At least 21 refugees killed in racist attacks in Turkey in three years, says rights group

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At least 21 refugees lost their lives in Turkey as a result of racist attacks between January 2020 and November 2022, the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV/HRFT) revealed yesterday in a video released to mark World Refugee Day.

Moreover, at least 90 refugees died in work-related incidents last year, according to the Health and Safety Labor Watch (İSİG), a group keeping track of work-related deaths in the country. In the first five months of this year alone, 37 refugees, including children, were killed on the job.

In Turkey, refugees are often viewed as a source of cheap labor. A significant number of employed refugees work without insurance and receive wages below the minimum wage.

In the video, the HRFT called for an immediate end to discrimination and hate speech targeting refugees and asylum seekers, drawing attention to UN data, which reveals that over 108 million individuals have been forcibly displaced. Two out of every five displaced individuals are children.

#DünyaMültecilerGünü'nde tüm toplumsal ve siyasal aktörlere hatırlatırız:

Her insan gibi mültecilerin/sığınmacıların da eşit ve devredilemez hakları vardır!

Mültecilere/sığınmacılara yönelik her türlü ayrımcılığa ve nefret söylemine son verilmelidir! #insanhakları pic.twitter.com/loBTjaxTtQ

— TİHV-HRFT (@insanhaklari) June 20, 2023

The UN figures include 62.5 million internally displaced persons, 35.3 million refugees, 5.4 million asylum seekers, and 5.2 million individuals in need of international protection.

Low and middle-income countries are hosting 76 percent of the world's refugees and individuals in need of international protection.

Least developed countries are hosting 20 percent of forcibly displaced individuals, while approximately 70 percent of refugees and individuals in need of international protection reside in neighboring countries.

The report highlights that Turkey is the country with the largest refugee population worldwide, hosting approximately 3.6 million refugees. Following Turkey are Iran with 3.4 million, Colombia with 2.5 million, and Germany with 2.1 million.

According to the report, children, who make up 30 percent of the global population, account for 40 percent of forcibly displaced individuals. (AS/VK)