The EU-Turkey Statement on Refugees

This thought-provoking book critically analyses how the implementation of the EU-Turkey Statement on Refugees affects the rights of refugees and asylum seekers. Bringing together an in-depth examination of both EU and Turkish law and fieldwork data within a theoretical human rights framework, Hülya Kaya discusses the operational realities and failures of the agreement between Turkey and the EU from a socio-legal perspective.

This timely book provides important evidence that refugee protection in the region of origin is not an effective solution to the refugee protection crisis, and casts doubt on the capacity of the agreement to contribute to fair burden sharing between states. Kaya illuminates the practical and legal difficulties that refugees experience, and draws upon the political theory of Hannah Arendt to argue that the situation constitutes a further form of violence against refugees by hindering their ability to claim and exercise their fundamental human rights.

Scholars and doctoral students specialising in refugee law and migration studies, as well as human rights lawyers, will find this book to be crucial reading. It will also be of interest to human rights advocates and those working in international organisations and NGOs in this area, alongside policy makers in the EU and Turkey.