World Refugee Day Message

Following is the message President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued on World Refugee Day:

Today, there are over 82 million displaced people and over 26 million refugees across the world. The numbers, which have been constantly growing over the past nine years, show that the world is faced with a global refugee crisis. Keeping in mind that each number represents a human is enough to understand the magnitude of the ongoing sufferings and the humanitarian tragedy.

The instability in Afghanistan and in our neighbor Syria has displaced millions of Afghans and Syrians. The situation in sub-Saharan Africa and Myanmar is not different, either.

Our country, throughout its history dating back centuries, has always received with open arms all the innocent and oppressed people and embraced all those who have asked it for refuge without any discrimination of religion, language, race or origin. Turkey is currently a safe haven for nearly 4 million refugees, 3.7 million of them Syrians. These sacrifices by Turkey have saved both the dignity of humanity and the lives of victimized and innocent people.

In 2021, the 70^th anniversary of the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, an environment of global cooperation and solidarity has yet to be established. Playing an important role in this situation are developed countries' policies that restrict the rights of asylum seekers and refugees, cut down resettlement quotas, and remain indifferent to refugees' tragedies. Developed countries not only reject fair sharing of burden and responsibility but also try to transfer their international responsibilities to third countries.

Sending humanitarian aid to these honorable people struggling to hold onto life is not a solution by itself to the ongoing humanitarian refugee crisis. The causes that push refugees and asylum seekers to migration must be eliminated, conflicts and instabilities must be brought to an end and efforts must be made in order for these people to return home.

I hope the World Refugee Day may contribute to the solution of all problems of the refugees, whose sufferings and troubles have been further aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic.

On this occasion, I, on behalf of myself and my nation, greet all the refugees, first and foremost our Palestinian brothers and sisters, who have been longing to get reunited with their lands for decades.