About

Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA) was founded as a UK Charity in January 2003, (Registered Charity No. 1098788), to promote the development of pro bono legal aid and psycho-social services for refugees in countries where such services are non-existent or insufficient and where legal representation and psycho-social support might assist them in realising their rights. The awareness of this need came out of several years of research in Africa and the Mediterranean region that exposed the appalling conditions in which most refugees live and the failure of states to protect them.

Egypt hosts the fifth largest urban refugee population in the world. Although officially there are only 38,000 refugees in Egypt, unofficial estimates range from 500,000 asylum seekers and refugees upwards from 35 different nationalities. Most refugees are from Africa, the majority being from Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea. There is also a large refugee population from Palestine and Iraq. No one in Egypt was providing legal aid and psycho-social services until AMERA (formerly known as Refugee Legal Aid Project) began in 2000. As the main provider of pro bono legal aid and psycho-social support in Egypt, AMERA has established working relationships with UNHCR and other refugee service providers. These connections enable it to effectively advocate for refugee rights.

Egypt is generally tolerant of refugees and asylum seekers on its territory. A party to both the 1951 UN and 1969 OAU refugee conventions, long before ratification in 1981, Egypt alerted UNHCR Geneva[1] of its reservations to several of the articles regarding elementary education, public relief, the right to work, social security and personal status. This is especially significant as regards the right to work, leaving refugees dependent on the informal economy. ...Show less