During the visit of António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, to Türkiye, a consultative meeting was held at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees office in Ankara, bringing together representatives of civil society organizations (NGOs) and refugee-led organizations (RLOs).

The meeting aimed to discuss the situation of refugees and to hear field experiences and perspectives from organizations working directly with refugee communities. On behalf of ARSA (Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Refugees), Dr. Zakira Hekmat shared the organization’s field observations and perspectives on the situation of asylum seekers and refugees in Türkiye with the UN Secretary-General and other participants.

Key issues discussed included the limited capacity for resettlement to third countries, the long waiting periods for asylum case processing, the uncertainty faced by many refugees in Türkiye, and the operational and resource limitations faced by organizations working with refugee communities.

ARSA values the opportunity to consistently bring the realities from the field and the voices of refugee communities to high-level international discussions.