Linked with Marie Lisette Talate – Mauritius, and with the UK Chagos Support Association.
The Chagos Refugee Group works on behalf of the Chagossian people, who were forced from the islands of Chagos to make way for US and UK military installations. The organization works to promote awareness and recognition of the situation of the Chagossiam people as well as improving the social and economic situation of its members living in exile in Mauritius and Seychelles.
The organization worked towards its goals by pursuing legal action in the US and the UK, seeking to win recognition of the right of the Chagossian people to return to their homeland. At the same time it offers assistance to and cultural activities for Chagossians in exile.
Homepage;
Publications;
Africa;
Law & Policy Developments;
Using African Mechanisms to Promote the Rights of Refugees;
Contact: Mr. Olivier Bancoult, The Refugees Group, 62, Route de Cassis, Port Louis, Mauritius, Tel/Fax: (230) 213 0216, Email. mailto:obancoultcrg@intnet.mu
about: Today, more than 30 million people live in exile, forced to flee their homes due to war and human rights violations. Increasingly, however, the doors which host communities once opened to the stranger seeking shelter are slamming shut. Across the globe states are increasingly viewing the refugee as a drain on economic resources and a threat to security—a perception intensified by the politics of the “war on terrorism.” In this new political and economic climate, even the international law framework which protects the displaced is in flux.
About the International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI):
The goal of International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI) is to enhance the protection of the rights of the displaced worldwide. IRRI grounds its advocacy in the rights accorded in international human rights instruments to those who are forced to flee and strives to make these guarantees effective in the communities where the displaced and their hosts live.
IRRI aims to contribute to the improvement and creation of models of law and practice which best guarantee the rights of the displaced. We engage in legal and field-based research in order to better understand how policy affects refugees and we bring our findings to the attention of policy makers in national, regional and international fora.
IRRI recognizes that it is vital that the voices of displaced and host communities are heard—and heeded. IRRI works with local advocates to identify the key challenges facing those communities and collaborates with them to advance appropriate changes in law, policy and practice. IRRI acts a bridge between these local advocates and the international community, enabling local knowledge to infuse international developments and helping local advocates integrate the implications of global policy in their work at home.
History of the International Refugee Rights Initiative: … (full text).