Equal Rights Beyond Borders

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Equal Rights Beyond Borders

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Equal Rights Beyond Borders: Greek-German human rights organisation enforcing the rights of refugees

Our Mission

Equal Rights Beyond Borders is a Greek-German human rights organisation that works to enforce the rights of refugees, asylum seekers and their families. With offices in Athens, Berlin, Chios and Kos, we provide free legal aid to support refugees and asylum seekers in their struggle against illegal and arbitrary practices at the EU’s external borders. Witnessing violations of our clients’ fundamental rights on a daily basis, our international team of human rights lawyers and advocates relies on legal means to defend and protect the dignity and equality of every person in need, regardless of their individual background. We support those who live in zones of lawlessness, where individual rights are disregarded and violated on a daily basis. We believe that all persons should have access to highly qualified legal support. As a matter of course, we provide legal aid to refugees, asylum seekers and their families in Greece and Germany free of charge. We focus on casework and litigation in front of Greek, German and European courts. We stand with refugees and asylum seekers in the fight against undignified living conditions on the Greek mainland and in the island camps, against unlawful detention, and against illegal deportations. A special focus of ours is legal advice in family reunification cases from all over the world. In addition to individual legal aid, we engage in strategic litigation, research and advocacy.

01/10/2026

Das neue GEAS ist da – und mit ihm eine der größten Verschärfungen des europäischen Asylrechts seit Jahrzehnten.

Seit dem 12. Juni 2026 gelten zehn neue EU-Rechtsakte. Für alle, die beraten und vertreten, heißt das: mehrere Regelungsebenen parallel, zersplitterte Rechtsquellen, viel Unsicherheit im Übergangszeitraum.
Genau hier setzen unsere Schulungen und Workshops an. Wir bieten Capacity Building für Anwält:innen, Berater:innen und Praktiker:innen im Flüchtlings- und Migrationsbereich – online und in Präsenz, praxisnah und auf eure Bedarfe zugeschnitten.

Im Mittelpunkt steht nicht nur das neue Recht, sondern die Frage: Was bedeutet das GEAS konkret für die tägliche Praxis – und welche Handlungsmöglichkeiten gibt es, um die Rechte schutzsuchender Menschen durchzusetzen?

Interesse an einer Schulung? Schreibt uns [email protected]

29/09/2026

Sophie Scheytt volunteered with Equal Rights Beyond Borders on Kos in 2021. She later worked with Amnesty International and is now a member of the executive board of Sea-Watch e.V. In this interview, she reflects on her experiences with Equal Rights Beyond Borders and the impact of her work on the island.

10 years of Equal Rights Beyond Borders - Thank you for being part of it!

24/09/2026

New Lecture Series: Implementation of the CEAS – A European Comparison

The Common European Asylum System (CEAS) entered into application in June 2026, bringing significant changes to the legal framework governing asylum across Europe. As EU+ states begin implementing the new rules, there is much to learn from comparing approaches and experiences across countries.

Against this background, Equal Rights Beyond Borders, the Research Training Group “Mobility Rights in the Global Context of Multiple Crises” at the University of Göttingen, the Chair of Law and Migration at Humboldt University of Berlin, the German Umbrella Organisation of Student Legal Clinics (DSR) and the Refugee Law Clinic Berlin are jointly organising the lecture series “Implementation of the CEAS – A European Comparison”.

Across eight online sessions, speakers from two European countries will discuss selected aspects of CEAS implementation. The series will explore cross-country connections, compare implementation practices and provide a space to share practical experiences and discuss potential good practices.

When: Winter Semester 2026/27; Thursdays, every two weeks, 6.00-8.00 p.m. (CET); first session: 15 October 2026.

Where: Exclusively online; the link will be sent to registered participants shortly before the first session.

Who: The lecture series is aimed at legal clinics, lawyers, legal counsellors and NGOs, as well as students and academics.

Participation is free of charge

Registration: Link in bio

23/09/2026

From Greece to Germany: defending civil society through legal action.
Greece's highest administrative court has struck down central parts of the country's NGO registration system, which for years made the work of organisations supporting people on the move harder. Together with HIAS Greece and others, we've challenged these rules since 2020 – and the court has now found that key parts violate the freedom of association.

Why it matters here too: wherever political pressure grows, the same question arises – how does civil society protect itself? In Saxony-Anhalt, the campaign Recht Solidarisch offers concrete answers, with legal knowledge and practical guidance for everyone standing up for rights.

From Greece to Germany: we stand together. Know your rights. Stand up for one another.

