Between Syria and Turkey: Challenges in the Operations of Licensed Syrian Humanitarian Organizations in Turkey

Executive Summary:

Civil society organizations in Syria had no clear presence before 2011. However, the humanitarian conditions resulting from military operations and the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2642 in 2014, allowing aid to enter across borders, transformed most volunteer relief efforts into organized forms. Many organizations began licensing in neighboring countries to manage humanitarian operations and implement projects in northern Syria.

Turkey has become a central hub for Syrian organizations involved in humanitarian affairs due to its geographical location and facilitations provided by the government regarding work and licensing. In 2013, a law was issued in Turkey to regulate Syrian aid activities, considering them a humanitarian duty. Syrian non-profit associations were subject to Law No. 5253 on associations and related legislation.

Over the years, as the humanitarian scene became more complex and the work of these organizations evolved, several challenges surfaced that hindered their operations. General problems emerged, including negative perceptions from some Turkish parties toward Syrian humanitarian organizations’ work and suspicions about their relationships with foreign or international organizations.

These Syrian organizations face difficulties in classification, leading to confusion among their employees and those dealing with them. They are organizations that emerged under unprecedented circumstances outside their homeland and were forced to be licensed in Turkey to manage their humanitarian operations in Syria. Although licensed as Turkish organizations, they were not treated as such, nor as foreign organizations, which complicates their work inside Syria. Additionally, many Turkish employees lack an understanding of the context and operations of these organizations and exclude them from working with refugees for unknown reasons.

Moreover, administrative and bureaucratic issues have arisen, such as complexities in issuing work permits, especially for employees holding temporary protection cards, and the difference between the legislations and its implementation in reality. Moreover, the problem of the ambiguous exemptions has caused confusion for both organizations and Turkish employees, highlighting the need for clear guidelines to address legal issues and bridge the gap between legislation and its implementation on the ground, especially as the Turkish officers practically have the right to interpretate the laws and legislations from his own point of view.

With the evolution of the work of Syrian organizations in humanitarian affairs, new challenges emerged regarding contracting Syrian service providers and volunteers. There’s a need to justify the expenses allocated to them similar to their Turkish counterparts, along with administrative contracts for Syrians under temporary protection.

Besides general bureaucratic issues, financial aspects have presented challenges, such as the need to review tax exemptions for Syrian humanitarian organizations, especially regarding income tax or taxes on supplies sent to Syria.

Furthermore, these organizations face difficulties in obtaining fundraising permits in Turkey due to administrative complications, leading to rejections, and some banks pressuring them to freeze financial amounts. There are also complications during financial transfers to inside Syria through PTT Foundation, including bureaucratic hurdles and a 1% transfer fee imposed regardless of the transfer amount.

In addition to these general bureaucratic challenges, issues have arisen concerning administrative authorities’ conflicts, roles, and views, resulting from differences in administrative affiliations and the absence of a unified vision to manage the region. These challenges appear clearly in obtaining entry permits for organization employees or work permits to execute projects in the area despite partnership protocols signed with central authorities involved inside Syria. Such protocols became tools for pressure rather than facilitation, leading to confusion and contradictions, even among Turkish employees, regarding laws, regulations, and procedures in the region.

The report provides recommendations to both Turkish authorities, urging a review and development of regulations governing the work of Syrian organizations, periodic meetings to identify and address problems, and Syrian organizations working in humanitarian affairs to enhance communication, conduct visits, and produce regular multilingual studies and reports to shed light on the humanitarian work and its issues.

Read the full report (Arabic)