Refugee Rights Turkey

Refugee Rights Turkey’s core mandate is to support and promote the legal protection of refugees and vulnerable migrants in Turkey. Initially launched as Turkey’s first ever volunteer refugee legal aid initiative in Istanbul in 2003, RRT has since expanded its programmes and reach to become a leading national rights-based civil society actor in the field of asylum and migration governance. RRT delivers a comprehensive range of free of charge legal information and assistance services to asylum seekers and other vulnerable migrants, including persons in immigration detention; seeks to exert constructive independent oversight and advocates for improvements in law, policy and implementation, with a view to strengthening legal protection mechanisms; and supports lawyers and local bar associations to expand the country-wide availability of specialized asylum and immigration law services.