To learn more about our work, read our 2022 Annual Report.
Individual legal support
As the asylum procedure is complex, we offer our clients individual appointments to give them a more detailed overview of the procedure. Amongst other things we support our clients with the preparation of their asylum interview and accompany them when needed ; appeals ; subsequent applications ; and family reunification. During an interview preparation IHR caseworkers explain the law, the asylum procedure on Samos and prepare clients for their interviews.
Legal information workshops
Our legal information workshops aim to provide information regarding the different stages of the asylum procedure on Samos. We also inform asylum seekers about their rights. Participants have the opportunity to ask questions to better understand the procedure. We often collaborate with Avocats Sans Frontières and Human Rights Legal Project, two other legal organisations based on Samos. We generally partner with Samos Volunteers and Selfm’aid to have a place to organise the workshops.
Advocacy
Informing and raising awareness
One of our advocacy objectives is to share information about the situation on Samos and in Greece. We communicate openly about the human rights abuses that we see as a legal actor on Samos to encourage European citizens to act. To do so, our advocacy and communications team uses our social media, newsletter and our website.
Pressuring political actors
We aim to pressure political actors on the national and international levels who can influence the migration policy. To do so, we write letters and work on reports to alarm stakeholders regarding the situation. We try not only to denounce the conditions experienced by people on the move but also to suggest ideas for action to bring about change.
Giving people a public voice
We try to give people-on-the-move a public voice. Our goal is to give them the space to share their experiences if they wish to do so. We also believe it enables the public to better understand the consequences of migration policies on human beings. In order to meet this objective, we often collaborate with the Samos Advocacy Collective.
Latest advocacy projects:
Strategic Litigation
Interim measures
Interim measures
Support to survivors of human trafficking
Supporting survivors on Samos
Through our individual legal support, we are in contact with many survivors of human trafficking, mainly women who were sex trafficked. As a result, we identified a need for specific counselling and support services that go beyond normal asylum counselling. We have launched a designated support programme: we provide both individual support and work to create structural change. We also aim to support legal, medical and community actors with improving their understanding of Greek asylum law and best practices when working with survivors.
Monitoring, advocacy and litigation
What makes I Have Rights a significant actor on Samos?
Preparing asylum seekers for their asylum interview and informing them about their rights is fundamental for them to have a chance to obtain an international protection. With the increase in the number of arrivals to Samos over the last months and the few legal actors remaining on the island, providing asylum seekers with legal information is now even more important. In addition, since the Closed Controlled Access Centre (CCAC) of Samos opened in September 2021, the rights of people-on-the-move are further violated. The right to access a fair asylum procedure is increasingly limited and the residents of the CCAC experience various forms of detention inside the prison-like structure. The legal support we provide along with our advocacy work and strategic litigation is essential to defend the rights of people-on-the-move on Samos.
