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Asylum Access Realizing Refugee Rights in Africa, Asia & Latin America |
Asylum Access is the only U.S.–based organization that provides on–the–ground legal information, advice, counsel and representation to refugees in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Asylum Access also advocates for policy changes at local and international levels that give practical effect to refugee rights.
Legal Aid
Asylum Access's legal aid program gives refugees the tools they need to navigate the unfamiliar systems of local and international law. Legal aid can include legal information, advice, representation and/or related assistance to refugees seeking to assert their legal and human rights, including rights to live safely, work, put children in school, move freely and access social services.
In most countries where we work, our legal advocates help refugees to understand their rights, and assist them in seeking asylum. Asylum–related assistance can include helping refugees to draft testimony statements or legal arguments, accompanying refugees to asylum or status determination hearings, connecting them with other service providers such as interpreters or psychologists, and advocating for those with special needs, such as unaccompanied children or victims of gender–based violence. In some countries, Asylum Access's legal advocates may also help refugees to assert other rights such as employment, education, equal protection or freedom of movement.
Everywhere we work, Asylum Access partners with local organizations to develop locally–appropriate refugee legal aid models. At the same time, we connect our legal advocates working locally with a growing community of refugee legal aid providers throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America. Our materials, methodology and experience are also available to those interested in developing their own refugee legal aid programs.
Policy Advocacy and Education
Advocacy at local and international levels reinforces individual legal representation. As patterns of rights violations emerge, policy advocates bring these violations to the attention of authorities who are in a position to make change — government officials, the local judiciary, the United Nations and others.
At the United Nations, Asylum Access advocates for greater accountability and effective due process in asylum–related proceedings conducted or overseen by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. In Africa, Asia and Latin America, Asylum Access advocates for national implementation of legal protections for refugees. In the U.S., Asylum Access pushes for changes in policy and practice that affect refugee rights around the world.
Education is a key component of advocacy. Education of non–refugees in the global south helps local populations understand the rights of refugees living among them. Education of people in the U.S., who historically are familiar only with humanitarian aid to refugees, demonstrates the need for rights–based refugee advocacy and legal aid.