Thirteen refugees died in a snowstorm in the Northern Kurdistan province of Van. According to the Turkish governor's office, the refugees were found on Saturday evening in the district of Çaldıran near the border to Iran. Gülsüm Ağaoğlu, spokeswoman of the HDP commission on refugees and migration, has issued a statement on the incident.

“More refugees are dying every day as they take risky escape routes under highly dangerous weather conditions. The international community is not paying sufficient attention to this humanitarian crisis, and as a result, illegal human trafficking is increasing on a global scale," explained the HDP politician.

Gülsüm Ağaoğlu also informed that the main escape route from Iran leads via Van province, adding: "In the last six months alone, almost a hundred refugees have drowned, frozen to death or died in traffic accidents."

The HDP politician described the tragedy of the 13 frozen refugees in Van as a "disgrace to humanity”. She pointed out that the governments of Iran and Turkey are indirectly supporting the human trafficking by failing to produce right policies and called for action to find out and neutralize the human trafficking networks.

"The governments of Iran and Turkey are primarily responsible for the death of these people. The UNHCR and other international authorities must also act to prevent further tragedies on the Iranian-Turkish border.”

HDP called on both governments to produce a solution in line with policies that base on human dignity and human rights.