Migration and National Security Conference was held on 10.12.2020 by the International Refugee Rights Association online via live stream on Youtube.
Organized on the occasion of the World Human Rights Day, the program started with the speech of Atty. Abdullah Resul Demir, President of the International Refugee Rights Association. In his speech, Mr.Demir touched upon the human rights violations suffered by refugees in disadvantaged parts of the world such as Burma, Palestine and Syria and stated that the basic human rights documents in international law failed to protect human rights in these lands. The main topics of the conference included states’ discriminative and violent actions against asylum seekers on their frontiers and national security problems that occur after massive migration flows discussed within the framework of human rights.
During the conference, our faculty member Assoc. Prof. Tülay Yıldırım Mat delivered a presentation on “Frontex: A Threat to Fundamental Human Rights at the Borders?”. In her presentation, Prof. Yıldırım Mat provided information about the massive influx of Syrian asylum seekers and the recent situation in the Aegean Sea regarding the human rights violations of the Frontex Authority, which was established to protect the EU borders. Dr. Yıldırım Mat criticized the fact that the operation of the Frontex system does not comply with fundamental rights and freedoms such as the principle of non-refoulement, the right to life, personal freedom and security.
The program ended after a discussion on Turkey’s migration law and the asylum system in the Q&A session.