When supporting refugees in their claim for refugee status or protection, legal aid practitioners may encounter areas of persecution that are challenging to argue, where nuanced legal analysis and expertise can strengthen representation.
Our Special Issues aim to provide a coherent account and cogent evidence in these areas of protection. Every Special Issue has been researched by and is linked with experts in the related field. Legal aid providers working on a case involving a refugee can contact these experts for advice and assistance in building a case (advice will be confidential).
Gender Issues in the Asylum Claims
Persecution based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Resettlement
We are always looking to expand the resources on our platform. If you encounter other kinds of claims that present special problems in refugee status determination, please get in touch so that we can broaden our list.
AMERA International envisions a world where displaced people have meaningful access to justice. We work to strengthen the provision of free, high-quality legal aid for displaced people around the world.
AMERA International is a charity (Charity no. 1098788) and a private company limited by guarantee without share capital (Company no. 4644642) registered in England and Wales. This website is designed to enable access for those with low bandwidth. We welcome feedback about accessibility. Please send feedback to editor@amerainternational.org
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Today we are announcing the upcoming closure of AMERA International. We will close our operations by 30 June 2024. Sadly, due to challenges in accessing sufficient funding, the organisation is unable to continue its work effectively and deliver on its mission. While we are sad to be closing, we do believe it is the right decision at the right time. Our situation reflects how difficult access to funding for refugee legal aid work is, and we want to make sure that the resources provided in the sector are put to best use.
We want to celebrate the work done over more than 20 years of AMERA’s programming, by the hundreds of people who have dedicated periods of their lives working for refugees through AMERA, many of whom are still tirelessly working and leading in the field. Our work has ranged from running legal and psychosocial services in Egypt, training lawyers from Athens to Oujda, developing networks to monitor and respond to protection violations, to producing free-of-charge resources to strengthen legal representation globally. We are proud of the work done through AMERA, and hope that even in its closure AMERA’s work continues to have an impact worldwide furthering access to justice for refugees and displaced people.
We’re looking for a home for the Rights in Exile platform, whether in its entirety or through sharing the resources and directories contained within it to organisations who can use them in their work. Additionally, we will be compiling resources for those involved in refugee legal aid – including RSD-related Special Issues resource packs, Therapeutic Legal Assistance Model materials, recommendations from our pilot Outreach project with RLOs working on legal issues, and methodological recommendations and tools developed for deportation monitoring. Watch this space for resources to be shared over the coming three months. Should you have interest in or suggestions for the Rights in Exile platform or our other resources, or if you have other enquiries related to AMERA’s closure, please reach out to info@amerainternational.org.
In the face of deteriorating access to legal protection for so many, amid outrageous rights violations and dire levels of need, the words of our founder—Barbara Harrell-Bond—remain true as ever:
“Until refugees have access to effective legal remedies, humanitarian assistance will continue to be inhumanely delivered… This approach is not about discretionary assistance when the mood for benevolence takes us. It is about defending, advocating and securing enjoyment of human rights.”