ANNUAL REPORT 2013
Asylum Aid is an independent, national charity working to secure protection for people seeking refuge in the UK from persecution and human rights abuses abroad
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Asylum Aid Advice Line: 020 7354 9264 Our advice line offers free one-off legal advice to asylum seekers, refugees, and individuals or organisations who work to support them. The advice line current operating hours are shown on our website at www.asylumaid.org.uk Front cover photograph Š MJTH
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Message from the Chief Executive I joined Asylum Aid as Chief Executive in 2013. Like so many years before, this was twelve months which saw people around the world caught up in refugee crises. Syrians have been forced to flee their homes. The persecution of children in Afghanistan continues. Sexual violence against women in the Democratic Republic of Congo has become tragically routine. When someone flees violence, rape and torture overseas, and ends up in the UK, they need patient, expert help. I am proud that Asylum Aid has provided that help for nearly 25 years. In 2013 we worked with hundreds of men, women and families who would not be safe in their home countries. We took their cases to the Home Office and to the appeal courts – and in overwhelming numbers we won. We advised thousands more people through our outreach sessions, working with the British Red Cross to reach the most vulnerable asylum seekers of all. This report tells some of their stories. Asylum Aid also continued its targeted campaigning work, built on policy expertise and innovative research. 2013 saw new immigration rules introduced to help the stateless, a result of years of hard work. And the government has promised more resources than ever before to women seeking asylum, an achievement of our #missedout campaign. Asylum Aid proved its worth and value in 2013 – and with your support and generosity we will do so for many years to come. Wayne Myslik Chief Executive
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Rafeeq’s story Rafeeq grew up in a small village in Darfur. Rafeeq was still a small boy when Janjaweed militia raided his village in the dead of night in 2004. He woke up to explosions, gunshots and screaming.
© Plume Photography
To this day, Rafeeq doesn’t know how many people were killed. He doesn’t know what happened to his family. He just ran for his life, joining his neighbours as they too fled their homes. This was the beginning of a long and terrifying journey. Rafeeq was forced out of every place he tried to call home. When he was in Ghana, he worked with other boys selling water at traffic lights. When they didn’t sell enough, they were beaten. He was taken to Libya – but young men there were targeted after the revolution, and he was forced to flee to Europe. Rafeeq arrived in the UK on his own, frightened and without friends, and asked for help. Asylum Aid worked with him to explain what had happened to his family, and the sudden violence which had forced him from his home. The conflict in Darfur has claimed more than 300,000 lives in the last ten years. Rafeeq escaped with his life, just. With help from Asylum Aid’s lawyers, he was recognised as a refugee in 2013, and is living and studying safely in the UK.
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Asylum Aid in 2013
We were successful in
86%
of our cases
helping people who have been raped, trafficked and tortured rebuilding the lives of people from the most dangerous countries in the world
Congo Eritrea
Iran
Iraq
Albania
Pakistan
Afghanistan
Nigeria
Uganda
Zimbabwe
Somalia
of whom
38% were women and girls 62% were men and boys
hundreds of cases
We fight each year, at the Home Office and in the courts We also helped more than our advice line and another
700 people on
100 through our outreach work 5
As a result of Asylum Aid’s work... More government resources for women asylum seekers than ever before
For the first time, government help for stateless people
More than half of women who seek asylum in the UK each year have been raped. Many more will have experienced domestic violence. Still more will have been threatened and abused.
In 2011, Asylum Aid worked with the UN Refugee Agency to produce comprehensive research into the plight of stateless people in the UK, many of whom were abandoned destitute and vulnerable on our streets.
Yet until 2013, government commitments to help vulnerable women almost entirely ignored asylum seekers. The government has now promised much more – but only after Asylum Aid led hundreds of charities to campaign for change.
Our key recommendation was for new immigration procedures to help the stateless. These were introduced by the government in 2013. The situation for stateless people is desperate. Most have fallen into a legal limbo for which the government had no answer. Some have been stuck in immigration detention with no hope of return to any country. Most had been separated from their families for years; nearly all are vulnerable to exploitation.
