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Asylum Access

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Areas of expertise & Fields of activity:	Economic and Social: Human Rights International Law Migration Refugees Volunteerism
Geographic scope:	International
Country of activity:	United Republic of Tanzania United States of America Ecuador Thailand
Millennium Development Goals:	Achieve universal primary education Promote gender equality and empower women
Mission statement:	Asylum Access is a nonprofit organization dedicated to making refugee rights an on-the-ground reality in the global south, in Africa, Asia and Latin America. 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 support the creation of effective, lasting solutions for refugees around the world. Asylum Access helps refugees get asylum – legal sanctuary – in the first countries to which they flee, in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Asylum Access also helps refugees to assert their other internationally-recognized human rights, such as the right to work, send children to school, and access local healthcare services. Our work protects refugees from unlawful or unjust detention, deportation, torture and death, and helps them to begin rebuilding their lives in a new home, free from fear. Based on our experiences on the ground, Asylum Access advocates at national and international levels for improved refugee policy. Asylum Access’s policy work ensures that refugee rights on paper are implemented in practice. Asylum Access also educates the public on refugee rights and the importance of rights-based assistance. Our public education fosters an understanding of refugees not just as people with needs, but also as people with rights. Asylum Access fosters the development of local refugee rights projects that give refugees on-the-ground access to legal advocates in their first countries of refuge. Under the oversight of a local director, refugee rights projects provide legal information, advice and representation to refugees seeking asylum, and engage in community human rights and advocacy training, policy advocacy, and strategic litigation to transform internationally-recognized human rights into a practical reality for refugees. Legal Advice & Representation: 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 serviceproviders such as interpreters or psychologists, and advocating for those with special needs, such as unaccompanied children or victims of gender-based violence. Policy Advocacy and Strategic Litigation: 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. Strategic litigation establishes refugee rights through “test cases” in local courts. If one refugee child successfully uses national courts to assert her right to attend local schools, her case will establish that all refugee children have a right to education. As refugee law projects develop, they can take on cases that go beyond mere asylum, helping refugees to assert all of the rights that are so critical to rebuild and heal. Community Human Rights and Advocacy Education: Education is a key component of advocacy. Education of refugees helps them to understand their rights and identify effective techniques for self-advocacy. Education of local populations helps them 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, supports the movement toward empowering and sustainable solutions for refugees. Movement building. We see ourselves as part of a growing movement of refugee rights advocacy organizations focused on expanding legal and the general implementation of refugee law in the global south.
Year established:	2005
Year of registration:	2005
Organizational structure:	Asylum Access is a nonprofit organization with 501(c)(3) status (Tax ID 20-3642040), incorporated in the State of California. We are governed by a volunteer board of trustees, with headquarters in San Francisco and field offices in Ecuador, Thailand (in partnernship with the Human Rights Development Foundation) and Tanzania.
Number and type of members:	Our work is led by a small core staff of four people in headquarters, and leadership teams of one or two each in each of our three field offices. The vast majority of our work is done by volunteers, mostly lawyers and law students. We involve approximately 40 volunteers in all of our offices at any given time, and these volunteers rotate periodically during the year.
Affiliation with NGO networks:	International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA), Southern Refugee Legal Aid Network, Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network
Funding structure:	Donations and grants from domestic sources Foreign and international grants
Funding structure other:	We solicit charitable donations though our US headquarters and use these funds to support our programs in the field.

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