who we help

The countries of the Great Lakes Region of Africa are, in addition to their geographical characteristics, bound together by their political interdependence. Since the collapse of the strongmen of the nineties and the genocide in Rwanda, all countries in this region have to various degrees been involved in the deadly conflicts on the territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Many have military intervened, either directly or through proxies, on each other’s territory and have hosted significant refugee populations. Efforts to address this ongoing cycle of conflict and displacement.

The Rights in Exile programme addresses the consequences of forced migration by promoting the rights of those who have fled across borders from conflict and political repression.

The programme has two components:

• A Legal Aid which provides centralised and country-specific information to refugee law practitioners and advocates.
• A targeted advocacy agenda based on original field-based empirical data which links grassroots realities with global debates.

What to Bring To Your Intake Interview at IRHRI

If you are invited to an intake interview at International Relief & Human Rights Initiative, please bring any and all documents that might be relevant to your immigration case including the following:

• Identity documents (i.e. your passport, birth certificate, student identification card, household registry, national identity card, or political party membership card.)
• Identity documents of family members who traveled to the United States with you
• Marriage certificate and birth certificates for children, if any
• Academic records (i.e. school records, certificates, and diplomas)
• Medical records from hospitalization or treatment due to mistreatment in home country
• Jail or court records
• Any draft asylum applications or affidavits that you may have created
• Any document that has been filed with any part of our government
• Any other documents that you think might be relevant

Please note that we do not expect potential clients to have all of these documents.   If you were not able to bring these documents with you when you fled your home country, that is fine and we can discuss documenting your claim with you.

Testimonials