Temporary Protection Status Practices in the Context of Human Rights in Türkiye and European Union

Migration and refugees are among the most important and complex problems of today's world, deeply affecting the international community. Civil unrest and violence, especially in the Middle East, have led to the displacement of millions of people. Most of these displaced people have sought refuge in neighboring countries and Europe. However, this situation has led to many legal status debates and human rights violations. Türkiye stands out with the number of asylum seekers it has hosted and the policies it has pursued in this process. Syrians who have sought refuge in Türkiye since 2011 are under "Temporary Protection Status". However, while temporary protection status should be temporary in duration, when it evolves into a permanent temporary status, various uncertainties arise regarding the social cohesion of the protected persons and the standard of living befitting human dignity. Although temporary protection status was historically developed in European Union (EU) law, the Temporary Protection Directive adopted in 2001 was never activated until the Ukrainian crisis in 2022. In this context, the attitudes and practices of the EU towards asylum-seekers from different countries, such as Syrian and Ukrainian asylum-seekers, are also compared in terms of temporary protection status. Temporary protection status is recognized as an important mechanism in the human rights context and the international community needs to do more to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of protected persons. The compliance of temporary protection policies with human rights standards and their effective implementation are considered as critical steps to protect the dignity of protected persons and guarantee their human rights. In this study, a review article was conducted from a legal perspective by analyzing the current situation of temporary protection status implemented in Türkiye and the EU through a literature review. The examination of temporary protection status only in the context of Türkiye and the EU constitutes the limitation of the study. This study aims to contribute to theoretical debates by evaluating temporary protection status in international law, its implementation in Türkiye, and EU asylum policies from a human rights perspective.