Promoting Human Rights of Refugees in Europe

We hope you're doing well and enjoying the spring time! We're writing today to share the latest updates of our work. We've had another fruitful few months here at Refugee Rights Europe and we're excited to share our updates with you.

Since we last wrote to you, we’ve launched our Vision for Change. This is a document which outlines the concrete change RRE deems to be crucial in order to alleviate human suffering and widespread human rights violations unfolding in three key geographical areas in Europe, namely: (a) the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, which are doomed by a harmful containment policy; (b) the dire bottle-neck scenario at the French-Italian border, and; (c) the violent and precarious British border zone in Northern France. We believe that meaningful change can and must be accomplished in Europe in the immediate term, in anticipation of wider reforms, and we look forward to working collaboratively across civil society to achieve meaningful change.

Over the past period, we have also published two research reports, which serve as powerful tools as we continue to advocate for human rights centered policy change at national and European levels. The first of our new reports, launched by the Baobab Women’s Project and Refugee Rights Europe, alongside several frontline organisations working with refugee and asylum seeking women in the UK, highlights the shortcomings in the UK’s fulfilment of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and ensures the representation of asylum seeking women in the UK at the highest policy levels. Our collective of civil society organisations were moreover represented at the UN headquarters in Geneva, to raise the voices of women which are far too seldom heard or considered.

The second report published over the last period shone a light on displaced individuals arriving via the Western Mediterranean route. Entitled ‘On the Western doorstep’, the report contains a combination of desk and field research findings regarding displaced people’s lived experiences on Moroccan soil, in the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, during the sea crossings, upon arrival in Spain, and at the French-Spanish border. In the context of increasing European ‘externalisation’ of borders, the report presents a number of recommendations anchored in universal human rights.

We’ve also been able to disseminate our human rights centred advocacy messages through several blogs published on different platforms. One of the blogs addressed child mental health among displaced children in Greece, and was published by our partners Terre des Hommes. Another one dealt with the UK’s response to asylum-seekers arriving by boat across the Channel from France, while a third blog looked at the complex challenges facing young asylum-seekers as they arrive in Britain.

We were also really pleased to see our report, 'In Dangerous Transit', on the French-Italian border, cited by the Council of Europe's Group of Experts on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings' (GRETA) report on the situation in Italy. The report contains strong, concrete recommendations to the Italian government to urgently ensure that the situation on the border is addressed and that specialist support is offered to victims of trafficking, particularly women and unaccompanied children.

None of our human rights advocacy work would have been possible without generous supporters like yourself, and we are immensely grateful the support. Keep watching on our Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter pages for upcoming reports, events, and information!

To support our work please consider making another small donation via GlobalGiving. With your help, we can continue our efforts to promote the human rights of some of the world’s most disadvantaged groups.

Thanks again for your continued support, and please feel free to drop us a line if you would like any further feedback about our work.

Warmest wishes,

Marta and the RRE team  

Links:

• Read our reports
• Find out more about our advocacy
• Check out our blog posts

We hope that you're doing well and that everyone had a great holiday season! We're writing today to share the latest updates of our work. We've had another busy few months at Refugee Rights Europe and we're excited to share our work with you.

In November, we published our new report in collaboration with Meena Centre for Women and Children and the Baobab Women's Project. Our report 'Finally Safe?' looked at asylum accommodation for asylum-seeking women in the UK and found that much remains to be done by the Home Office and its contractors to ensure safe, hygienic and dignified housing for asylum-seekers. You can find the full report here.

Released on the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 'The State of Refugees and Displaced People in Europe' is our latest summary report of our key research findings from 2017-2018. The report paints a harrowing picture of human rights for refugees and people in displacement throughout Europe, documenting chronic police violence, lack of access to information, substandard living conditions, gender-based violence and absence of child safeguarding structures. On December 13th, we hosted an event at Amnesty International to launch our summary report with our researchers and a panel of partner organisations to discuss advocacy successes and prospects for 2019 and beyond.

