Inter-Municipal Coordination Platform

The sixth meeting of the Inter-municipal Coordination Platform in the Field of Refugees was held in Istanbul on October 25, 2022 in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Academy for Local Government and Democracy (WALD) with the participation of many national and international guests.

Within the scope of the Sustainable Development Goals, with the approach of "Leaving No One and Nowhere Behind", the meeting, where representatives of international organizations and development organizations, and decision makers of national governments and local governments came together, started with the opening speeches of UNHCR Türkiye Representative Philippe Leclerc and Istanbul Deputy Governor Yücel Gemici. Leclerc in his speech pointed out that “konuşmasında; “Türkiye has been closely interested in the situation in Syria and the situation in Iraq for over 12 years. Although Afghanistan is not a direct neighbor of Türkiye, Türkiye is affected by the situations experienced there. We see that the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war has also affected Türkiye. We know that 500,000 Ukrainian citizens took refuge in Türkiye. In addition, Russian citizens come to Türkiye as a result of this situation. As wars continue, people resort to international protection. Türkiye sets an example with the policies it has put forward by providing protection to more than 3.8 million Syrians in 12 years. In the light of all these sacrifices, I will continue to praise Türkiye. The Global Compact on Refugees will take place by the end of 2023 and Türkiye will be sharing examples of social inclusion that leaves no one behind.”

Keynote speecher of the platform, WALD Chairman of the Executive Board Dr. Mehmet Duman in his speech indicated that “Migration accelerated by globalization has formed the basis of the 'international agenda' especially in the last twenty years. International migration has gained a new dimension with globalization and policies have begun to be developed by states to manage or even prevent it. Syria went down in world history as the world's largest displacement crisis, with more than 13 million people leaving their places of residence or immigrating to other countries. In this sense, it is the most important indicator that municipalities, which are the closest administrative unit to citizens, are the first responders of countries in the settlement and integration of immigrants. In addition, local governments can make the most appropriate policies to meet common needs within the local community, while also undertaking initiatives that cause rapid and meaningful change.” Dr. Duman also underlined that the reason for the lack of universal adaptation policies for refugees is due to the different political, economic and social structures of each country, as well as the different experiences with refugees.

In the first session, which was planned as two separate sessions after the opening ceremony and moderated by UNHCR Istanbul Head of Field Office Elif Selen Ay, the subject of "The Place of Cities in the Management of Forced Migration" was opened to discussion with the participation and contribution of Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, Head of Migration and Harmonization Sub Commission, Antalya MP Atay Uslu, Presidency of Migration Management, Director General of Harmonization and Communication Dr. Gökçe Ok, Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, DG of Local Governments, Head of Education, Foreign Relations and Coordination Department Halil Şener, Mayor of Gaziosmanpaşa Hasan Tahsin Usta and Mayor of Esenyurt Kemal Deniz Bozkurt.

The second session of the forum was moderated by Meltem Ersan, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Migration and Integration Policies Directorate Coordinator, with the theme of “International Organizations and Local Government Partnerships”. Panel continued with the valuable experience sharing of Mayor of Avcılar Attorney Turan Hançerli, Mayor of Sultanbeyli Hüseyin Keskin, Senior Cluster Advisor of GIZ in Türkiye Candost Aydın, Resilience in Local Governance Project Coordinator Sinan Özden and Senior Program Officer in JICA Office in Türkiye Ali Bekin. The program concluded with a session of potential partnerships for future projects by local government representatives with the representatives of GIZ, ILO, IOM, JICA, UNDP, UNICEF, PRM, RESLOG and the World Bank.