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AMERA Egypt 2008 Annual Report
1. AMERA-Egypt Mission Objectives
2. Message from the Executive Board
- Refugee Status Determination Team
- Protection and Registration Team
- Sex and Gender-Based Violence Survivors
6 -AMERA Egypt Professional and Support Staff
7- AMERA-UK Staff and Board of Directors
9 - List of AMERA - Egypt's Partner Organisations
AMERA-Egypt Mission Objectives
1. To assist refugees and asylum seekers in accessing pro bono legal aid and psychosocial services in Egypt;
2. To inform refugees and asylum seekers of their rights and responsibilities in Egypt, assist them in acquiring these rights, and strengthen their ability to advocate for themselves through the provision of psychosocial and legal assistance.
3. To enhance knowledge in the fields of refugee law and refugee psychosocial assistance, by providing training for lawyers, social workers, healthcare professionals, interns, interpreters, students and other interested parties.
4. To raise public awareness in matters relating to asylum and forced migration.
5. To strengthen the quality and effectiveness of AMERA's work through pairing of legal aid and psychosocial services.
6. To advocate for the respect, protection and fulfilment of the rights of refugees and asylum seekers and to promote durable solutions.
7. To build the capacity of community-based operations (CBOs), NGOs and other relevant bodies serving refugees in Egypt and abroad by sharing information and offering training.
8. To maintain a commitment to professional integrity and a respectful and supportive working environment that embraces diversity.
· AMERA-Egypt provides services and information to refugees and asylum seekers regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, political opinion, religion, age, family status, indigence or membership in a particular social group.
· All of our services and information are provided free of charge to the client.
· AMERA-Egypt maintains a firm commitment to professional ethics1 and a holistic approach to client assistance2.
Message FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
AMERA-UK
In 2008, the founder of AMERA, Dr. Barbara Harrell-Bond, relocated from Cairo to Oxford, where she has assumed the role of President of AMERA-UK. She continues to be an active and valuable member of the AMERA-UK Board of Directors. As the Executive Director, I, Allan Leas work in cooperation with the AMERA-UK Board of Directors to offer management, fundraising and administrative support to the Egypt office.
In addition to supporting AMERA-Egypt, AMERA-UK also assists the Refugee Law Project in Uganda. In coming years, AMERA-UK is planning to expand its involvement in refugee and asylum seeker assistance in various African and Middle Eastern countries. The operational model and vision of AMERA-Egypt has been instrumental in directing and inspiring AMERA-UK’s expansion plans.
AMERA-EGYPT
In 2008, AMERA-Egypt streamlined its management strategy by dissolving the Egyptian Advisory Board to strengthen direct cooperation with the AMERA-UK Board of Directors.
AMERA-Egypt’s two Co-Chairs, Tarek Mahrous and Marie-Genevieve Nightingale, oversee the day-to-day operations of the office, including AMERA-Egypt’s relationships with the Egyptian authorities, the UNHCR, refugee and asylum seeker communities, international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), local NGOs, community-based organisations (CBOs), schools, healthcare centers and various partners.
INTERNATIONAL ADVOCACY
AMERA is a member of the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) as well as the newly founded Southern Refugee Legal Aid Network (SRLAN). AMERA-Egypt was represented by Deborah Thackray, Refugee Status Determination (RSD) Team Leader and Tarek Mahrous, Co-Chair & Protection Team Leader at the Pre-ExCom meetings in Geneva in June 2008. AMERA-UK was represented by the AMERA-UK Executive Director. During these meetings, they established valuable partnerships with other refugee stakeholder NGOs, sharing experiences and information as well as lobbying the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for a number of important reforms. AMERA is also an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC).
FUNDING
AMERA-Egypt’s work would not have been possible in 2008 without the generous support of Comic Relief, the Ford Foundation, the Sigrid Rausing Trust, the Bromley Trust, the United Nations Volunteers Fund for the Victims of Torture, the War Trauma Foundation and the International Committee of the Red Cross. AMERA UK received a much welcome grant from Oak Philanthropy (UK) Ltd., who provided funding to help establish and develop the AMERA-UK office.
Regards,
Allan Leas
Executive Director - AMERA UK
MESSAGE FROM THE Deputy Country Directors
In many ways 2008 was a challenging year for refugees and asylum seekers in Egypt: there was a marked increase in migrant detentions, an unprecedented number of deportations and multiple threats to human security on Egypt’s borders 1. Meanwhile, violent conflicts continued in Darfur, Somalia and parts of Iraq, the new-found peace in Southern Sudan was fragile and the political environments in Eritrea, Ethiopia and other nations in the region were contentious. Furthermore, the impacts of the global financial crisis and inflation in Egypt have serious, negative impacts on the wellbeing of individuals and families - especially refugees and asylum seekers - as they are prohibited from working in the Egyptian formal sector. In addition to having suffered extreme violence, trauma, loss and upheaval in their countries of origin, after arriving in Egypt, many refugees and asylum seekers face language barriers, shocking cultural differences and in some cases, racial discrimination.
Through a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Egypt, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) conducts refugee status determination in Egypt. Due to a lack of resources – and despite best efforts - UNHCR Cairo does not always provide clear, accurate and timely decisions consistent with their mandate, procedural standards and international law. This means that asylum seekers can remain in “limbo” for months, and sometimes years, without certainty of the right to remain in Egypt. In cases where refugee claims are incorrectly assessed, failed applicants are at risk of deportation – which can lead to detention, torture or even death in their home countries.
To summarise, refugee and asylum seeking populations in Egypt are marginalised and at risk in multiple, serious – and sometimes perilous - ways. In response to these challenges AMERA-Egypt continues to work for the realisation of refugee rights in diverse, innovative and creative ways including direct service (legal aid and psychosocial assistance), local and international policy advocacy, training and cooperation. It is an honour and a pleasure to share with you our recent achievements and developments through this Annual Report. We look forward to continued progress and cooperation in the future.
Tarek Mahrous MG Nightingale
Co-Chair Co-Chair
Overview
According to a 1954 Memorandum of Understanding with the Egyptian government, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is responsible for all Refugee Status Determination (RSD) in Egypt. Decisions on refugee status can be of life and death importance: if a person is wrongly determined to not need protection as a refugee, s/he may be “refouled” (forcibly returned) to their home country where s/he may face detention, torture, or death. Advocating for procedural fairness and providing legal assistance in the UNHCR RSD system was the original purpose of AMERA – and one we continued to pursue in 2008.
The AMERA-Egypt RSD Team advises and represents asylum seekers with their claims for refugee status at UNHCR Cairo - one of the largest UNHCR RSD operations in the world. We provide free legal assistance at all stages of the RSD process including first instance, appeal, reopening, exclusion and cancellation. RSD legal aid is extremely resource intensive, requiring an average of five interviews with each client.
Legal representation consists of taking detailed testimonies, writing legal submissions, providing country of origin information and other evidence as well as accompanying clients to their UNHCR interviews. The RSD Team advocates for procedural fairness on a case-by-case basis as well as at a general policy level through attending regular meetings with the UNHCR in Cairo and Geneva, and through raising public awareness that aims to ensure transparency and accountability throughout the UNHCR RSD process.
2008 at a glance…
· Completed 255 client RSD cases
· Assisted:
o 69 asylum seekers to obtain recognition as refugees in first instance cases (58% percent success rate).
o 6 people to obtain recognition as refugees on appeal (18% success rate).
o 10people with closed files at UNHCR Cairo to have their cases re-opened and obtained recognition as refugees (53% success rate).
