“I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.”
Abraham Lincoln

The proliferation of international treaties endorsing human rights is a testimony to the universal understanding that everyone — especially the vulnerable — must be protected. All our clients are seeking protection from further violations, but also a refuge of deep psychological safety in which they can express their pain, loss and hopes.

Asylum seekers experience relentless stigma and prejudice. They live in an alien and hostile culture which they are desperate to call home. They are vilified in the popular press and face increasingly stringent and shifting government policies that confound fair treatment.

Medico Legal reports documenting the harm done to clients who have experienced gross human rights violations are absolutely central to our work, because they enable decision-makers in the courts and the Home Office to make informed decisions.

As if their suffering wasn’t enough, we are also seeing an increasing number of clients who have been subjected to blatant miscarriages of justice. They come to our organisation labelled as Failed Asylum Seekers or Appeal Rights Exhausted, so we gather new evidence and attend appeal hearings to testify on their behalf. We work closely with human rights lawyers and firms of solicitors who donate their services pro bono on worthy cases. With the cut-backs in legal aid, their generosity is matched only by their commitment.