- Asylum Access Tanzania organized our first mobile legal clinic in Dar es Salaam, bringing legal aid to refugee communities beyond our office.
- Asylum Access Tanzania’s Women’s Empowerment Group (WEG) continues to support refugee women in Dar es Salaam with a second meeting to discuss sexual and reproductive health.
- Asylum Access Tanzania’s report on urban refugees was referenced in the US State Department’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011, marking the first time a major human rights monitor has acknowledged Tanzania’s urban refugee population.
- Asylum Access participated in the United Nations Annual Consultations with NGOs in Geneva, leading a coalition to advocate for greater fairness and transparency in the refugee status determination process.
- To coincide with the UN Consultations, Asylum Access co-organized a 3-day Refugee Rights Leadership Training in Geneva together with the German Marshall Fund of the United States. 30 advocates from 14 countries came together to share best practices and build a global refugee rights movement.
- Asylum Access Ecuador and La Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO) presented “Protecting the Right to Seek Asylum” in Guayaquil, Ecuador, to helped engage the public on refugee issues to combat discrimination and xenophobia.
- Asylum Access Ecuador participated in an anti-discrimination bike ride to commemorate World Refugee Day. From our booth, we also spoke to the public about refugee issues and handed out informational flyers.
- Asylum Access Tanzania Country Director Janemary Ruhundwa was at the Pan-African Psychotrauma Conference in Dar es Salaam to present “Refugees and the Right to Health Care” to over 500 participants from around the world.
- Asylum Access Thailand Country Director Medhapan Sundaradeja met with an official from the Bangkok Immigration Detention Center to propose a mechanism to separate asylum seekers seeking safety in Bangkok from other immigration detainees.
- Asylum Access organized our inaugural webinar in July, with ED Emily Arnold-Fernandez presenting Asylum Access Growth Plans 2012-2015. Stay tuned for our next webinar.
- Asylum Access’s 7th Annual Summer Soiree and Auction was organized to great success the day after World Refugee Day 2012. A big thank you to everyone who joined us!
Quarterly Figures at a Glance
In Ecuador, we assisted a total of 494 refugees directly, providing 74 new clients with individualized legal assistance, and 160 with community legal education.
In Tanzania, we provided 19 refugees new clients with individualized legal assistance and 25 with community legal education.
In Thailand, we provided 78 refugees new clients with individualized legal assistance and 35 with community legal education.