Compatibility of the Safe Third Country Concept with International Refugee Law and its Application to Turkey

Abstract

The safe third country concept emerged at the end of 1980s as an antidote for the protection challenges associated with the travel routes of refugees. However, practices involving safe third country transfers have ended up rendering refugees’ access to asylum even more difficult. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate, based on the example of Turkey, the challenges in refugee protection that the safe third country transfers create. The article begins with an overview of Turkey’s situation with respect to trans-border migratory dynamics and Turkey’s areas of engagement with international law on migration and asylum. Then, the evolution of the safe third country concept is analyzed with special reference to contributions made by Turkey. Finally, the current state of affairs and future prospects are discussed in view of Turkey’s position as a safe third country with respect to EU countries, particularly with the execution of the EU-Turkey Statement of March 2016 and the EU-Turkey Readmission Agreement. In conclusion, with the execution of these two instruments, Turkey seems to have compromised its position regarding the conditions of the safe third country concept. Considering the current state of affairs, wherein the EU seems determined to make full use of the safe third country concept with respect to Turkey, Turkey’s interpretation and attitude will continue to be crucial for the evolution of the safe third country concept, on account of the scale of transit asylum and migration flows through Turkey.