback. In parallel, Türk Kızılay KIZILAYKART, IFRC and UN WFP M&E teams set up a monitoring plan by defining the minimum monitoring and reporting requirements as well as the information needs which aim to help improve the Project and to consolidate lessons learned for future programming. The second phase was implemented by Türk Kızılay KIZILAYKART and UN WFP for which the M&E teams of both organizations planned an outcome monitoring. Complementing the monitoring results of Phase I published in September 2023, this report presents the main findings of the outcome monitoring conducted for Phase II following the third payment to the target population. Therefore, evidence generated for Phase II should be considered and interpreted along with Phase I findings and recommendations for future emergency multipurpose cash Project designed in similar contexts. The Collective Kindness Project reached 95 percent redemption rate in the second phase, supporting 106.803 households. Tracking the progress made between the two phases, findings overall reveal an improvement therefore a positive effect of the MPC payments on the beneficiary households’ conditions between June and September 2023. Progress has been especially noticeable within the first group, which consists of highly vulnerable households. However, despite the overall improvements in food security, income, livelihood, and expenditures, households have continued amass debt and resort to consumption coping strategies, all the while experiencing increased psychological stress.

11.03.2024 17:50 Countries: Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Congo, Egypt, Iran , Iraq, Liberia, Morocco, occupied Palestinian territory, Pakistan, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Yemen Source: International Organization for Migration Please refer to the attached file. According to the latest available figures from the Turkish Presidency of Migration Management , there are more than 4.5 million foreign nationals present in Türkiye, 3.4 million of whom are seeking international protection. Most are Syrians who have been granted temporary protection status. In addition, international protection holders from countries including Iraq, Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Ukraine constitute another group of foreign nationals. According to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , there were 296,685 refugees and asylum-seekers in Türkiye as of 2023. Moreover in 2023, according to PMM, there were 19,017 international protection applicants in the country, a figure released by PMM annually. In addition, there are 1,113,435 foreign nationals present in Türkiye, holding residence permits. Compared to February 2023, this is a decrease of 226,303 individuals.

08.03.2024 20:10 Countries: Sweden, Türkiye Source: UN Development Programme Please refer to the attached file. Recipients of Sweden-funded “earthquake recovery grants” share stories of progress and setbacks as they strive to rebuild their businesses Hatay, 8 March 2024 – The resilience of women entrepreneurs was in focus today as the United Nations Development Programme joined forces with the Antakya Chamber of Commerce and Industry to celebrate International Women’s Day in the earthquake-devastated region of Hatay. The event showcased the stories of women business owners who are reviving their businesses with the support of “earthquake recovery grants” awarded by UNDP in 2023 in an effort to restore the region’s economy. With US$10 million in funding from Sweden, UNDP disbursed grants to 4,616 small businesses that had suffered damage in the February 2023 earthquakes. Women entrepreneurs received 42 percent of the grants, which averaged US$2,000. All 11 earthquake-affected provinces benefited from the program, and the sectors covered included manufacturing, retail, hospitality, healthcare and professional services. “In a situation of almost infinite need, we opted to focus our limited resources on small businesses headed by women,” explained UNDP Resident Representative Louisa Vinton. “By putting our faith in women’s strength, resolve and ingenuity, we aimed to trigger a much broader recovery. We see now that, alongside the evident positive economic results, our grant program has also had a huge psychological impact by giving earthquake survivors, who often feel isolated and abandoned, a signal of solidarity and hope.” Given the disproportionate destruction experienced in Hatay, grants worth nearly US$1.8 million were distributed to 930 small businesses in the province, with women accounting for 48 percent of recipients. Several of these grantees told their stories at the UNDP panel discussion organized for International Women’s Day. Atra Küçükrecep lost her souvenir shop in the disaster and used her grant to resume production of handmade mosaics at home; Esin İyiel, a pharmacist, used the funding to restock medicines; and Pelin Bulğurcu, a manufacturer of construction chemicals, purchased raw materials. A broader perspective on the role of women in post-disaster recovery was provided by Çiğdem Kıral, President of the Women Entrepreneurs Board in Hatay, and Saniye Dedeoğlu, a professor at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University. Both speakers underlined the abundant economic and social benefits of investing in women, both for individuals and the wider society, and in normal times as well as in crisis. For more information: Esra Özçeşmeci, Communications Associate for UNDP in Türkiye, esra.ozcesmeci@undp.org UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in 177 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations. For more information: .