Find all information in our bio!

17/09/2026

From Protection to Criminalisation:

The new Common European Asylum System (CEAS), together with recent legal changes in Greece — above all Laws 5226/2025 and 5307/2026 — is reshaping the asylum and migration system. These reforms build on a system in which migration is increasingly tied to detention, border procedures and criminal law. More and more often, people can only access protection after being arrested, deprivation of liberty, or even convicted of a crime. This is the systemic criminalisation of people on the move on Europe’s borders!

Support our work to so we can continue to adress cases like Nader's* ⟶ Link in bio

09/09/2026

10 years in 10 months

Children in police stations – for their own protection?

As part of our series on the history of Equal Rights Beyond Borders, we’re looking back at 2019 und zeigen die Verbindung einer Praktik auf die schon lange als rechtswiedrig eingestuft wurde und doch bei GEAS hochgeholt wird.

2019 Greece was marked by overcrowded camps and people being left stranded. Many of those arriving were children – often alone and without their parents: unaccompanied.
In the Camp on Chios, children in the so-called “Safe Area” had even to sleep in shifts because the facility was so overcrowded. On the mainland, a practice known as “protective custody” became increasingly common. Hundreds of children were detained in police stations simply because there was no space for them in youth care facilities. Hundreds more were left living on the streets.
In 2019, we began challenging this practice before the European Court of Human Rights. We brought more than 40 cases – and won them. The detention of children in “protective custody” was unlawful. The practice was eventually stopped.
And now? The new EU migration and asylum rules contain a troubling formulation: minors may only be detained as a measure of last resort – and unaccompanied minors may be detained when it is considered to be “in their best interest”.
This is yet another example of how practices that have failed catastrophically, violated children’s rights and were clearly unlawful can suddenly be presented as a model?
We will go to court again. They will fail again.
But in the meantime, it will once again be children who are affected.
Children who do not understand why they are being held alone in a police station – and how this could possibly be considered protection.
Children belong in care, not in police custody.

To continue our work please donate - link in bio

27/08/2026

We're looking for an Arabic Interpreter & Case Worker to help people on the move access legal aid and defend their rights at Europe's borders. You'd be the bridge between our lawyers and Arabic-speaking clients — interpreting, taking in cases, and making sure people are heard.

Native-level Arabic and fluent English required; other languages a plus. Full-time, based on Kos, starting 1 October 2026.

Full job call and how to apply → link in bio.

26/08/2026

In early July, we came together with members, alumni, and friends of Equal Rights Beyond Borders to celebrate our anniversary — a moment to reflect on everything we have built together over the past ten years, and to look ahead to a period that will be shaped by the challenges of the Common European Asylum System and a broader backlash against the rule of law.

Together, we discussed what we have learned working in "illiberal contexts" at the EU's external borders, and what those lessons mean for defending the rule of law in central Europe as well.

The evening opened with a keynote by Prof. Nora Markard , followed by a discussion moderated by our colleague Catharina Ziebritzki, with Niki Georgiou (Director of our Greece offices), Giorgos Christides (journalist), and Nora Markard.

A central message of the evening was the importance of defending the rule of law — first and foremost when the rights of those with the least protection are at stake. Protecting the rights of the most vulnerable is not only about safeguarding individual rights; it is about defending the foundations of a society in which everyone's rights are protected.

For Equal Rights, this has always been at the heart of our work: using the law as a tool to challenge injustice, hold authorities accountable, and ensure that rights exist not only on paper, but in practice.

Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey and continues to stand with us for the rights of people on the move - donate via the link in bio 🤍

20/08/2026

Neue GEAS-Checkliste für Behördenpflichten – kostenlos verfügbar.

Die GEAS-Reform bringt hunderte neuer Behördenpflichten gegenüber Schutzsuchenden, verstreut über viele Gesetze, die in der Praxis oft nicht eingehalten werden.

Unsere neue Übersicht bündelt sie erstmals systematisch: Welche Behörde muss wann was tun? Über 140 Pflichten in 10 Kapiteln – vom Screening bis zum Schutzstatus, inklusive der besonderen Garantien für Minderjährige und vulnerable Personen.

Ein Arbeits- und Prüfinstrument für alle, die beraten, vertreten und Rechte durchsetzen.

Jetzt kostenlos ansehen – Link in unserer Bio

20/08/2026

Adresse

Gerichtstraße 23
Berlin
13347

Website

http://www.equal-rights.org/support-us

Benachrichtigungen

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