The World Bank Support to Harmonization of Refugees Transitioning from Camps to Urban Areas in Turkey Project Information Document/ Identification/Concept Stage (PID) Public Disclosure Copy Concept Stage | Date Prepared/Updated: 22-Aug-2019 | Report No: PIDC196762 Aug 23, 2019 Page 1 of 9 The World Bank Support to Harmonization of Refugees Transitioning from Camps to Urban Areas in Turkey BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data Environmental and Project ID Parent Project ID (if any) Social Risk Project Name Classification Moderate Support to Harmonization of Refugees Transitioning from P171489 Camps to Urban Areas in Turkey Region Country Date PID Prepared Estimated Date of Approval EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA Turkey 22-Aug-2019 Public Disclosure Copy Financing Instrument Borrower(s) Implementing Agency Directorate General of Investment Project Ministry of Treasury and Migration Financing Finance Management, Turkish Red Crescent PROJECT FINANCING DATA (US$, Millions) SUMMARY -NewFin1 Total Project Cost 0.80 Total Financing 0.80 Financing Gap 0.00 DETAILS -NewFinEnh1 Non-World Bank Group Financing Trust Funds 0.80 State and Peace Building Fund 0.80 B. Introduction and Context Country Context Turkey has had impressive economic and social development performance since the early 2000s. The country adopted significant social and economic reforms, maintained macroeconomic stability, and benefited from increased trade ties with its neighbors and global partners. This environment helped Turkey achieve upper- middle-income status, marked by increased employment, rising incomes, rapid urbanization, and positive Aug 23, 2019 Page 2 of 9 The World Bank Support to Harmonization of Refugees Transitioning from Camps to Urban Areas in Turkey economic outcomes. Poverty incidence also declined during this time, with the success of government social programs supporting vulnerable groups and disadvantaged regions. In 2013 the country started to face growing economic vulnerabilities and a more challenging external environment, threatening to undermine Turkey’s achievements. Turkey experienced increased political volatility, tensions with neighboring countries and traditional trading partners, and a growing refugee influx. Turkey’s GDP growth declined to 3.2 percent in 2016, experienced a cyclical recovery in 2017 supported by a fiscal stimulus, and declined further to 2.6 percent in 2018. Government efforts to stimulate the economy have led to high inflation and a large current account deficit. The increased exchange rate volatility and sharp currency depreciation have brought additional stresses to the economic downturn. The government plans to pursue structural reforms in response to improve productivity, tackle issues such as low female labor force participation, and build the skills of its population. Public Disclosure Copy Turkey is both a transit and reception country of migrants and refugees. As a result of the crisis in its southern border with Syria, Turkey has been hosting an increasing number of refugees and foreigners seeking international protection. In addition to hosting more than 3.6 million Syrians [1], who are under temporary protection, there are an estimated 400,000 asylum seekers and refugees from other nationalities [2]. Turkey hosts the highest number of refugees in the world in the recent years [3]. The country’s refugee response has been progressive and provides a model to other countries hosting refugees, but the magnitude of the refugee and migrant influx continues to pose challenges for displaced persons, host communities, and the country at large. Notes: [1] The terms “Syrians” and “refugees” are used in terms of sociological context and widespread daily use, and independent of the legal context in Turkey and Turkish Law. Turkey is a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol. Turkey retains a geographic limitation to its ratification of the 1951 UN Convention on the Status of Refugees, which means that only those fleeing as a consequence of “events occurring in Europe” can be given refugee status. Syrian nationals, as well as stateless persons and refugees from Syria, who came to Turkey due to events in Syria after 28 April 2011 are provided with temporary protection. [2] Turkey has been hosting the highest number of refugees in the world in the recent years. DGMM. 2019. https://www.goc.gov.tr/gecici-koruma5638 [3] UNHCR. 