• Asylum Access Ecuador and the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) presented our new report on “Refugee Status Determination in Latin America: Regional Challenges and Opportunities” at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA).
  

•  Asylum Access has been preparing for the UN Annual Consultations with NGOs in Geneva. We’re organizing a panel session on strategic litigation and a side session on RSD in Latin America.

• Global Policy Director Jessica Therkelsen discusses Asylum Access’s global policy advocacy approach, agenda and successes to date in this interview with WomensRadio.com.

• ED Emily Arnold-Fernandez gave a seminar entitled, “Building Cities In the Desert: A Way Out of Internment Camps for Refugees?“ at Stanford University.

• AAT Country Director Medhapan Sundaradeja delivered a presentation on urban refugees as part of a workshop held by the German-Southeast Asia Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG).

• AAT began working with professional counselors to organize support groups and provide individualized counseling as part of their Psychological Support Project for refugees.

• AAE’s public unconstitutionality action was admitted for review by Ecuador’s Constitutional Court. The action challenges certain provisions of Ecuador’s regulation on the right to asylum. 
  

• AAE hosted students from the University of Pennsylvania’s Faculty of Law as part of a project to provide hands-on experience to future human rights lawyers. Students engaged with clients as part of their field training.

• AATZ conducted a refugee law training for five legal officers from the Tanzania Women Lawyers’ Association (TAWLA). Following the training, focus groups were carried out with 18 TAWLA clients and paralegals on refugees and the urban refugee policy.

• AATZ began a partnership with Junior Achievement Tanzania to provide a series of trainings aimed at empowering refugee economic self-sufficiency.

• AATZ’s survey of refugee and asylum seeker needs in prison reached more than 400 detained migrants and refugees. Among other goals, findings will aid an assessment of how legal aid might fill the protection gap.
• Asylum Access’s San Francisco office moved to Oakland. Our new address is 1611 Telegraph Ave.

Quarterly Figures at a Glance

In Ecuador, we assisted a total of 5563 refugees directly, providing 2105 new clients with individualized legal assistance, and 3458 with community legal education.

In Tanzania, we assisted a total of 42 refugees directly, providing 28 new clients with individualized legal assistance and 14 with community legal education.

In Thailand, we assisted a total of 121 refugees directly, providing 100 new clients with individualized legal assistance and 21 with community legal education.

Published June 2013.