EMILY ARNOLD-FERNANDEZ

ASYLUM ACCESS

Emily leads an international team of legal advocates to implement four integrated strategies that have proven effective in transforming refugee rights into reality: individualized legal assistance, community legal empowerment, policy advocacy, and strategic litigation. With these tools, Asylum Access empowers refugees to assert their rights, giving them the tools to provide for themselves and make choices about their own lives.

Since opening its doors in 2005, Asylum Access has provided individualized legal assistance to over 7,000 refugees, reaching 700,000 through policy advocacy and strategic litigation. To scale its successes, Emily and her team have developed a Refugee Rights Toolkit to help advocates across the global south replicate Asylum Access’ successes without reinventing the wheel. As the Chair of the Steering Committee of the Southern Refugee Legal Aid Network (SRLAN), Asylum Access is also leading regional efforts to advance refugee rights across borders.