Debora Singer addresses the Women’s Committee of the European Parliament
Our Missed Out campaign brought together nearly 1,000 individuals, 350 organisations and over 800 MPs. We lobbied the Home Secretary, made our case in the media, and worked with officials to win the commitments which women asylum seekers so badly need. Victims of sexual violence who seek asylum will now be referred for specialist support. Better, clearer information will be available to women throughout the process, and there will be improved training for officials making asylum decisions. The information used for these decisions will include more details on the specific risks facing women in their home countries. 6
We worked with Home Office officials for months, first to persuade them of the need to act and then to advise on the design of the procedure so that it will benefit the people who need it. The new immigration rules were introduced in April 2013. We are now training others in how to make the most of them, and watching carefully to see how they have begun to Chris Nash leading statelessness advocacy work in practice.
Asylum Aid in 2013
4 pieces of original research in the last 12 months
3 times called to parliament as expert witnesses this year
350 charities lined up behind our call for refugee rights
More resources for women seeking asylum than ever
Planning the future with the Scottish Refugee Council
Greater influence with ministers, officials and policy-makers
New government policies to help and protect stateless people
Running statelessness training in Birmingham
Addressing the Joint Committee on Human Rights on legal aid cuts
Working with the Demos think thank on refugees and destitution
Legal aid safeguard for people fleeing for their lives
Talks with student groups in York
Speaking on asylum rights at the House of Commons
Helping grassroot refugee groups campaign in Leeds
Chairing seminar with the Refugee Law initiative 7
Thomas’ story Thomas was hounded out of Uganda for being gay. Armed with rocks and chanting for him to be killed, a mob targeted him on his own street. His family disowned him. Terrified for that he would be killed, Thomas fled to the UK, where he was brutalised further. But Asylum Aid saved his life. Growing up in Uganda, Thomas’s friends gossiped about him for years. But this wasn’t harmless fun. Uganda has some of the harshest anti-gay laws in the world. Thomas went to a school where students were encouraged to inform on anyone they thought was gay. At university, Thomas started a relationship in secret. But it didn’t stay secret for long. Spotted with his lover one night, a large crowd gathered and started to threaten Thomas. They chanted death threats, chased him down the street and attacked him with rocks. He tried to find shelter with his brother, but was turned away. His father refused to have anything to do with him. His landlord locked him out of his home. Thomas came to the UK to study, but the clamour in Uganda to punish him just grew. The law was getting even tougher, and during 2012 the government planned to introduce the death penalty for gay men. Thomas was terrified. He was also deeply vulnerable. One night in the UK he was raped. Already full of shame and confusion, and aware that he might be killed if returned to Uganda, Thomas asked for asylum in the UK. Asylum Aid looked after Thomas’s case. We worked with him for hours to help explain everything that he had been through. We provided the Home Office with expert evidence about what would await him in Uganda. We were with him every step of the way. Thomas was recognised as a refugee, and has started rebuilding his life in the UK.
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© Plume Photography
We are able to do our work thanks to the support and generosity of our many members, partners and funders. The Trustees and staff of Asylum Aid wish to thank all those who supported the charity with grants and donations in 2013. Members of the Asylum Aid Legal Support Trust walk team
Trusts, Foundations and Statutory bodies Barrow Cadbury Trust BBC Children in Need Brewster Maude Charitable Trust Comic Relief Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund Eleanor Rathbone Charitable Trust European Refugee Fund Evan Cornish Foundation Foundation Open Society Institute G.M. Morrison Charitable Trust Harford Charitable Trust Lankelly Chase Foundation Legal Services Commission Lloyds TSB Foundation London Churches Hardship Fund London Councils Oak Foundation Ralph Clark Charitable Trust Richard Cloudesley Charity The A B Charitable Trust The Baring Foundation The Bryan Guinness Charitable Trust The Joan Strutt Charitable Trust The Mosse Charitable Settlement The N&P Hartley Memorial Trust The Odin Charitable Trust The Samuel Sebba Charitable Trust The Scotshill Trust Trust for London Unbound Philanthropy UN Voluntary Fund for the Victims of Torture UNHCR
