Wan (Van) Bar Association Human Rights Centre Migration and Asylum Commission and Human Rights Association (IHD) Wan Branch organised a press conference on the death of 3 refugees due to hypothermia at the border with Elbak (Başkale). Many lawyers attended the meeting held at Wan Bar Association Tahir Elçi Conference Hall.

 

Making a statement at the meeting, lawyer Şafak Bozkurt said that the bar association and İHD conducted an investigation after the bodies of the refugees were found by soldiers patrolling the border and they learnt that the bodies of the migrants were attacked by wild animals and sent to Van Forensic Medicine Institution as part of the investigation.

 

KILOMETRES OF WALL BUILT

 

Şafak Bozkurt, who said that similar situations were experienced on the Turkey-Iran borker in previous years and said: "As a result of the increasing migration wave and changing migratipn policy, policies have been developed to prevent migrants from entering the country at the Iranian border. In this context, kilometres of walls were built in Çaldıran, Özalp and Saray districts. In addition, trenches 4 metres deep and wide were dug right next to the wall, and security structures suc as razor and barbed wire fences, surveillance and communication towers were built. In addition to all these, as another security measure, law enforcement officers were intensively deployed on the Iranian border." 

 

HUMAN TRAGEDY ON THE BORDER

 

Thousands of refugees who were forced to leave their countries of origin due to persecution, economic conditions, political oppression and severe violations of their rights have tragically lost their lives while trying to cross the land border between Turkey and Iran said Şafak Bozkurt and added: "Especially in irregular crossings for asylum in the winter months, severe climatic conditions at the border cause humanitarian tragedies such as migrants losing their limbs due to hypothermia or death due to frostbite."

 

Stating that everyone has the obligation to respect, protect and fulfil human rights, Şafak Bozkurt continued as follows: "Security policies developed to ensure the security of borders should not lead to practices that violate the rights of migrants as human beings and human rights law should be at the centre of all stages of migration management.

 

Migrants crossing the border for asylum should be registered and provided access to their legal rights guaranteed by international law, and the legal process and procedural guarantees of the principle of non-refoulement should not be ignored in the deportation process of migrants. In this framework, we will be a legal follower of both the process in question and all practices that violate human rights against asylum seekers, with the aim of recognising, protecting and implementing human rights within the framework of national and supranational law in the field of Refugee and Migration Law."