False Facts About Refugees Under Refugee Law Legislation...

As World Academy for Local Government and Democracy (WALD) Istanbul Academy; Within the scope of our Social Protection Project, which we carry out together with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), we develop a strategy for refugees to benefit from rights and services, their access to livelihoods and social cohesion, and we continue to support efforts in this direction within the bounds of possibilities. 

Today, We continue our efforts, especially, to present examples of good practice in capacity building trainings and information sharing sessions in our works we carry out in nine districts in Istanbul.

Within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we show sensitivity on issues such as reducing poverty, providing access to basic services, eliminating inequalities, and protecting vulnerable groups based on human-centered development principles. In line with the effort to strengthen the social cohesion between the refugee and local communities and to contribute to the develop of an equal and fair society, the training seminar on "Foreigners and International Protection Legislation, Rights and Obligations of Refugees and Known False Facts about Refugees" hosted by Küçükçekmece Municipality on July 1, 2022, held with the participation of public personnel working within the municipality. 

During the all-day training, the participants refreshed their knowledge about the rights and obligations of refugees, and discussed and evaluated issues related to the legal status of refugees. 80 public personnel  working in the relevant units of the municipality (Strategy Department, Culture Department, Communication Department, Solution Center, License and Audit Department, Public Relations Department and Municipal Police Department) was attended the seminar, which was held in three separate sessions.

In the first session of the seminar; the subjects of 'Access to Legal Assistance and Rights, Refugeeism, Differences between Basic Concepts of International Protection and Temporary Protection, Status of Foreigners in Turkey, Rights and Responsibilities of These Persons' were discussed. Moreover; Information about the legal application reasons and solution suggestions received by WALD Küçükçekmece Social Protection Desks was shared.

In the second part of the training; The topic of “False Facts About Refugees” was discussed and it was emphasized that participants should always be contacted to confirm the accuracy of legal information in the WALD Küçükçekmece Social Protection Desk, which is the closest to the region. The third and last session of the seminar was completed with a question and answer session. This interactive session ended with the participants' post-test application.