Refugee Legal Support

Refugee Legal Support
Name	Refugee Legal Support
Formation	20th century
Type	Non-governmental organization
Headquarters	Geneva
Region served	Global
Languages	English, French, Arabic
Leader title	Director

Refugee Legal Support

Refugee Legal Support provides legal aid, representation, and policy advocacy for forcibly displaced persons, asylum seekers, stateless individuals, and internally displaced persons. Working alongside institutions such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, International Committee of the Red Cross, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and national bodies, it operates in complex environments influenced by treaties, case law, and administrative systems. The organization engages with international courts, regional tribunals, national judiciaries, and civil society networks to secure protection, durable solutions, and legal recognition.

Overview

Refugee Legal Support emerged amid global displacement crises addressed by actors including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, International Organization for Migration, Save the Children, Médecins Sans Frontières, and Oxfam International. Its model draws on precedents from UNHCR's Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status, landmark rulings such as European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence, and statutory instruments like the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. Engagements span operations in contexts shaped by events and entities including the Syrian Civil War, the Yugoslav Wars, the Rwandan Genocide, the Iraqi refugee crisis, and responses coordinated with the Global Compact on Refugees.

Legal Framework and Rights

Legal work aligns with instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. Refugee Legal Support navigates regional systems including the European Convention on Human Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the Organization of American States mechanisms, and the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration context. Cases often reference precedent from the European Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and national supreme courts such as the Supreme Court of the United States, the Supreme Court of India, and the Constitutional Court of South Africa.

Services and Forms of Assistance

Services include legal counseling, representation before asylum authorities, strategic litigation, and documentation support used in tribunals like the Special Tribunal for Lebanon or fact-finding missions by the Independent International Commission on Kosovo. Assistance comprises registration with agencies such as UNRWA or the Refugee Assistance Program, notarization, family reunification procedures under instruments like the Dublin Regulation, and protection against refoulement reflected in cases such as Soering v. United Kingdom. Programs coordinate with NGOs including Refugees International, International Rescue Committee, CARE International, and law clinics at universities such as Harvard Law School, Oxford University, and Yale Law School.

Organizations and Actors

Key partners and actors include multilateral bodies like the United Nations Security Council, funding agencies such as the World Bank, philanthropic foundations including the Ford Foundation and the Open Society Foundations, legal networks like the International Bar Association, and bar associations such as the American Bar Association and the Law Society of England and Wales. Regional actors include the European Union, the African Union, the Organization of American States, and national ministries such as the Ministry of Interior of France, the Department of Homeland Security (United States), the Home Office (United Kingdom), and the Ministry of Justice (Japan). Local actors involve community organizations like Refugee Council (Australia), Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization, and Kenya Red Cross Society.

Challenges and Barriers

Operational challenges reflect intersections with events and policies such as the Migrant Crisis in the Mediterranean, the US Travel Ban, the EU-Turkey Statement, and the Safe Third Country Agreement. Barriers include detention practices highlighted in cases like A and Others v Secretary of State for the Home Department and capacity constraints seen in contexts including Lesbos, Calais Jungle, and Zaatari Camp. Protection gaps emerge amid sanctions regimes like those involving Iran, Syria, and Venezuela, and during security operations such as Operation Protective Edge or Operation Inherent Resolve that affect displacement patterns.

Advocacy, Policy, and Reform

Advocacy engages with instruments and forums such as the Global Refugee Forum, the United Nations General Assembly, the Human Rights Council, and regional policy platforms like the Council of Europe. Reform initiatives reference proposals in documents akin to the Global Compact on Refugees, litigation strategies seen in cases before the European Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and legislative campaigns involving parliaments such as the UK Parliament and the United States Congress. Collaborations extend to academic centers like the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford, think tanks such as the Brookings Institution and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and policy NGOs like the Migration Policy Institute.

Case Studies and Regional Practices

Practical work encompasses regional practices in responses to crises like the Syrian refugee crisis, displacement from the Darfur conflict, post-conflict return in the Balkans, and migration flows across the Darien Gap. Case studies reference litigation from the European Court of Human Rights, resettlement schemes in countries such as Canada, Germany, Sweden, and Australia, and integration programs involving institutions like the International Labour Organization and the World Health Organization. Field operations coordinate with missions led by UNHCR and judicial reviews in courts such as the High Court of Australia, the Constitutional Court of Colombia, and administrative tribunals in states including Kenya, Lebanon, and South Africa.

Category:Human rights organizations