Emergency Update on situation of Syrian refugees in Turkey

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

September 2014

Following the latest bouts of armed conflict in the north of the Syrian Arab Republic (Syria), since 19 September more than 140,000 Syrian refugees have fled across the border to southern Turkey. UNHCR estimates that this new influx could involve as many as 400,000 people seeking refuge in Turkey.

• UNHCR is helping the Government of Turkey to provide life‐saving protection and assistance to new arrivals, including emergency food and water, shelter material, blankets and mattresses, healthcare and hygiene items, and basic household items.

• To bolster the response by the Turkish Government, UNHCR has already provided core relief items and other technical support. UNHCR’s primary role in Turkey continues to be to assure the protection of persons of concern as well to help build the Turkish asylum system.

• Since March 2011, more than 847,000 Syrian refugees have been registered in Turkey, of whom 220,000 are accommodated in camps. In light of the current influx, UNHCR is responding and preparing to support up to 400,000 new arrivals, bringing the new total to more than 1.2 million refugees. The Government estimates that some 1.35 million Syrian refugees are now accommodated in Turkey.

• For the 84 per cent of refugees not living in established camps in Turkey, support is limited.

• Systems are not in place to address shelter needs, identify the extremely vulnerable and provide protection or other basic services. The number of registered refugees is most likely only part of the overall caseload, whose needs have not yet been fully assessed.

• The Government of Turkey has expressed concern that international support is not meeting the critical needs arising from this refugee crisis. UNHCR’s funding requirements under the 2014 RRP6 (USD 284 million) are currently funded at just 30 per cent. With the newly developing situation demanding urgent attention and significant additional requirements, UNHCR is having to reprioritize needs within its budget.

 

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