2018. https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/syria/location/113 Aug 23, 2019 Page 3 of 9 The World Bank Support to Harmonization of Refugees Transitioning from Camps to Urban Areas in Turkey Sectoral and Institutional Context Turkey has adopted a development approach to forced displacement and pursued harmonization policies to promote socio-economic inclusion. The government has introduced the country’s first strategy on inclusion of refugees in 2019. The Harmonization Strategy Paper and Action Plan will identify the priorities for each respective sectoral institution, including national and local government agencies, and establishes a road map on socio-economic inclusion. The vision presented in the strategy calls for a human-centered, transparent and rights-based approach to migration management toward social inclusion. More than 97 percent of Syrian refugees live in privately-arranged accommodation among the host population, while some 90,000 refugees are housed in eleven temporary accommodation centers (TACs) located in eight provinces [4]. The majority of refugees in TACs have been living in camp-settings since 2013. Women and youth constitute the majority of TAC residents, with more than half being below the age of 18, Public Disclosure Copy and close to 20 percent of camp-based household headed by women. The majority of refugee women in camps are not economically active [5]. The government’s intention is to phase out TACs in 2019-2020 and assist the camp-based population to socio-economically integrate into Turkish communities. TACs are located in Turkey’s southern provinces bordering Syria and are managed by Turkey’s Directorate-General of Migration Management (DGMM). The government’s intension is to utilize the TACs to primarily accommodate the most vulnerable refugees, who can be defined as those who are almost entirely dependent on humanitarian support and state-subsidized services. The TAC population’s dependence on aid severely limits their prospects of building fulfilled, dignified, and self-reliant lives in integrated settings outside of camps. In general, refugees in camp settings lack psychological readiness and skills to cope with independent living. They also have limited access to training and counselling to enhance their livelihoods skills and effectively pursue independent socio-economic inclusion in Turkish society. DGMM is the responsible agency to facilitate socio-economic inclusion and harmonization of foreigners within Turkish society. It is mandated to promote access to public and private goods and services, access to education and economic activities, social and cultural inclusion, access to primary healthcare services, and awareness and information activities in cooperation with public institutions and agencies and non- governmental organizations. To consolidate and coordinate development responses, DGMM is planning to establish new systems and services to implement key socio-economic harmonization activities. The World Bank has worked with the DGMM since 2015, providing technical assistance, on-demand studies, policy briefs, and introducing good international examples regarding the implementation of integration policies. With regards to service delivery, municipalities and NGOs have gradually scaled-up the scope of services for refugees, however coordination has become a challenge. Municipalities provide a variety of humanitarian and socio-economic services, but the scope and depth of service varies significantly between regions and provinces. Many local NGOs work closely with their international counterparts, UN agencies, and NGOs established by Syrian refugees themselves. This operational environment of various stakeholders providing various set of services to a large and diverse beneficiary group is challenged by lack of coordination among various stakeholders. A key coordination concern is the lack of facilities that can offer comprehensive and consolidated information, advisory and referral services. The existing structures, such as the community Aug 23, 2019 Page 4 of 9 The World Bank Support to Harmonization of Refugees Transitioning from Camps to Urban Areas in Turkey centers run by various organizations, lack the capacity to offer services in a systematic and harmonized manner [6]. With the financial support of the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG-ECHO), Turkey established the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) program to address basic needs of its refugee population. As of December 2018, 1.48 million Syrian refugees have benefited from the ESSN program. The government and EU partners plan to phase out the ESSN and graduate refugees from humanitarian assistance and help them pursue an independent socio-economic life in Turkey. Notes: [4] DGMM. 2019. https://www.goc.gov.tr/gecici-koruma5638 Public Disclosure Copy [5] SGDD-ASAM and UN Women. 2018. Needs assessment of Syrian women and girls under temporary protection status. https://bit.ly/2z8zb5k [6] Koç University Migration Research Center. 