Page 164 - Syrians in Türkiye - Special Report

GRAND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF TÜRKİYE THE OMBUDSMAN INSTITUTION

As a result of interviews and meetings with the authorities, we saw that age
determination became a problem in the identification of unaccompanied children to
be taken under state protection. In cases where age determination is required, a bone
density test is performed, and the results of this test are made available to the Provincial
Directorate of Migration Management. Although the directive states that “foreigners
whose age determination are required should be accommodated in the reception and
accommodation centers to be established by the Directorate General of Migration
Management, which is suitable for their physical development until a definite report is
given,” there is only one reception and accommodation center operated by the Provincial
Directorate of Migration Management. Therefore, there were problems with where
an applicant who claimed to be a child would be accommodated until the test was
completed, since people above the age of 18 could claim to be children, housing these
persons in the same facilities as children would be harmful for other children. In this
sense, MFSP claims that they cannot accept people who claim they are children into
the TACs until the test results prove that they are children. Additionally, there may
be some cases in which there can be some children who do not appear to be children
because of their physical characteristics, and therefore these children should not be
victimized.

In addition, the “Unaccompanied Minors Directive,” which was prepared by the
Directorate General of Child Services of the Ministry of Family and Social Policies and
entered into force with the approval of the Minister, gives the duties and responsibilities
of the directive to the Directorate General of Migration Management of the Ministry
of Interior; for this reason, some inconveniences have occurred in the implementation
of the directive.

Within the framework of the above-mentioned determinations, it is seen that it is
necessary to carry out urgent efforts for the remediation of inconveniences. Age
determination has a critical role in the process, as it is necessary to provide reception
and accommodation centers for those who have not yet been proven to be children.
All institutions and organizations should be informed about the processes regarding
unaccompanied children, and the actions should be continued cooperatively in the
framework of the Regulations on the Implementation of the Law on Foreigners
and International Protection. A detailed age determination including physical and
psychological evaluations should be made for the applicants and irregular refugees who
cannot prove their ages with any document but look older than eighteen. Taking the
margin of error of the bone test into account, it is important to consider the psychological
evaluation obtained as a result of the interviews with the children.

164 SYRIANS IN TÜRKİYE SPECIAL REPORT