Near East University was represented at the Human Security Conference
Date Added: 24 October 2018, 11:48
Last Updated Date:20 November 2020, 10:26

The Istanbul Human Security Conference is an international event held in Istanbul every year by the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations (CTPSR) at Coventry University in cooperation with the UN Human Security Unit and Kadir Has University as the host institution.

The 8th Istanbul Human Security Conference (IHSC 2018), ‘Human Security in Difficult Times II’ took place on 17-19 October 2018 at Kadir Has University. The conference provided platform to discuss how the concept and practice of human security had been affected by the resurgence of populism, the persistence of sub-state violence, and mass internal displacement and refugee flows. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nur Köprülü, Head of the Department of Political Science of the Near East University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, participated in the conference with a presentation titled "Syrian Refugees in Host Countries: Motivations, Constraints and Social Cohesion".

According to the press release issued by the Directorate of Press and Public Relations Office of the Near East University, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nur Köprülü, Head of the Department of Political Science of the Near East University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, was the only scholar that attended the conference from Cyprus. It was stated that experts involved in the fields of law, political science, international relations and migration, as well as the representatives of civil society organizations participated in the 8th Istanbul Human Security Conference (IHSC 2018), ‘Human Security in Difficult Times II’. Through key-note speeches and panels, the conference covered areas like Local integration and trust-building, Return migration, Humanitarian aid, Refugee Camps, Responses to Refugee Crisis in the World, Conflicts and other issues concerning human security.


The migrant crisis caused by the refugees migrating from Syria to the neighboring countries or to the EU countries by crossing the overland or the Mediterranean Sea, and how the concept and practice of human security had been affected by mass internal displacement and refugee flows, the ongoing durability of many non-state armed groups, and a squeezing of civil society was discussed throughout panels held within the scope of the conference. By attending Panel 5 on “Civil Society and Gender Dimensions in Human Security” that chaired by Professor Kenneth Christie, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nur Köprülü, made a presentation titled "Syrian Refugees in Host Countries: Motivations, Constraints and Social Cohesion".

Arab Spring or Arab Uprisings initiated the Migration of Syrian People...
In her Presentation, Associate Professor Nur Köprülü underlined that the climate of uncertainty created in Syria and in the region by the internal conflicts that started in Syria after Arab uprising in 2011 confronted both the neighboring countries and the European Union with the biggest refugee problem that they could ever witness. Köprülü also expressed that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that a great number of Syrian refugees were hosted mainly by Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Köprülü underlined that the most dramatic outcome of the internal conflicts caused by the social movements was the number of Syrian refugees that exceeds 6 million.

Turkey and Jordan are hosting the Refugees...
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nur Köprülü also highlighted that Jordan was one of the countries most affected by the refugee crisis, with the second highest share of refugees compared to its population. Köprülü reminded that Jordan provided shelter for almost 2 million Palestinians emigrated to Jordan following the Arab-Israeli wars in 1948 - 49 and 1967 and then opened its door to Iraqi people migrated to Jordan following the US operation to Iraq in 2003. Associate Professor Nur Köprülü highlights that about 650 thousand Syrian refugees, who were registered with the UNHCR by the end of 2017, live in Jordan. She highlights that only 17 per cent of them currently live in the refugee camps while the other Syrian refugees live in urban areas in Jordan. She also underlines that Turkey is home to almost three million Syrian refugees, almost 30 per cent of whom live in government-run refugee camps.