Our members

OPU, the Organization for Aid to Refugees, is the oldest and largest non-governmental organization in the Czech Republic which assists refugees, stateless persons and migrants. We provide free in-person legal and social aid to refugees, stateless persons and migrants. OPU offers this help throughout the entire country by means of aid in all eight reception, accommodation and detention centers and five regional offices. OPU has been the watchdog of any unlawful practices and systemic failures of the Czech asylum and migration policy, including statelessness procedure. This helps us to create systemic change. OPU’s director and lawyers appear in media regularly, criticizing the Czech Ministry of Interior and laws that hurt migrants. OPU has successfully represented many refugees, stateless persons and their families, has fought against unlawful detention and prevented deportation of the most vulnerable individuals and has publicly reported on grave breaches of international law.

Praxis is a non-governmental organization based in Belgrade, Serbia and dedicated to the protection and promotion of human rights. Since 2004, Praxis has focused on the issues most relevant to the displaced and members of vulnerable minority groups, such as the Roma community. One such issue is the plight of the many persons who are currently stateless, legally invisible and/or at a risk of statelessness in the Western Balkan region. Praxis has spear-headed a multi-tiered effort aimed at solving this problem, preventing and reducing statelessness, involving the advocacy for changes to law and practice, provision of free legal aid, to persons at risk, publishing human rights reports on the subject, and providing training and awareness raising. Praxis’ legal advocacy is informed by its general goals: the eradication of discrimination, poverty and racism, and a vibrant civil society shaped by democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights.

Red Acoge is a nonprofit organization with a network made up of 20 Spanish associations working at local and regional level. We work on the issue of equality of treatment and non-discrimination from an interdisciplinary perspective. We inform and denounce Public policies and legislative changes, such as the above mentioned, raising awareness and disseminating relevant information. We provide social and legal assistance to victims of discrimination, as well as developing education and social integration projects to form an inclusive and multicultural society. We also work with other agencies to improve information and mechanisms regarding access to justice and data collection on the subject.

Our association (Asociación Juvenil Colectivo Saharaui LEFRIG) works to eradicate statelessness in general, and in particular we work with Sahrawis who arrive in Spain from the Sahrawi Refugee Camps in Tindouf (Algeria), to request Statelessness Status. It is a situation that we know very well because many of the members of the association have the recognition of the State of State by the Spanish State.

Our association was born to disseminate the situation of the Sahrawi people, but currently most of the work we do is accompanying and advising applicants for the Stateless Status.

Sdružení pro integraci a migraci (the Association for Integration and Migration (AIM)) is a non-profit, non-government organization based in Prague, the Czech Republic. For the past 20 years it has provided legal and social counselling to third country nationals and stateless persons living in the Czech Republic. AIM also attempts to use its legal counselling experience and knowledge in support of advocacy and legislative activities within the Czech Republic and the wider EU.

The Swedish Network of Refugee Support Groups, FARR, is a politically and religiously independent umbrella organization that assists refugee groups, asylum committees and individuals. We are well established in Sweden since 1988. FARR sees providing information about the asylum system at all stages of the procedure to asylum-seekers. Therefore, we have produced a guide called “Good Advice to Asylum Seekers” published in six languages and available on our websitewww.farr.se. FARR is a grassroots’ organization where all the work is done on a voluntary basis. The 55 local groups  cooperate with asylum lawyers and have members that are experienced in asylum law and rules. Our services are free. FARR operates a volunteer help-line to deal with questions from asylum-seekers and those assisting them. Journalists from the media also contact us on a regular basis. People seeking information or advice can also send e-mail requests toinfo@farr.se  that are answered by law-students under the supervision of an experienced board member.

Thomas McGee is a PhD researcher at the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness. There, he is working on statelessness in the Syrian context. Since 2011, Thomas has served as an expert on cases of stateless Kurds from Syria within European asylum processes. Speaking Arabic and Kurdish, he has also worked on statelessness more widely in the Middle Eastern and diaspora contexts, publishing on the issue in a number of academic and policy publications. With ENS, Thomas has contributed to the Stateless Journeys project about the experiences of stateless asylum seekers and refugees in Europe, and continues to engage in the issue. As well as being an Individual Member of ENS, Thomas is co-coordinator of the recently established MENA Statelessness Network (Hawiati).

Roma Youth Organization Walk with us - Phiren Amenca is the first and currently the only active organization in Montenegro engaged with Roma youth. Their members are university and high school students from the Roma community. They are actively engaged in all organisation activities and are using their education and knowledge to fascilitate  the approach to different services and thus, improve the position of the Roma. Their activities besides youth sector are based on the community actions and advocacy in the field of education, employment, legal status, social inclusion, housing. Their office is located in the biggest Roma community in Montenegro, making them well placed to directly address issues for those Roma encountering difficulties in above mentioned areas. This community based approach of work made them a credible organisation among Roma community, which is focused on their needs and advocacy  toward the institutions.