President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan traveled to New York on Sunday to attend the 76th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). During his visit to the United States, ErdoÄŸan is expected to reiterate his message calling for global justice and having bilateral contacts with world leaders. Among the most important issues on the president’s agenda are UN reforms, tackling irregular migration, global climate change, Islamophobia and sharing knowledge and experiences to control the pandemic. Ahead of his trip to the United States, ErdoÄŸan again called on the Western world to take more responsibility in solving the global migrant crisis.
More than 130 heads of state and government, foreign ministers and delegates will attend the 76th United Nations summit, to be held in New York this year and starting on Tuesday, with some leaders sending video messages. Afghanistan, the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change will be highlighted at General Assembly meetings, which will bring world leaders together in a hybrid format this year.
ErdoÄŸan, who like all world leaders sent a video message to the UN summit last year, traveled to New York on Sunday to attend General Assembly meetings this year. Erdogan will address the General Assembly on Tuesday. Addressing world leaders at the summit, ErdoÄŸan will call for global justice. It is noted that Erdogan will express his point of view on the restructuring of the UN, and in his address to the General Assembly he will reiterate his call for everyone to take responsibility for the global migration crisis.
Speaking to reporters in Istanbul ahead of his trip to the United States, ErdoÄŸan said, “I will underline Turkey’s strong support for multilateralism and the goal of establishing a more just world order.
Turkey has long championed a more representative UN Security Council – one more than its current five permanent members – using the slogan “The world is bigger than five”.
“I will share our views on key issues on the UN agenda. From the podium of the General Assembly, I will express our approach to the challenges that threaten all of humanity,” ErdoÄŸan told the journalists at Istanbul airport.
Adding that at the meeting Turkey will give “a message about migrants”, he said: “Of course we will have a message on the issue of migrants because we are the ones who bear the heaviest burden. “.
He also called on Western countries to assume more of their responsibilities in this matter. ErdoÄŸan also said he would meet Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the sidelines of the General Assembly in New York to discuss cooperation against the migrant crisis and other regional and bilateral issues.
NATO members and regional rivals disagree on a host of maritime issues in the Eastern Mediterranean and on migration.
Mitsotakis said on Friday that Turkey was an important partner in tackling any new migration challenges in Europe and needed support, adding that Europe itself had not implemented a common policy to deal with the problem of migrants.
“We have to see the action to be taken from those around us. If we don’t see it, we make the necessary decision and take the action accordingly,” ErdoÄŸan said in response to Mitsotakis’ remarks.
“Turkey is nobody’s gatekeeper on this,” he added, echoing previous comments that Turkey cannot be expected to welcome a new wave of migrants.
Turkey has been abandoned in its efforts to prevent irregular migration, ErdoÄŸan recently said. “Turkey has stood alone in its extraordinary struggle to prevent irregular migration from Syria,” the president said in a video message sent to a symposium on the Aegean Sea and Turkish-Greek relations.
Claiming that the 2015 refugee crisis – when 1.3 million people traveled to Europe to seek asylum – could have helped strengthen cooperation between Turkey and Greece, ErdoÄŸan said Athens wasted this opportunity with its “uncompromising position”.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also recently underlined the importance of taking joint action to tackle the migrant crisis, urging the European Union to properly implement the terms of the 2016 agreement and to shoulder the responsibilities burden sharing.
Turkey has been a key transit point for irregular migrants who wish to enter Europe to start a new life, especially those fleeing war and persecution such as the Syrian civil war. Thanks to its March 2016 agreement with the EU, Turkey has played a key role in reducing the number of migrants and alleviating the crisis.
Concerns have grown about a possible increase in the number of migrants from Afghanistan, due to the United States’ withdrawal from the country and the wave of Taliban attacks that followed. Turkey has made it clear that it will not bear the burden of the migration crises experienced as a result of the decisions of third countries.
Turkey continues its efforts to strengthen the security of its border with Iran in order to prevent any new wave of migrants in the face of recent developments in Afghanistan. The strengthening of border measures in Turkey, which already hosts nearly 4 million Syrian refugees and is a step for many migrants trying to reach Europe, began when the Taliban began to advance in Afghanistan and took control. from Kabul last month.
Turkey is not the only country to erect barriers. Its Greek neighbor has just completed a 40-kilometer (25-mile) fence and surveillance system to prevent migrants who still manage to enter Turkey and attempt to reach the EU.
Authorities say there are 182,000 registered Afghan migrants in Turkey and up to 120,000 unregistered. ErdoÄŸan urged European countries to take responsibility for any further influx, warning that Turkey does not intend to become “Europe’s migrant storage unit”.
Turkey hosts nearly 4 million refugees – more than any other country in the world. After the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Turkey adopted an “open door policy†for people fleeing the conflict, granting them “temporary protection†status. Afghans are considered the second largest refugee community in Turkey after Syrians. Many migrants arriving via Iran head to Istanbul to find work or a passage to another coastal city from which to embark for Europe.
ErdoÄŸan is also expected to hold other bilateral meetings with important leaders, including with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He will also meet with leaders in a special format during the dinner to be hosted by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
During his visit, which will last until September 22, Erdoğan will inaugurate the Turkish House (Türkevi) on Monday, located in Manhattan, just opposite the UN headquarters.
The old building which had long been used by Turkey as a building for consular affairs and permanent representation was demolished to build a new one. The new Turkish House is expected to eclipse the UN building, the UN Plaza and the United States Permanent Representation building to the UN with a height of 171 meters (561 feet).
Turkish House was designed to reflect Turkish culture and history, with a multitude of Turkish architectural motifs. It will also be an environmentally friendly building with “LEED Silver†certification.
In addition, within the framework of the conference entitled “A more just world is possible†which will be organized by the Turkish-American National Steering Committee, Erdoğan will meet with representatives of the Turkish and Muslim communities in the United States.
It is expected that ErdoÄŸan will give interviews to media in the United States and attend the traditional dinner of the 11th Investment Conference in Turkey which will be organized by the Turkish-American Business Council (TAIK) with the participation of representatives of the American business community.
ErdoÄŸan will also present his book “A Fairer World is Possibleâ€, translated into English, Arabic and French, to the leaders of the member states he will meet at the United Nations General Assembly.
The president’s book, “A Fairer World is Possible”, contains an in-depth explanation of Turkey’s search for justice for all mankind.
The book was published by the Istanbul Turkuvaz Publishing House and translated into several languages, including English, Arabic, German, French, Russian and Spanish. Proceeds from the book will go to the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).
Highlighting the dilemmas of world politics, in particular injustice, the refugee crisis, international terrorism and anti-Islamic rhetoric in the book, ErdoÄŸan reveals discrimination and double standards in the world, giving the example of the UN.
In the book, the president draws attention to issues of legitimacy, functionality, effectiveness, inclusion, representation and governance within the UN, highlighting the need for comprehensive reform, in particular at the UN Security Council (UNSC).
While the book also includes proposals for restructuring the UN, it recommends the implementation of a perspective summarized in the phrase “The world is greater than five” and focuses on changing the structure of the Council. United Nations Security Council.
The book suggests that the board be reorganized to represent continents, beliefs, origins and cultures in the fairest way possible. He declares that it will be a revolutionary step for the solution and the establishment of world peace.
In this context, he proposed that the number of permanent members of the UNSC be increased to 20 instead of the current five.
In the book, it is explained that the powers of the General Assembly have been increased, that the UNSC is not the only determinant and that a balance must be struck by making it accountable to the General Assembly.
He pointed out that the election of 20 countries to the council by the General Assembly could serve as an alternative solution.
