MIGRANT AND REFUGEE HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION PROJECT

Start date: September 9, 2016 End date: March 8, 2018
Implementer: Macedonian Young Lawyers Association

Objective

To ensure that government institutions and civil society organizations (CSOs) protect the human rights of migrants and refugees and meet the needs of the most vulnerable groups.

Components

• Increased capacities of government institutions and CSOs: To strengthen the capacity of frontline employees from government institutions and CSOs on how to provide effective assistance and professional services to migrants and refugees in line with international human rights standards. To organize cross border meetings with CSOs from Macedonia, Serbia, and Greece and develop Information Sharing Protocol for effective exchange of information on how to assist the most vulnerable migrant groups. To prepare a Regional Refugee and Migrant Report that documents human rights violation and mistreatment of migrants.
• Improved awareness of the general public on human rights: To produce short videos communicating that basic human rights also apply to migrants and refugees. The videos will include testimonials with real life stories presenting migrant’s perspectives. The initiatives are intended to raise public awareness and to address discrimination against migrants and refugees through organized workshops where refugees and the local population can come together to jointly create arts and crafts.

Expected Results/Impact

• 50 frontline employees trained on how to deal with vulnerable categories of migrants and refugees;
• Regional cooperation strengthened among CSOs through the organization of 4 cross-border meetings between CSOs from Serbia and Greece;
• Referral mechanisms established for information sharing among CSOs in the region;
• Regional Refugee and Migrant Report developed;
• 3 short animated videos developed to educate migrants and refugees on their rights and security;
• Video testimonials created with real life stories from migrants;and
• 15 storytelling evenings held for migrants and local community members.

Contact Information
Contact at USAID: Antoaneta Skartova, AOR, askartova@usaid.gov
Chief of Party: Martina Smilevska Kcheva msmilevska@myla.org.mk
Information Officer: Nazif Avdi navdi@myla.org.mk