Turkey witnessed a massive influx of Iraqis in both 1988 and 1991, when respectively around 50,000 and 460,000 Iraqis sought refuge there. In 2003, Turkey took measures to guard against another mass influx: and though around two million Iraqis fled out of the country, only 10,000 arrived in Turkey. However, a larger number may flee to Turkey, particularly if security deteriorates in the northern parts of Iraq. Turkey is the only one of Iraq’s direct neighbours to be party to the UN Refugees Convention. Yet, Turkey nevertheless introduced a geographical limitation: Iraqis, like other non-Europeans, are not granted refugee status. However, the customary law principle of non-refoulement is applied to anyone, including Iraqis, considered either as “asylum seeker” or recognized as de facto refugee. With regard to the protection provided and the rights recognized, there is not much difference between their situation and a 1951 UN Convention refugee, except that they are not meant to stay and integrate into Turkey but to be resettled in a third country. Both procedural and substantive international refugee law standards are applied in Turkey. The UNHCR also plays a part and decides the cases of persons who have applied for “refugee status” in Turkey, helping the resettlement of Iraqis in third countries. Turkey has adopted a system for dealing with individual asylum claims and the system seems to have satisfied international legal standards. However, the system is not designed to answer collective asylum claims and might collapse in the event of a massive influx.
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