ILO’s Refugee Response Programme

With 4 million refugees, as of 2020, Turkey is the country hosting the largest number of refugees in the world for the seventh year in a row. The vast majority, close to 3.6 million, come from Syria, while 400,000 are Afghanis, Iranians and Iraqis. Ten years after the outbreak of the Syrian conflict, one quarter of the world’s 25.9 million refugees are Syrian.

Recognizing the need to design long-term approaches that bolster the resilience of refugees, the Turkish government has designed strong protection frameworks that grant access to education, the health system, social services, and the labour market. Since 2016, refugees can obtain a work permit through their employer.

The ILO places decent work, including the promotion of international labour standards, at the heart of its interventions. Read more...

On-going Projects

Within the scope of this strategy, the ILO has, since 2015, been implementing seven projects, out of which four are still on-going. Two are funded by the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Conflict, and two by the US Department of State Bureau of Population, Migration and Refugees.

Completed Projects