Honorable Mentions and Quarterly Highlights

We’re celebrating our 10th anniversary year by hosting two intimate dinners in San Francisco and Silicon Valley on September 29th and October 6th, respectively. To reserve tickets or tables, or for more information on sponsorship, email kt.helinglick@asylumaccess.org.

“At the Breaking Point: Refugees in Jordan and Egypt” is a report by RCUSA on the Syrian refugee crisis, with contributions by ED Emily Arnold-Fernández and Global Legal Services Associate Director Amalia Greenberg-Delgado who traveled to Jordan as part of a RCUSA coalition to investigate current options for refugees and recommend others.

UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees Alexander Aleinikoff referred to the Global ‪Refugee Work Rights ‬‬‬Report 2014 at the SAID conference on forced migration. The report was later cited in this policy brief, recently published by Migration Policy Institute.

The 2015 Regional Conference on Freedom of Movement, International Protection and Integration was held in Quito, Ecuador. Conference participants shared critical issues regarding freedom of movement, immigration detention and good practices as alternatives to detention, among other topics. The conference was organized by the International Detention Coalition, Asylum Access Latin America, the Public Defenders’ office of Ecuador, the Interamerican Association of Public Defenders, and the Institute of Higher National Studies.

Asylum Access Panama (AAP) was launched and is providing assistance to many refugees fleeing the Colombian armed conflict, while thousands of others are escaping transnational organized crime in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. AAP falls under the mandate of Asylum Access Latin America, which coordinates operations across the region and is part of the Asylum Access global family of organizations. Read the official announcement.

Asylum Access Malaysia (AAM) opened its doors in Kuala Lumpur! AAM, a Malaysian-registered NGO and part of the Asylum Access family of organizations, will provide direct legal services for refugees and asylum seekers, conduct Know-Your-Options and other community legal empowerment trainings, and engage new stakeholders in Malaysia’s refugee rights movement.

AAM provided a workshop on how to teach refugee law and refugee legal aid in Malaysia. 25 participants, including staff from the UNHCR, NGOs and the government attended the workshop.

AAE and the International Human Rights Clinic at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles submitted a ground breaking ‪domestic violence case before the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)! Read our official announcement and this article on VICE News to find out more.

Dr. James Hathaway taught on international refugee law at a course organized by AAE, FLACSO Ecuador and the Ecuadorian Directorate for Refuge.

AAT’s work in promoting refugee agency through “Know Your Situation” trainings for refugees is highlighted in “Building Communities of Practice for Urban Refugees”, a regional workshop report by UNHCR.

AATZ Community Empowerment and Outreach Coordinator Nondo Nobel Bwami was selected to participate in Namati’s Learning Exchange Program.

Former AAT Launch Director Sanjula Weerasinghe article “On the Margins: Noncitizens Caught in Countries Experiencing Violence, Conflict and Disaster” was published in the Journal on Migration and Human Security.

Program Associate Laura Parker’s article, “Upholding refugee rights: Cessation, transnationalism and law’s limitations in the Rwandan case,” was published in the African Human Mobility Review.

Former AATZ VLA Christian Pangilinan’s article, “Local Integration and Congolese Forced Migrants in Dar es Salaam,Tanzania” was published in the African Human Mobility Review.

Our 2013-2014 Annual Report is available for download from our website.

Newsletter Spring 2015