Brief Presentation of Avocats Sans Frontières France 

Avocats Sans Frontières France (Lawyers Without Borders France or ASF France) is a French non-governmental organisation established under 1^st July 1901 French legislation.

Its mission is to:

• Promote access to the law and fair justice for vulnerable persons who are removed from it, arbitrarily detained or tortured;
• Defend any person deprived of a free and independent defence, as well as human rights defenders threatened or violated in the performance of their duties;
• Strengthen the capacity and the autonomy of local actors in the defence and promotion of human rights (civil society and actors in the judicial system).

With this advert, we are looking for someone to join the team of the legal centre project in Samos (Greece), which is ASF France’s only project in Europe. The migratory context in Europe is such that reception and management of people on the move relies heavily on Greece, Europe’s privileged gateway.

Samos, which was recognised as a “hot-spot” by the European Commission in 2015, is an island in the Aegen Sea opposite the Turkish coast. Its geographical location makes it one of the main point of entry for asylum seekers crossing Turkey to seek international protection in Europe.

In response to the significant lack of legal support on the island, ASF France opened the Samos Legal Centre in January 2019 to help guarantee the right to seek asylum and protect the fundamental rights of asylum seekers who are under constant threat.

One of our priorities is to be accessible to as many people as possible and, to achieve this, the project has an ‘open door’ policy where everyone is welcome to visit our premises. The team also regularly visits the camp to provide legal advice and personalised advice to people who are unable to travel to the town, as the camp is located 7km from the town of Vathy, where the NGOs operate.

The project has three main specific objectives:

– To offer free and independent legal assistance to asylum seekers, from their arrival in the camp until a possible subsequent application. This includes preparatory sessions for the asylum interview, assistance with applications to the appeals board in the event of a negative decision, and applications to the authorities for cases that have been followed up.

– Informing asylum seekers and local actors about the asylum procedure and its specificities in Samos via live or online group information sessions, legal advice sessions near the camp or via the questions the team answers daily on the hotline.

In conjunction with other legal associations in Greece, we raise issues with the Greek Ombudsman about the conditions of the people we support and draw up joint statements denouncing the failure to respect fundamental rights.

– Providing special support for the most vulnerable people: accompanying them during their interview, referring them to other organisations for additional medical or psychological support.

Description of the mission:

ASF France is looking for two volunteer caseworkers to contribute in this context to ensure a daily legal presence to advise asylum seekers on Samos Island, commencing in early January 2025.

Under the responsibility of the Project Manager on the ground and in close collaboration with the rest of the team (2 Greek Lawyers, 1 Legal Coordinator and Volunteer interpreters), they will have as primary responsibilities:

• Casework
  • Inform asylum seekers of their rights and the procedures applicable to them in person at the office;
  • Prepare people for their asylum interview or appointments with the authorities, going through their stories and informing them of their rights;
  • Answer asylum seekers’ daily requests on the Legal Centre’s hotline (on whatsapp);
  • Create, maintain and update files for each assisted asylum seeker on a dedicated database;
  • Identify persons with vulnerabilities and refer them to other organisations present in Samos if needed with the support of the Project Manager.

• Information sharing
  • Deliver in-person legal information sessions for asylum seekers in community centres on the island and attempt legal permanence.

• Research and administrative support
  • Support the Greek lawyers with punctual research for legal documents submissions;

• Additional tasks
  • Other tasks may be developed as the project and the volunteer’s skills evolve. In particular, tasks linked to the development of advocacy in the project can be included.