UC Santa Barbara

The evolution of the Global Refugee Regime (GRR) has been marked by a contradictory development that embodies the conflicts engendered by the rising tides of globalization. Economic concerns, geopolitical interests and identity politics have prompted many nation states to implement laws that are antithetical to the spirit of international refugee law. This development has had an adverse impact on the plight of refugees and asylum seekers. The Republic of Turkey is the ideal example of this phenomenon. This paper endeavors to explain what happens to Iranian asylum seekers and refugees at the intersection of GRR and Turkish national asylum policies. The paper employs personal testimonies of Iranian asylum seekers in order to underscore the negative impact of Turkish recalcitrance to embrace the GRR's norms and humanitarian values. The paper concludes with policy prescriptions that call on Turkey to abrogate the geographic limitation of the 1951 Convention relating to refugees and address the problems endemic to Iranians seeking international protection in the country.