United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, "is grateful for its strong partnership" with Turkey, an official said on Sept. 8. 

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Filippo Grandi, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, arrived in Turkey for a working visit on Sept. 7 and was received by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi pays a working visit to Turkey to discuss migration and refugee-related subjects in the meetings, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Sept. 8.

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Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu discussed the latest developments in Afghanistan, migration management, and humanitarian aid to refugees with Grandi.

We are all witnessing the dramatic events affecting Afghanistan and the tragic uncertainty that so many Afghan citizens feel for the future of their country, which currently counts 3 million displaced persons, 550,000 of whom were displaced in 2021.

The UN refugee agency is gearing up for as many as half a million people or more to flee from Afghanistan in a "worst-case scenario" in the coming months, AP reports.

UNHCR says the situation in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover last week "remains uncertain and may evolve rapidly," with up to 515,000 new refugees fleeing.

Ljubljana – Interior Minister Aleš Hojs met via videolink on Wednesday Roland Sebastian Schilling, representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for Central Europe. The pair discussed the situation in Afghanistan, including potential migration and security threats, the ministry said.

When foreign policy expert Kemal Kirişci warned of "a mass exodus of refugees fleeing Afghanistan could spark another migration crisis" in April, his research received little attention.

Now, as the Taliban completes a rapid takeover of the country following the US and NATO decision to withdraw, his predictions may have already started to materialise.

The U.S. walked back on Aug. 4 remarks from senior officials regarding Afghan refugee flows amid a diplomatic row with Turkey, and voiced regret about the comments.

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State Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington "did not intend to single out any particular country as a destination for refugees."

As the world marks International Refugee Day with a record number of displaced people hit by ongoing conflicts and coronavirus pandemic on top of it, the U.N. Refugee Agency's representative for Turkey called on the international community to ramp up support given for countries hosting a large number of refugees and asylum seekers.

The U.N. refugee agency says war, violence, persecution and human rights violations caused nearly 3 million people to flee their homes last year, even though the COVID-19 crisis restricted movement worldwide as countries shut borders and ordered lockdowns.

Noting that Turkey hosts the most refugees of any country in the world, a U.N. representative said on June 16 that it should receive more support from other states in this regard.