Frontier Justice: Legal Aid and UNHCR Refugee Status Determination in Egypt
- 1 March 2006
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Journal of Refugee Studies
- Vol. 19 (1), 45-68
- https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/fej002
Abstract
Where UNHCR conducts refugee status determination (RSD), its reactions to legal aid for asylum-seekers have been mixed. Statistical evidence collected from Egypt in 2002 indicates a correlation between receiving some form of legal aid service and an asylum-seeker's increased chances of gaining refugee protection from UNHCR. Unconventional forms of legal aid, including limited services by supervised non-lawyers (including volunteers from the refugee community) showed a positive impact on first instance cases, while traditional legal aid models showed an impact at the appeal stage. Legal aid should form an essential part of UNHCR's RSD procedures, and NGOs should work to expand both traditional and innovative forms of legal aid for asylum-seekers.Keywords
This publication has 6 references indexed in Scilit:
- The Beleaguered Gatekeeper: Protection Challenges Posed by UNHCR Refugee Status DeterminationInternational Journal of Refugee Law, 2006
- An Investigation of the Perceived Needs and Priorities Held by African Refugees in an Urban Setting in a First Country of AsylumJournal of Refugee Studies, 2004
- Making a Difference: A Legacy of Pro Bono RepresentationJournal of Refugee Studies, 2004
- Refugee status determination conducted by UNHCRInternational Journal of Refugee Law, 1999
- Legal Education for the Pro Se Litigant: A Step Towards a Meaningful Right to Be HeardThe Yale Law Journal, 1987
- Judicial Control of Informal Discretionary Adjudication and EnforcementColumbia Law Review, 1972