Background Briefing

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Recommendation

It is improbable that the government can achieve anything significant on the ground between now and December. However, the government should formally and publicly commit to collaboration with the U.N. agencies (and where necessary the OSCE and E.U. institutions) in developing and executing a program for return and set out in detail the role that will be played by these international institutions in the return process, as well as the timetable for initiating such a program. If the Turkish government wants to fulfil the Accession Partnership requirement regarding internal displacement it will have to commit to concrete action, not merely continue the dialogue that it has engaged in to date. The only credible assurance that there will be a genuine process of return, and that it will be implemented in accordance with the U.N. Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, is for international agencies with expertise regarding return of the displaced to have a specific and clearly identified role in the return process. Anything less than this should be viewed as inadequate by the European Commission.


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