2018: Final Report of Study on Migrant and Refugee Information, Counselling, and Referral Services and Basic Service Centers in Turkey. Relationship to CPF The project is aligned with the overall objective of the World Bank Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Turkey (FY18-21) to assist the country to achieve more sustainable and inclusive growth. Specifically, the project aligns well with CPF Focus Area 2: Inclusion which seeks to support better integration of women, youth and Syrians under Temporary Protection into the labor force [7]. With its focus on female-headed refugee households and refugee women and girls, the project will have a strong gender aspect which is considered a key area in the CPF [8]. The project is also aligned with client and partner initiatives. While official figures indicate that Turkey has spent more than US$ 35 billion to support Syrian refugees, the financial impact of the refugee influx on the country is estimated to be much higher. Turkey started receiving financial support for refugees, primarily from the European Union (EU), in 2014. EU financing is channeled through different instruments, primarily through the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis (Madad fund) and the Facility for Syrians Refugees in Turkey (FRIT). FRIT is a special facility providing Syrian refugees with humanitarian assistance, education, health, municipal infrastructure, and socio-economic support. FRIT’s first tranche of €3 billion, mainly for humanitarian support and infrastructure, has been fully contracted and under implementation. Within the second tranche of €3 billion, €1.2 billion has been committed to date. The socio-economic support window under FRIT’s second tranche (€ 450 million) aims at helping the government phase out of Aug 23, 2019 Page 5 of 9 The World Bank Support to Harmonization of Refugees Transitioning from Camps to Urban Areas in Turkey the ESSN program for ESSN beneficiaries who are considered to have productive capacity. ESSN beneficiaries who are considered to have no/limited productive capacities will not be supported under FRIT. The World Bank has administered EU funds for infrastructure and economic inclusion projects targeting refugee hosting provinces and/or Syrian refugees in Turkey. These projects include Employment Support Project for Syrians Under Temporary Protection and Turkish Citizens (P161670), Education Infrastructure for Resilience Project (P162004), Inclusive Access to Finance Project (P163225), and Development of Businesses and Entrepreneurship for Syrians under Temporary Protection and Turkish Citizens Project (P168731). Under the second tranche of FRIT, the World Bank administered projects will focus on socio-economic inclusion and municipal infrastructure. Socio-economic inclusion projects will target individual beneficiaries who are more likely to find employment with the key objective of integrating them into the formal sectors in Turkey and graduating them from the ESSN. Public Disclosure Copy The proposed project is complementary to the World Bank portfolio in Turkey, as it will provide socio- economic inclusion support to vulnerable groups that are not targeted by active/pipeline projects. It is expected that the project’s social cohesion activities will inform the design and implementation of FRIT- financed projects that are expected to become effective during the second half of FY2020. Notes: [7] World Bank. 2017. Country Partnership Framework for Turkey FY18-FY21. p. 12. [8] World Bank. 2017. Country Partnership Framework for Turkey FY18-FY21. p. 17. C. Project Development Objective(s) Proposed Development Objective(s) The proposed development objective is to support socio-economic inclusion of refugees transitioning from temporary accommodation centers and host communities in Turkey. Key Results The following are the expected results: 1. Beneficiaries provided with socio-economic support to assist transition to community living (number, disaggregated by gender) 2. Beneficiaries reporting increased understanding of harmonization in Turkey (percentage) 3. Beneficiaries receiving project support reporting willingness to transition from camps within four months (percentage, disaggregated by gender) 4. Beneficiaries referred to mainstream and other services (number, disaggregated by gender) Aug 23, 2019 Page 6 of 9 The World Bank Support to Harmonization of Refugees Transitioning from Camps to Urban Areas in Turkey D. Preliminary Description Activities/Components The project will consist of two components: Component 1: Pilot support to refugees transitioning from temporary accommodation centers to community living This component will finance pilot activities to enhance the refugees’ readiness for transition to urban life through development and delivery of service packages to support refugee transition to community living. The activities will be tailored to specific needs of refugees and refer vulnerable refugees to mainstream services. A rapid scoping study of camp population (education levels, past/current occupations, gender-specific Public Disclosure Copy concerns, soft and vocational skills, etc.) will be conducted to support development of need-specific support packages. At AIN stage, the following activities were identified as potential individual components of the bundled transition support package: 1. Low-intensity mental health services targeting most vulnerable and women-headed households. 2. Life skills program for different generic sub-categories of camp population (women, youth, unemployed), covering job counseling, mentorship, training on job search and Turkish labor market culture. 