Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-04-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what evidence they have received, if any, that Turkey (1) refused access to Syrians fleeing their own country, (2) forcibly returned both registered and unregistered refugees to Syria, (3) split families and separated children from parents in the process of returning refugees to Syria, (4) denied registration to refugees already in Turkey, and (5) failed to provide clean water and sanitation to refugee camps near the frontier.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Turkey is generously hosting over 2.7 million Syrian refugees and has provided Syrians in Turkey with access to healthcare, education and legal employment. The UN has said that refugee camps in Turkey are among the best in the world and we are not aware of any problems with water and sanitation. We have received no evidence of split families or Turkey denying registration to refugees already in Turkey. We are aware of reports of forced returns to Syria but have seen no evidence of these allegations. We continue to work closely with Turkey and the EU to further improve the situation for refugees and asylum seekers in Turkey, including through our contribution to the €3 billion package of EU financial support for Turkey.