Two Mülteci-Der founding members to receive the PRO ASYL Foundation’s 2026 Human Rights Award

Two Mülteci-Der founding members to receive the PRO ASYL Foundation’s 2026 Human Rights Award

Izmir, 2 September 2026

The German PRO ASYL Foundation is awarding its 2026 Human Rights Award to Pırıl Erçoban and Taner Kılıç, two founding members of the Association for Solidarity with Refugees (Mülteci-Der). They will receive the award together with Giorgos Tsarbopoulos from Greece at a ceremony in Frankfurt am Main on 12 September 2026.

Pırıl Erçoban has been part of Mülteci-Der’s work since its founding and served for many years as the association’s director. Her contribution to bringing our association to where it is today and to its institutional development has been immense. Through decades of work in this field she has provided direct support to refugees and migrants and has also played a major role in the development of civil society working on these issues in Turkey.

Taner Kılıç, a lawyer, was likewise among Mülteci-Der’s founders and served for many years as chair of our board. As a lawyer working in the field of human rights he played a key role in establishing our association; and as one of the most prominent lawyers in Turkey working on asylum and migration law, he did a great deal to make this field recognised, taught and deepened. A co-founder of Amnesty International’s Türkiye section, Kılıç has brought decades of experience and expertise to many civil society organisations, taking part in and leading their work.

The third recipient of the award, Giorgos Tsarbopoulos, headed the UN Refugee Agency’s (UNHCR) Representation in Greece from 2006 until the end of 2015. Shaping that role as an independent human rights voice, Tsarbopoulos was present on the ground at the borders, built close relationships with refugees and civil society, and did not shy away from publicly objecting to violations committed by the state.

For us at Mülteci-Der, honouring these three names from Turkey and Greece together is a recognition not only of their personal efforts, but of the shared struggle that has continued for years on both shores of the Aegean, and of more than two decades of solidarity work for refugee rights in Turkey. The award comes at a time when refugees, and those who defend their rights, are under growing political and social pressure across the world.

Halima Gutale, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the PRO ASYL Foundation, said of the award: “Pırıl Erçoban, Taner Kılıç and Giorgos Tsarbopoulos show what refugee protection means in everyday life: not leaving people alone, and making violations of rights visible. At a time when Europe is making access to protection ever harder and outsourcing responsibility to third countries, we need these voices.”

Ceremony and press conference

The public award ceremony takes place on Saturday, 12 September 2026, from 2 to 4 pm at Haus am Dom, Domplatz 3, Frankfurt am Main. The laudatory address will be given by Can Gülcü, Managing Director of the Otto Brenner Foundation

About the PRO ASYL Human Rights Award

Since 2006, the PRO ASYL Foundation has annually presented its Human Rights Award to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to respect for human rights and the protection of refugees in Germany and Europe. Recipients are also presented with a sculpture designed by the artist Ariel Auslender, professor at the Technical University of Darmstadt.