Scottish Refugee Council is an independent charity dedicated to providing advice, information and assistance to asylum seekers and refugees living in Scotland. We also provide specialist services in areas such as housing and welfare, women's issues, community development, the media and the arts.

We play a leading role in policy development and campaign on refugee issues to ensure that Scotland plays a full role in meeting the UK's legal and humanitarian obligations under the 1951 United Nations Convention on Refugees.

Celebrating 25 years

January 2010

25 years logo Scottish Refugee Council is celebrating 25 years of working with people seeking asylum. Scottish Refugee Council was born in 1985 when Refugee Action in Scotland, which worked primarily with Vietnamese ‘boat people’, was closed down. Since then we have been working with partner organisations and individuals to make Scotland a better place for all those who are seeking asylum.

Tell us your story

We want to celebrate everybody's achievements. If you have been involved with us, maybe as a staff or board member or as someone seeking advice, we would love to hear from you. We are hoping to collect people’s stories, photos and memories for use on our website and other publications, and hope to collate all the information at the end of the year.

Please use this email address to get in touch with us: info@scottishrefugeecouncil.org.uk

New fundraising campaign

January 2010

To coincide with our quarter century milestone, we have launched a campaign to secure more individual supporters for our future work. This is our first step in a long-term effort to increase the number of individual supporters we have and generate much needed resources that will allow us to do other work.

Read the campaign leaflet (217 KB pdf) and consider pledging your support. You can make a pledge quickly and easily by going to our donate page.

Annual Review 2009

Our Annual Review for 2009 is now available. Working together with people and partners who share our values, we have been influencing change, working in communities and offering advice and support. Thank you for working with us to make Scotland a place of sanctuary for those fleeing persecution.

Please click on the image on the right or click here to download the review (11.22MB PDF)

Will European Court of Human Rights ruling spell the end for child detention?

January 2010

An asylum-seeking family who were detained in Belgium has been awarded over £14,000 in damages after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that their detention was a violation of their human rights.

The family’s lawyer, Alexis Deswaef, said "This judgment is not the beginning of the end of family detention in Belgium but the end itself.

“Belgium should use its EU Presidency to push for EU-wide legislation prohibiting the detention of families.”

Read our press release about the ruling here (word.doc)

Big Lottery funds groundbreaking project for asylum-seeking children

January 2010

Scottish Refugee Council has been awarded crucial funding from the Big Lottery Fund to help vulnerable unaccompanied children through the asylum process. We have been awarded £507,252 towards the establishment of a pilot Guardianship Project for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Scotland.

The project will be the first of its kind in Europe, and is set to launch in partnership with Aberlour Child Care Trust later this year. It is also supported by the Scottish Government.

There are around 200 separated children currently in Scotland, who arrived on their own fleeing horrific situations of war or tribal conflict. Many have witnessed family members being persecuted or killed.

Click here to read our press release (word.doc)

Stop cuts to asylum support for 2010/2011

January 2010

Levels of asylum support are about to be set for the next financial year, 2010/2011. Scottish Refugee Council, along with our sister organisations in England and Wales and the Still Human Still Here coalition, is asking you to contact your MP on this issue.

Vist the Campaign section of our website to find out more.