Introduction Meeting of the 6th Ministerial Conference of the Budapest Process was Held
News > Introduction Meeting of the 6th Ministerial Conference of the Budapest Process was Held - 18 Şubat 2019 Pazartesi + - YazdırMr. Süleyman Soylu, Minister of Interior, at the 6th Meeting of the Ministerial Conference of the Budapest Process held in the annexe of the Ministry, said that there was no such degree of mass migration from the Middle East and Syria among the expectations of the 21st century.
The number of Syrians returning to their country is 311,968
Our minister, Mr. Suleyman SOYLU, declared that there are currently 3 million 644 342 Syrians under international protection status in our country and the number of Syrians who have returned due to the effect of the peace and tranquility rendered by the Olive Branch and Euphrates Shield operations has so far been 311,968 people. The number of irregular migrants apprehended was 268.003 in 2018 and 16.523 in the first five weeks of 2019, he said.
Stating that there are 245 million international immigrants in the world as of last year, "This number is more than the fifth most populous country in the world, Brazil . The number of people displaced against their will in the world has increased by 3.5 times in the last 15 years to 71.4 million. This number is more than the population of France’’, he added
Our Minister stressed that the number of citizens from other countries with different status in Turkey amounts to about 4.5 million people. And this figure is more than the population of Croatia, he said. ‘’All of these numbers are, of course, serious and in fact shocking, but at least these refer to people who are alive. However, the fact that over 60.000 immigrants have lost their lives for various reasons since 2000 is the dramatic aspect of the issue. The number of people who lost their lives in the Mediterranean in the last 6 years is 18,026 people. The numbers we had shouldn't have been like this, because immigration is nothing new, it has existed throughout history. What is new is the world's helplessness, recklessness and in fact cruelty in managing migration. Perhaps the real problem was the imbalance between the level of development and migration sharing. Because of migration from the Middle East, foreigners in our country correspond to approximately 4.5-5 percent of the population of Turkey. This rate is 25 percent in Lebanon and 20 percent in Jordan. In other words, the burden of migration is distributed unevenly to the economic and physical powers of the countries in the world. This is a factor that makes the solution difficult and increases the tragedies," he said.
"There are 3.644.342 Syrians in Turkey"
Our minister, Mr. Suleyman Soylu, pointed out that Turkey has perhaps the most disadvantaged geographical position in the world in terms of migration management. He reminded that Turkey is a direct neighbor to countries such as Syria and Iraq, which are sources of migration. Mr. SOYLU mentioned the following points in his speech.
" Our country is also a direct neighbour with Iran, which is the route of those coming from countries such as Afghanistan and Pakistan. We have responsibility for a large area over the Aegean, the Mediterranean and also the Black Sea, which all are an attraction for irregular migrant crossings. Therefore, we have to spend a lot of time on regular and irregular migration at almost all our land and sea borders, take precautions and manage this area in terms of migration.
We are also in a serious fight against terrorist infiltration, drug shipments and other smuggling in the same route and in the same areas of responsibility. In summary, there is a huge demand in face of us for crossing and we have to make correct distinctions. Currently, there are 3.644.342 Syrians under international protection status in our country. The number of irregular migrants apprehended is 268.003 in 2018 and 16.523 in the first five weeks of 2019. The number of Syrians who have returned so far has been 311,968 with the affect of the peace and tranquility environment enabled by the Olive Branch and Euphrates Shield operations."
Our stance on immigration is not haphazard and reactive
Our Minister Mr. Süleyman Soylu stated that besides the 3.724 personnel of the General Directorate of Migration Management , thousands of people in the relevant units of the Coast Guard Command, Turkish National Police, Gendarmerie General Command, Disaster and Emergency Management Administration and the Turkish Armed Forces spent a serious and devoted time on migration.
Mr. SOYLU pointed out that Turkey has taken a number of measures and legislative steps since the beginning of the Syrian migration crisis. Mr. SOYLU also said that their basic understanding is not to leave a legal gap on immigration, not to criminalize people, and to stay within the law at every aspect of immigration management.
Our Minister expressed that Turkey's attitude on immigration is not random and reactive and that it is carried out within a certain strategy and coordination. Our Minister made the following points.
" Some of the greatest achievements we have accomplished is that all Syrians and those under international protection status are kept in records, the records are kept up-to-date, special identity cards given for these persons. Thus, the development of a field on immigration outside the control of the state is not allowed. As a result of many other measures taken, there was no major and massive problem regarding Syrians ' relations with the settled community, especially in terms of public order . The crime rate of Syrians that was determined by official figures is well below the general average and it was shared with the public many times."
Recalling that the 6th Budapest Ministerial Conference will begin in Istanbul tomorrow, our Minister Mr. Süleyman Soylu continued his remarks as follows:
"52 participants, 7 observer countries and 14 international organizations will be attending at this 6th meeting of the Budapest Process. The Ministerial Conference is a meeting that is considered a milestone in the development of the Budapest Process. The last ministerial conference before this, as it is known, was held in Istanbul again in 2013 and in this conference, a declaration with 6 priority objectives was published under the name of 'Istanbul Declaration'. The conference that will start tomorrow will discuss the activities related to these 6 goals, the field experiences gained, and try to determine the steps we will take to achieve our goals in a more concrete way in the coming period. At the end of this conference, a document named ' Istanbul commitments ' and the five-year call for action attached to it will be signed in its final form. Efforts will be made to increase, facilitate and stimulate international cooperation in migration management. In addition, efforts will be made to establish a basis for sharing knowledge and experience and to discuss concrete steps that can be taken mutually in the bilateral meetings between countries during the conference."
Our Minister stressed that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will host ministers and delegations coming to Turkey as part of the conference in the dinner for tomorrow night.