3. Parenting skills training, with a sub-program for single parent women-headed households. There will also be a module on the challenges and risks related to child marriages. 4. Workshops on practical advice, on how to build resilience and behavioral patterns aimed at preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based violence. Will also cover issues related to: health, education and security. 5. Livelihoods support activities to enable and enhance women opportunities and participation in income generating activities. There will be an emphasis on potential home-based cottage industries. 6. Basic micro-entrepreneurial training for those wishing to work in cooperatives or social enterprises (based on demand and link to pipeline project on social enterprises). 7. Social cohesion activities targeting particularly women and children together with host communities to enhance the integration to the urban life and support the social cohesion between communities. 8. Dissemination of information about social life, culture, and legal rights and responsibilities through seminars, workshops, trainings and communication campaigns. A number, but not all of these activities are already being undertaken, but not as a package and in an uncoordinated manner. This initiative seeks to bundle and sequence them to ensure that a holistic package is delivered to meet the stated objective. The grant recipient/implementing agency will engage in advocacy and referral to livelihoods support programs implemented by other partners. These include: (i) community centers and mainstream services to prevent abuse, neglect and violence against women and children (through effective triage and strengthening coping mechanisms) and (ii) community centers and health Aug 23, 2019 Page 7 of 9 The World Bank Support to Harmonization of Refugees Transitioning from Camps to Urban Areas in Turkey facilities for basic physical examination of children, assessment for malnutrition, dissemination of information among mothers for nutritional care in children, etc. Component 2: Project Management/M&E This component will finance regular project management, including operational expenses and project management activities that are required for timely and efficient implementation of the project. This will cover project management, fiduciary and safeguards compliance, M&E, and reporting. Environmental and Social Standards Relevance Public Disclosure Copy E. Relevant Standards ESS Standards Relevance Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social ESS 1 Relevant Risks and Impacts ESS 10 Stakeholder Engagement and Information Disclosure Relevant ESS 2 Labor and Working Conditions Relevant Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention and ESS 3 Not Currently Relevant Management ESS 4 Community Health and Safety Not Currently Relevant Land Acquisition, Restrictions on Land Use and Involuntary ESS 5 Not Currently Relevant Resettlement Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of ESS 6 Not Currently Relevant Living Natural Resources Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically ESS 7 Not Currently Relevant Underserved Traditional Local Communities ESS 8 Cultural Heritage Not Currently Relevant ESS 9 Financial Intermediaries Not Currently Relevant Legal Operational Policies Safeguard Policies Triggered Explanation (Optional) Projects on International Waterways OP No 7.50 Projects in Disputed Areas OP 7.60 No Summary of Screening of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts The project activities mainly include conducting training and providing support services on social integration of the refugees into the host communities for selected TACs . Therefore, its potential adverse risks to and impacts on human populations and/or the environment are likely to be minimal or negligible. Social impacts Aug 23, 2019 Page 8 of 9 The World Bank Support to Harmonization of Refugees Transitioning from Camps to Urban Areas in Turkey are expected to be positive as it will strengthen the self-reliance of refugees. Social risks are centered around the potential risk of social sensitivities which may lower cultural acceptance of host communities, and ability of refugees to be able to adapt into urban life. Because social risk is rated higher as "moderate", the project's overall risk is moderate. CONTACT POINT World Bank Contact : Murat Fatin Onur Title : Social Development Specialist Telephone No : 5220+89118 Email : Public Disclosure Copy Borrower/Client/Recipient Borrower : Ministry of Treasury and Finance Implementing Agencies Implementing Directorate General of Migration Management Agency : Contact : Abdullah Ayaz Title : Director General Telephone No : 011903124220500 Email : abdullah.ayaz@goc.gov.tr Implementing Turkish Red Crescent Agency : Contact : Alper Küçük Title : Deputy Director General Telephone No : 011903124301814 Email : alper.kucuk@kizilay.org.tr FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 473-1000 Web: http://www.worldbank.org/projects Aug 23, 2019 Page 9 of 9