In 2018, Refugee Rights Europe has continued to stand up for the human rights of refugees and displaced people across Europe, calling on decision-makers to uphold their international and national commitments. In early January, we published our 2018 Annual Report that details our impact and successes for the past year. You can also view our 2018 summary video here.

In 2019, we will continue our advocacy work at the international, EU, and national level and collaborate across civil society to create a strong, unified voice for long-term, structural change. None of this work would have been possible without generous supporters like yourself, and we are immensely grateful the support. Keep watching on our Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter pages for upcoming reports, events, and information!

To support our work please consider making a small donation here. With your help, we can continue our efforts to promote the human rights of some of the world’s most disadvantaged groups.

Thanks again for your continued support, and please feel free to drop us a line if you would like any further feedback about our work.

Warmest wishes,

Krystal Garvin and the Team

We hope that you're doing well!  We're writing today to share the latest updates of our work.  We've had another busy few months at Refugee Rights Europe and we're excited to share our work with you. 

Refugee Rights Europe is very excited to announce that we have published two new human rights reports! In late August, we published ‘An Island in Despair,’ our report on the human rights situation on Lesvos.  Our research highlighted the sub-par living conditions in which thousands of refugees and displaced people are currently trapped following the 2016 implementation of the EU-Turkey deal.  The report highlights the living conditions on the island, characterised by severe overcrowding, lack of security, and high rates of mental and physical health issues among the residents.  You can read the full report here. 

Following the success of our Lesvos report, we launched ‘Left In-Between’ in September which sheds light on the situation in Brussels, Belgium for refugees and displaced people.  We found that the majority of people currently live on the streets and lack access to medical care and asylum information. The report highlights a number of human rights abuses occurring in Europe and Al Jazeera has published a summary of our findings.

We’ve continued our campaign to celebrate the 70^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to highlight the lived experiences of refugees and displaced people across Europe through written pieces on the human rights situation, culminating on International Human Rights Day in December.  In August, we focused on the right to adequate housing conditions.  We published a guest blog with Refugee History that focused on the living conditions in Lesvos.  In September, we focused on the lack of access to information available to displaced people in Europe by publishing an info sheet on our website.  In October, we focused on the lack of access to healthcare.  With Art Refuge UK, we looked at the mental health crisis among displaced people and we co-authored a blog with Choice for Youth and Sexuality on access to sexual and reproductive healthcare based on our research findings in Greece.

In honor of #GivingTuesday, Refugee Rights Europe will be launching our final crowdfunding campaign of the year on 27 November.  All of the funds raised will go towards our field research and advocacy work that will enable us to continue fighting for the rights of refugees and displaced people throughout Europe.  Please watch our social media channels on 26 November and we’d greatly appreciate it if you’d consider making a donation and sharing our work with your friends!

None of this work would have been possible without generous supporters like yourself, and we are immensely grateful the support.  We are currently finishing our joint report with the Meena Centre in Birmingham on the conditions facing women in asylum accommodation.  Keep watching on our Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter pages for its release date!

Thanks again for your continued support, and please feel free to drop us a line if you would like any further feedback about our work.

Warmest wishes,

Krystal Garvin and the Team

Links:

• Visit our website!

We hope that you're doing well! We're writing today to share the latest updates of our work. We've had another busy few months at Refugee Rights Europe and we're excited to share our work with you.

Refugee Rights Europe is very excited to announce that our two new reports will be published soon! During the month of June, we conducted field research on the human rights situation for refugees and displaced people in Brussels and Lesvos in order to shed light on their lived experiences. The Lesvos report will launch in late August and the Brussels report will launch in September. Be sure to check out Facebook and Twitter for previews and our website for the full reports!

