Asylum Access

Our Mission

Asylum Access is an innovative international nonprofit dedicated to making refugee rights a reality. Asylum Access empowers refugees in Africa, Asia and Latin America to live safely, work, send children to school and rebuild their lives.

Vision

Asylum Access envisions a world where refugees are seen as people with rights, not just people with needs. Asylum Access believes that by empowering refugees to assert their human rights, we can create effective, lasting solutions for refugees around the world.

Why Asylum Access is Different?

Asylum Access is the only international organization working to make refugee rights a reality in first countries of refuge. Our unique combination of five integrated strategies provides grassroots assistance and changes the legal landscape for refugees and their host communities. By helping refugees assert their rights, we are putting power back into their hands. Our work transforms the traditional approach of endless humanitarian handouts to a sustainable solution that gives refugees the tools to provide for themselves and make choices about their own lives.

Our Work

Asylum Access makes refugee rights a reality using five tools:

(1) Legal Aid

Our advocates provide legal counsel and representation to refugees and asylum seekers. We help our clients navigate the legal process to obtain status, vindicate workplace rights, access education, healthcare, and financial institutions, and demand equal protection of police and courts.

(2) Community Legal Empowerment

We train refugees as Community Legal Advisors, so they can provide basic legal advice and facilitate civic engagement within their communities. We train refugees as Community Interpreters so they can assist other refugees to access justice. We also conduct broader Know Your Rights education with refugees and their host communities.

(3) Policy Advocacy

We advocate for changes in law and policy that improve refugees’ access to rights. Working with local governments and UN field offices, we develop and promote solutions to systemic rights violations

(4) Strategic Litigation

We establish legal precedents for refugee rights through test cases in local and regional courts. Our strategic litigation works in tandem with our policy advocacy. Ultimately, we aim to reduce the need for legal aid by making refugee rights the norm.

(5) Movement-Building

We are committed to advancing the global refugee rights movement. We have established an effective and sustainable model for change in Africa, Asia and Latin America and our advocates are continually expanding our reach and bringing our services to more refugees every year.

Get involved! Review our employment, internship and other opportunities here.

www.asylumaccess.org.

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