PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED BY

THE HALINA NIEĆ LEGAL AID CENTRE

1.The Halina Nieć Legal Aid Centre actively participates in activities of Committee for Combating and Preventing Human Trafficking established as consultative and advisory body to the Prime Minister and of Working Group, which consists of all experts representing institutions participating in the above mentioned Committee’s work.

2.“Give them a chance! – improvement of the integration’s chances of aliens applying for the refugee status through legal aid, counteraction violence and social campaign”.

Project is being implemented from 1^st December 2009 till 31^st December 2011.

Project concentrates on providing information and free of charge legal aid to aliens applying for the refugee status in Poland and staying in the reception centres for the asylum seekers or beyond of them.

One of crucial component of the project is providing legal aid to aliens who qualify as  “vulnerable group”. We may include to this category aliens whose psychophysical state allows to presume that they have been exposed to violence or to other traumatic events; aliens, including especially women who have been subjected to sexual or gender based violence; the victims of human trafficking, unaccompanied minors and other persons qualified as vulnerable – elder people, the disabled, single mothers etc. Although those persons constitute relatively small percentage among aliens applying for the refugee status in Poland, such incidents appear regularly and not only require a special attention, but also appropriate preparations from the lawyers involved in the case. The lawyers employed in the project will be identifying, within general counselling, aliens qualifying as “vulnerable group”, and providing them legal assistance consisting in: establishment of identification procedures in administration proceedings which will disclose that a given person belongs to above mentioned category of aliens and monitoring social conditions and manner of treatment in visited reception centres.

3.“Counteracting Women Trafficking from Central - Eastern Europe. Information – Prevention – Identification – Intervention”

Project was implemented in cooperation with La Strada Foundation from 15^th July 2008 till 15^th January 2009.

Main goals of the project were:

1.Improvement and facilitating access victims of human trafficking to administration of justice through their identification, support, legal aid, reliable and accessible information adaptable to the needs of beneficiaries,

2.Monitoring the activities of the relevant authorities, including the tasks from National Programme for Combating and Preventing Trafficking in Human Beings,

3.Raising awareness among Polish society on abuses of human rights of victims of trafficking through information campaign on human rights of marginalised groups,

4.Establishing new forms of phone and Internet assistance, including information online in order to minimise the risk of being a victim of human trafficking.

5.Ataining professional and social reintegration of victims of human trafficking.

Within the project the Halina Nieć Legal Aid Centre provided legal aid to victims of human trafficking, support, assistance for witnesses, monitored the implementation of the National Programme for Combating and Preventing Trafficking in Human Beings, and also participated in preparing and conducting information campaign “Look closer. React. Human trafficking concerns also Poland” and TV spot “You are not a merchandise”. The aim of the campaign was to raise awareness of Poles that they may become a victim of human trafficking or they may meet with such crime in another way. Additionally the campaign was informing about a possibility of benefiting from legal aid and information both for victims and persons threatened of human trafficking.

4.In 2009 the Halina Nieć Legal Aid Centre within monitoring AMAS (Asylum Access Management Support) prepared and carried out 3 trainings for officers recruited from different units of Border Guard. Trainings included such issues as: protection of refugees, comprehension of non-refoulement principle, phenomenon of human trafficking, sexual and gender based violence, unaccompanied minors as well as victims of violence and trauma.

5.The Halina Nieć Legal Aid Centre in cooperation with La Strada Foundation realized from October 2008 till December 2009 “Project relating to sexual based violence or gender related violence against aliens staying in the reception centres for asylum seekers” – thanks to funds from UNHCR.

6.The Halina Nieć Legal Aid Centre actively participated in preparation of breakthrough agreement on “Standard Operating Procedures with regard to recognition, counteracting and responding to cases of sexual based violence or gender related violence against aliens staying in reception centers for asylum seekers”, which was signed in Warsaw on 25^th March 2008 between the Head of the Office for Foreigners, Police Commander in Chief, UNHCR, La Strada Foundation and The Halina Nieć Legal Aid Center.

Since signing that Agreement The HNLAC takes part in activities of Evaluation Group SGBV (sexual and gender based violence).