Thank you also to: All our supporters and members. Danielle Cohen Immigration Law Solicitors Jatu Johnson Matrix Chambers Mission Fish One World Group Pseph Ltd. The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) Twelve Winds Consulting UNITE ACTS Branch 1/684 Whole team who took part in the London Legal Support Trust sponsored walk 2013 and everyone who donated
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Summary of Accounts of the year ended 31st March 2013
Incoming resources Voluntary income Advice, information and casework Policy and campaigns Donations and grants Membership and supporters Activites for generating funds Interest receivable Incoming resources from charitable activities: Advice, information and casework Policy and campaigns Other income Total incoming resources
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2013 Unrestricted Funds £
2013 Restricted Funds £
2013 Total Funds £
2012 Total Funds £
399,678 47,827
265,914 64,500 19,000 -
265,914 64,500 418,678 47,827
424,085 194,011 94,029 51,106
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-
2
2
269,412 12,926 17,620
59,437
328,849 12,926 17,620
305,467 45,467 10,533
747,465
408,851
1,156,316
1,124,700
Resources expended Costs of generating funds Costs of generating voluntary income Charitable expenditure Advice, information and casework Policy and campaigns Governance
62,720
12,561
75,281
89,707
288,278 113,929 13,150
450,725 100,680 12,561
739,003 214,609 25,711
708,376 224,535 25,220
Total resources expended
478,077
576,527
1,054,604
1,047,838
Net movement in funds Total funds at 1 April
269,388 133,914
(167,676) 167,676
101,712 301,590
76,862 224,728
Total funds at 31 March
403,302
403,302
301,590
2013 £
Fixed assets Tangible assets
2012 £
2,765
512
Net current assets
400,537
301,078
Net assets
403,302
301,590
Represented by Unrestricted funds General funds Designated funds
400,537 2,765
133,402 512
Restricted funds
403,302 -
133,914 167,676
403,302
301,590
Balance Sheet At 31st March 2013 the net assets of the company were £403,302, comprising of 403,302 unrestricted funds (2,765 designated funds and £400,537 general funds). Trustees Statement These summarised accounts have been extracted from the full annual financial statements that were approved by Asylum Aid’s Trustees on 11 October 2013. The full annual financial statements have been audited and the auditor’s opinion was unqualified. The full annual report and financial statements have been submitted to the Charity Commission and to Companies House. These summarised accounts may not contain sufficient information to allow for a full understanding of the financial affairs of the Charity. For further information, the full financial statements, the auditors report on those statements and the Trustees’ annual report should be consulted. Copies of these may be obtained from Asylum Aid’s Resources and Administration Manager on 020 7354 9631. Enver Solomon, Chair, 11 October 2013
Independent Auditor’s Statement We have examined the summarised accounts of Asylum Aid set out on this page. The summarised accounts are the responsibility of the Trustees. Our responsibility is to report on the consistency of the summarised accounts with the full annual report and financial statements. We also read the other information contained within the annual review and summary financial statements and have considered the implications for our statement should we become aware of any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the summarised accounts. Basis of Opinion We have carried out the procedures we considered necessary to ascertain whether the summarised accounts are consistent with the full annual financial statements from which they have been prepared. Opinion In our opinion, the summarised accounts are consistent with the full audited Annual Report and Financial Statements of Asylum Aid for the year ended 31 March 2013. H W Fisher & Company Chartered Accountants 14 November 2013 11
Patrons Neil Gerrard Prof Guy Goodwin Gill Jeremy Hardy Terry Jones Rebecca Lenkiewicz Miriam Margoyles Jon Snow Terry Waite
Trustees Anna Feuchtwang (Chair) Cate Briddick (Vice Chair) Richard Priestman (Treasurer) Gabriella Bettiga Michelle Dixon Tim Finch Sarita Godber Vebi Kosumi Barbara Marsh Janice Needham Sile Reynolds
Women’s Project Advisory Committee members Carolina Albuerne Adrienne Anderson Gabriella Bettiga Ayse Bircan Cate Briddick Moira Dustin Rehab Jameel Eleonore Kofman Amina Memon Jo Pettitt Christel Querton Diana Trimino
London Refugee Women’s Forum support Debora Singer and Natasha Walter at the Home Affairs Committee inquiry into asylum
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Your donations allow us to continue our advice and policy work, helping people find safety from persecution abroad – please go to www.asylumaid.org.uk
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Annual Report 2013
Club Union House 253 – 254 Upper Street London N1 1RY Tel: 0207 354 9631 Fax: 0207 354 5620 info@asylumaid.org.uk www.asylumaid.org.uk Charity number 328729 Company Number 2513874 © Asylum Aid 14