Turkey - HFII -Strengthening the human rights protection of migrants and victims of human trafficking in Turkey - Migrant Component

The main objective is to enhance protection of human rights in the context of migration and to strengthen the application of European standards in this field.

The main partners of the project are:

Ministry of Interior, including Directorate General of the Migration Management, Directorate General of Security, General Command of Gendarmerie and Coast Guard Command;
Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Services;
Ministry of Justice;
Justice Academy of Turkey;
Union of Turkish Bar Associations;
Human Rights and Equality Institution of Turkey;
Judges, prosecutors, lawyers and law enforcement officers;
Civil society organisations;
Migrants, asylum seekers, victims of trafficking and smuggling and persons in vulnerable situations, in particular, women and children.

The following results are expected:

Enhanced understanding of relevant stakeholders on human rights standards in the context of migration, particularly concerning women and vulnerable groups;
A strengthened human-rights’ based approach to smuggling of migrants

Project information

Duration: 29 months (1 January 2020 – 23 May 2022)
Place/ country: Turkey
Budget: 1 230 000 EUR
Funding: European Union/Council of Europe Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey

Project documentation

Project Summary

Useful links

Horizontal Facility for Western Balkans and Turkey II

Back A study visit to Spain on Alternatives to Immigration Detention

The European Union and the Council of Europe joint action on “Strengthening the Human Rights Protection of Migrants and Victims of Human Trafficking in Turkey” organised a study visit to Madrid, Spain on 28-30 November 2022 for a delegation of the Turkish Presidency of Migration Management.

The delegation of 20 participants, comprising of high-level representatives and migration specialists from the Presidency of Migration Management and the Council of Europe representatives, had exchanges and made observations on alternatives to immigration detention practices and return procedures in Spain.

Within the framework of the study visit, meetings were held with General Directorate of Migration, Alien Prosecutor’s Office, National Border Post Coordination Centre, General Commissariat for Aliens and Borders, Central Unit for Expulsions and Repatriations, the Ombudsman’s Office, and NGOs such as the Spanish Red Cross.

The meetings with authorities and NGOs yielded benefit in acquiring information about immigration policies in Spain, the general migrant profile in the country, deportation and return procedures, ATD practices and information systems, and good practices on migration management. It also provided an opportunity for exchange on common challenges encountered in the field in both Spain and Türkiye, and possible solutions to these challenges.

The study visit was deemed highly fruitful by the beneficiary institution as it provided an opportunity to become more familiar with alternatives to immigration detention practices practices in the European context, and is expected to shed further light on the subject, for the application of less coercive measures than detention in the context of irregular migration management in Türkiye.

This activity was organised within the framework of the Action “Strengthening the human rights protection of migrants and victims of human trafficking in Turkey”, which is a part of the European Union/Council of Europe collaboration titled “Horizontal Facility-II for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”.

MADRID 28-30 November 2022