The EASO Report on Turkey

RSA publishes the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) “Turkey: Content of Protection – Country Information Pack”, last updated in August 2019.

According to the disclaimer of the report, “this document does not claim to be exhaustive or conclusive regarding the assessment of an admissibility recommendation”.

The report provides sources inter alia on the legal and factual situation in relation to the Turkish protection system for Syrian and non-Syrian asylum seekers, access to protection procedures, use of the concept of “safe third country”, removal / detention centres, alleged push backs / refoulement, voluntary returns and readmission.

The report was drafted in line with EASO COI Report Methodology, using a variety of public sources, including the Turkish government, the European Commission and European institutions, NGOs and academia. Contrary to COI reports, however, it is not made publicly available, and a Public Access to Documents (PAD) request was necessary by RSA in order to obtain it. To the knowledge of RSA, no update of this report existed at least until January 2021.

The sources contained in the report indicate that in Turkey asylum seekers and beneficiaries of temporary protection face systemic deficiencies in the available protection regime, lack of procedural safeguards, and arbitrary practices in relation to the granting of status, protection from refoulement and living conditions.

RSA reminds that EASO caseworkers conducting interviews in the hotspots in Greece overwhelmingly recommend the use of the “safe third country” concept vis-à-vis Turkey for both Syrian and non-Syrian applicants.

Greece recently designated Turkey as a “safe third country” for all asylum applicants originating from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Somalia through Joint Ministerial Decision 42799/2021. The Greek authorities failed to take the sources cited in EASO’s report into consideration.