Main theme
Access to information and legal advice/ assistance.
Other relevant themes
Promote inclusion and integration, awareness-raising
Aims
To guarantee practical access to rights and effective protection against arbitrary deprivation of rights.
Description
The Foundation for Access to Rights (FAR) in Bulgaria provides critical legal support to unaccompanied minors and other vulnerable refugees and migrants, helping them navigate complex legal systems and ensuring access to rights. FAR’s services include legal aid such as individualised support from lawyers, assistance with asylum applications, appeals of denied applications, and representation in court. Services also include legal assistance for those whose international protection applications are not registered or who face pressure to return to their country of origin and referrals to additional support services.
The program, DEFEND: Preparing a New Generation of Young Defenders of Fundamental Rights, funded by the EEA Financial Mechanism, focused on training future lawyers in refugee and migration law. This project offers theoretical training, covering national and international refugee and migration law through 12 thematic lectures; practical experience through hands-on involvement in real cases, and awareness building through educational video creation and articles on legal issues.
The Sun Project was another project led by FAR that aimed to promote the rights of unaccompanied and separated refugee and migrant children. Targeting those working with, or involved in caring for, these young people, it sought to provide knowledge about these children/ young people’s rights and demonstrate how these rights are translated into the everyday work and practice with them. A range of activities and outputs resulted from the project, including training needs assessment, the identification of good practices, mentorship programmes and study exchange visits, a training handbook, curriculum development, training and related events. For the Sun Project, a map of best practices was also created on initiatives related to the protection of unaccompanied and separated children in the project countries.
Results/ Outcomes
Overall, FAR have reached over 15,600 diverse beneficiaries across their different programmes. In regard to the Sun Project in particular, project partners trained a total of 260 professionals and practitioners.
Links to further information