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| Formation | 1986; 40 years ago (1986) |
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| Founder |
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| Type | Non-profitNGO |
| Headquarters | Frankfurt,Germany |
| Services | Protecting human rights |
| Fields | Lobbying, research, consultancy. |
| Membership | 25.209[1] (2022) |
Secretary General | Beate Wagner |
Management | Karl Kopp,Helen Rezene |
| Affiliations | European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) |
| Budget | €5,850,676[1] (2022) |
| Website | www |
PRO ASYL isGermany's largest proimmigration advocacy organization. Founded in 1986 by protestant pastorJürgen Micksch [de], Catholic priestHerbert Leuninger and others, the organization has over 25.000 members and an annual budget of more than€5,800,000 (as of 2022). It supportsasylum in Germany, in Europe and worldwide.[1]
Pro Asyl helps refugees individually in situations in which they need support, including legal consulting and representation in the court, if necessary all the way up toGermany's Constitutional Court or theEuropean Court of Human Rights.
The organization also does political lobbying for the rights of refugees by launching campaigns and taking part in panel and TV discussions. Politically, they strive for "a humane society, open towards foreigners."[2]
In 2004,Pro Asyl and partner organizations from seven Central European countries founded theEuropean Refugee Fund-fundedInformation and Cooperation Forum (ICF), wherePro Asyl is Lead Agency for Medical Care and Therapy. The organization is a member of theEuropean Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) and closely cooperates with theUNHCR and other internationalhuman rights organizations. With their pan-European network of correspondents,Pro Asyl conducts analysis and surveys about refugees' situation both in their countries of origin and on their escape routes and intermediate stopovers.[3]
In the past,Pro Asyl has waged nationwide campaigns against a legal requirement forrefugee status applicants and those with adeportation deferment, the so-calledResidenzpflicht, requiring them not to leave their local office's district often for years, until in January 2015 it was limited to the first three months, and often altogether abolished.
The organization has always criticized the steady expansion of the government-designated list of "safe origin countries" as institutionalized discrimination, as it deprives citizens of more and more non-EU countries, includingKosovo,Senegal andGhana, of their right to receive an individual evaluation of their individual protective rights.[4] During the 2015European migrant crisisPro Asyl representative Marei Pelzer criticised the coalition memberCSU party of diffusing "cheap propaganda at the expense of the refugees," that was "designed to put the wind in the sails of far-right populists," thereby contributing to the social climate that led to numerous xenophobic attacks on refugees and their shelters.[5]
The organization received a number of awards of national relevance, including the Bonhoeffer-Prize 1998, the Aachener Friedenspreis 2001, and the Theodor-Heuss-Medal 2008.[6]
(in German and English)| International | |
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| Other | |