Human Rights Legal Project

The Human Rights Legal Project (HRLP) works to defend the dignity and fundamental rights of migrants and refugees within the European Union through the provision of legal assistance and solidarity. HRLP operates outside of the international protection system, and was founded by humanitarian workers in 2020 to address the justice gap that allows the human rights of international protection applicants to be violated on an almost daily basis. The project has established a legal referral pathway for migrants and refugees living in Samos who wish to make a complaint, seek legal redress, or be represented in their hearing. Such cases include, but are not limited to, denial of access to essential health care services, unlawful incarceration, inadequate reception conditions and standards of treatment, non-access to fair trial, police brutality and misconduct, racial profiling and access to asylum procedures. With increased occurrence of the criminalisation of humanitarians along the EU border, in particular, the high profile cases in Greece, HRLP provides a solidarity mechanism between aid workers, and migrants and refugees, being targeted by the authorities. Servicing the unmet legal needs of migrants and refugees, who often have uncertain or undetermined immigration status, empowers such individuals to be agents of a functioning, yet discriminatory, justice system, by enabling them to overcome the existent social and economic access barriers. The long-term aim of the project is to provide individuals with the equal dignity, protection and remedies they deserve, increase the system accountability and create lasting social change.