We recently launched a campaign to celebrate the 70^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to highlight the lived experiences of refugees and displaced people across Europe through written pieces on the human rights situation, culminating on International Human Rights Day in December. In July, we focused on police and citizen violence as experienced by refugees and displaced people. We wrote a blog for Refugee History and for the Agenda for International Development that can be found here. Upcoming shared experiences will include children in displacement, living conditions, and other pressing issues.

In honor of World Refugee Day, Refugee Rights Europe was elected to participate in Global Giving’s match-funding campaign on 20 June. All of the funds raised will go towards our field research and advocacy work that will enable us to continue fighting for the rights of refugees and displaced people throughout Europe. We had great success with this campaign are immensely grateful to all of our donors and supporters!

We have also been able to increase our advocacy work through evidence submissions and collaborative efforts with other civil society organisations. Following the harrowing reports of increased numbers of drowning in the Mediterranean, we joined forced with fellow rights and aid groups to send an open letter to the EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid & Crisis Management. We called on the European Commission to take immediate measures to stop the unacceptable drowning of men, women, and children on Europe’s doorstep. Refugee Rights Europe has also been cited in various reports, including the European Asylum Support Office (EASO)’s annual report and the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ending Homelessness’ report, further shedding light on rights violations facing those seeking protection in Europe and the UK.

None of this work would have been possible without generous supporters like yourself, and we would like to invite you to continue to support us with a small donation. We are currently working on the final edits of our Europe-based reports and want to expand our EU-based advocacy programme; we need any support we can get and we’d love to have you onboard!

Thanks again for your continued support, and please feel free to drop us a line if you would like any further feedback about our work.

Warmest wishes,

Krystal Garvin and the Team

Links:

• http://refugeerights.org.uk/

We hope that you're doing well! We're writing today to share the latest updates of our work. We've had another busy few months at Refugee Rights Europe and we're excited to share our work with you.

Thanks to your generous donations, we've successfully published our Annual Report 2017, documented the human rights situation facing refugees and displaced people living in Paris and the UK, and increased our advocacy and campaigning efforts at the national, European, and international levels.

In February, we published our pilot study in the UK that documents the situation for asylum-seeking individuals in an accommodation centre provided by the Home Office in London. Our report is based on interviews with 33 individuals who resided at the accommodation centre. It highlights the sub-standard living conditions for asylum-seeking individuals, including lack of security, poor air quality caused by mould and vermin, unsanitary environments in common areas, and overcrowding. All of these elements can cause deterioration in the mental and physical health of its residents and our report offers concrete recommendations to the Home Office to improve its accommodation centres.

Following this, we traveled to Paris, France to follow-up one year after our initial report on the situation of refugees and displaced people, including unaccompanied minors, living on the streets in the City of Lights. Our report highlights a number of critical issues faced by refugees in the urban environment, including inhumane living conditions, police violence, and lack of access to legal information and healthcare. We’ve included object recommendations and issued a joint statement alongside our partners during the debate of the Asylum and Immigration Bill in the French Parliament.

We’ve also been able to increase our advocacy efforts at all levels of society. In March, we launched a new advocacy page on our website that showcases how we use our independent field research to advocate for the human rights of refugees and displaced people to be upheld throughout Europe. You’ll find all of our submissions at the national, European, and international level.

None of this work would have been possible without generous supporters like yourself, and we would like to invite you to continue to support us with a small donation. We are currently working on two Europe-based reports and want to expand our UK-based programme; we need any support we can get and we’d love to have you onboard!

In the lead up to World Refugee Day, we will be launching a crowd funding campaign in early June and will benefit from GlobalGiving’s 24-hour match funding campaign on 20 June! This means that any donation, regardless of size, will be automatically doubled by Global Giving on that day. We would love if you’d be able to support and will be grateful of any contribution to our work.

Thanks again for your continued support, and please feel free to drop us a line if you would like any further feedback about our work.

Warmest wishes,
Krystal Garvin and the Team

Links:

• Refugee Rights Europe