The Syrian-Turkish Joint Committee on Wednesday convened at the Department of Immigration in Istanbul to look into the situation of Syrian refugees in Turkey and follow up on the resolving of the outstanding issues facing the Syrian nationals in Turkey, especially those living in Istanbul. The participants in the meeting included President of the Syrian National Coalition Anas Al-Abda and Turkish Deputy Interior Minister Ismail Çatakli.
The Committee said it had reviewed all the requests it received through its online forum, adding that the requests are being processed. It called on those having legal issues to send requests to get these issues duly processed.
The Committee stressed the need to register the unregistered Syrian nationals and to settle their legal status as giving them protection against any measure and providing them with stability. The Turkish Interior Ministry stressed the importance of carrying on with the law enforcement and filling the loopholes within the specified deadline.
The Turkish Interior Ministry has instructed all provinces to form sub-committees comprising the local administrations, opinion leaders, Turkish and Syrian civil society organizations, and representatives of the Joint Committee to follow up on the situation of Syrian nationals; solve their problems; and establish a mechanism to manage their affairs. A sub-committee will be formed in each municipality hosting 1,000 or more refugees.
The Turkish Interior Ministry has extended the grace period given to the Syrian refugees in Istanbul to settle their status until October 30th upon a request that was submitted to the Turkish Minister of the Interior on July 24.
As part of the work of the Joint Committee, a group of Syrian refugees were returned to Turkish territory last week. The returnees were part of a list that was submitted to Turkish authorities which said it would look into all similar cases.
The Coalition has launched on its official website a special page to follow up on the affairs of Syrian refugees and residents in Turkey within the framework of the work of the Joint Committee.
The page allows Syrian nationals in Turkey who have certain problems and legal issues to submit their information and documents for reviewing by the Turkish authorities. (Source: Syrian National Coalition’s Media Department)
