## **Report of the trustees and financial accounts**
**for the year ending 31 December 2021**
**www.asylos.eu**
## **Asylos Annual Report 2021**
## **Content**
**03 Report of the Trustees**
**05 Achievements and Performance**
- **17 Financial Review**
**18 Structure, Governance and Management**
Photo credits: Lisa de Bruin
## **Report of the Trustees**
## **About Asylos**
Asylos is an international network of volunteers who provide high-quality human rights research and documentation to asylum seekers around the world. This Country of Origin Information is essential to corroborate the testimony of individuals fleeing persecution, and often makes the difference between winning and losing a case.
## **We are a charity**
Asylos is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), registered with the Charities Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1158386) at Unit 12 Imperial Works, Fountayne Road, South Tottenham, London N15 4QL. Our principal office is located at Asterweg 20N, 1031 HN Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
## **Objectives**
The objective of Asylos, as set out in its original constitution from July 29, 2014 and its amended version from May 19, 2020, is the promotion of human rights law, particularly with respect to people seeking asylum and stateless people.
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**Access to information.**
**Use of information.**
**Absence of prejudice.**
**Societal Awareness.**
**Organisational stability.**
**Country of Origin The asylum procedure is The asylum procedure Information (COI) is always evidence-based. is always unbiased. accessible to all who Relevant, timely and highProcesses involving need it. People seeking quality Country of Origin people seeking asylum are asylum and their legal Information is considered conducted in a fair and counsel have access to in every asylum decision. impartial manner with relevant, timely and highno room for assumptions quality information to or preconceptions. substantiate their claims.**
**There is broad recognition Asylos is sustainable within host societies of and fit to deliver its the importance of highmission. This includes quality COI in the financial stability asylum procedure. and a participatory organisational structure.**
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## **Report of the Trustees**
**Consistently fill COI gaps.**
**Create additional COI research capacity.**
**Improve the accessibility and reach of highquality COI.**
**Identify and serve the Build capacity of the most vulnerable people COI sector. seeking asylum.**
Our research investigates human rights violations in specific countries or deals with specific facts relating to the claimant’s testimony. Our reports are free of charge and compiled on demand for asylum lawyers and (I)NGOs who assist people fleeing persecution and grave threats with their claim to protection. In addition, we publish larger thematic research reports that fill information gaps.
We train volunteer
researchers, lawyers and (I) NGO representatives on researching and using Country of Origin Information to represent their clients with better informed procedures, leading to fairer decisionmaking on asylum claims.
We administer a growing database of research reports and constantly invest in growing its audience and improving its functions. The database is accessible to anyone supporting persons seeking asylum worldwide. Through outreach online and offline, we aim to ensure that our research can support as many people seeking asylum as possible.
We develop training modules We conduct outreach and addressing particularly conversations with key COI vulnerable groups of asylumactors, primarily in the EU seekers, accompanied by and UK, to ensure effective outreach to raise awareness exchange of knowledge of the research services we and research insights. offer for these groups.
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## **Achievements and Performance**
## **We continued to produce and provide new COI research reports**
In total, we produced 64 reports for people seeking asylum originating from 44 countries.
The completed reports were split as follows between our regional research teams:
- MENA (27%)
- Americas (23%)
- Africa (20%)
- Asia (19%) and Russia
- and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS, 11%).
The reports that we produced were used at the following stages of the asylum procedure: initial administrative application (50%), first appeal (23%), and further submission / fresh claim (9%). 18% of reports produced were not applicable or used in other procedures such as statelessness, Article 8 and Article 3 claims.
- Reports produced in 2021 covered questions on:
- social group (21 reports; 33%)
- national – local governance practices (16 reports; 25%)
- domestic security (13 reports; 20%)
- gender (8 reports; 13%)
- political opposition (4 reports; 6%) and civil status (2 reports; 3%).
Asylos received 77 research requests in 2021. These were requested by a wide range of stakeholders, including lawyers and caseworkers from (I)NGOs. Our referrers support their clients either on a pro bono (14%) basis, through charity funding in the case of charities (30%), for cases funded by legal aid (26%), financed by the client (25%) or other means (5%). This underlines the value and importance of Asylos providing COI reports free of charge.
The top four countries for research requests were:
- Afghanistan
- Honduras
- Ethiopia and
- Nigeria.
Research requests came from 9 host countries:
- the US (29),
- the UK (28)
- France (11)
- Belgium (6),
- Germany (3)
- Bahamas (1)
- Canada (1)
- Italy (1) and
- Sweden (1).
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## **Achievements and Performance**
## **We traced the impact of our research :**
Through our robust feedback protocol, we continued to monitor the impact of our reports in order to further develop and refine our work. Our feedback collection usually takes time with a time lag of at least one year, given the time it typically takes between a research request to Asylos and the actual date of the respective hearing. We collect feedback on a quarterly basis and aggregate it once a year. Throughout 2021, we collected feedback on all research reports that were requested in 2020. In total, we were able to obtain feedback on 44.59% of respective reports produced.
**Feedback on reports Feedback on reports requested in 2020: requested in 2021:**
We followed up and recorded At the time of writing, feedback collection information on final outcomes of cases on final outcomes for research requested that were requested in 2020. Of the 74 in 2021 is currently still ongoing. Initial cases requested in 2020, Asylos received data on feedback regarding the quality feedback on 44.59% (33 cases). Of these: and usefulness of these reports is already available:
- 21.2% had received a ‘successful’
outcome, 54.6% had an ‘alternative outcome’, 15.2% were unsuccessful and 9% ‘other’. Of the respondents noting ‘alternative outcome’, 38.9% indicated that the hearing or submission was delayed due to COVID-19; an additional 50% of respondents indicated they were awaiting the decision.
- Lawyers stressed the indispensability of contacts on the ground as well as expert reports, and commended the thoroughness and quality of our research.
- to COVID-19; an additional 50% of • In 98% of feedback collected for respondents indicated they were requests made in 2021, requestors awaiting the decision. said that our research provided them with information they did not
- • 45.5% of respondents shared our already have before (testimonials are report with colleagues (an increase available **online** ). of 5% as compared to last year).
In a number of cases, our reports helped people seeking asylum to be legally recognised as refugees:
- We published a selection of successful ‘Asylum Stories’ on our **website** .
## **Feedback and Successes 2021**
##
**A young woman from Pakistan obtained refugee status in France after our research was used to support her claim. Her lawyer said, “thank you again for your brilliant work which is so helpful.”**
**In response to our research on the situation of Hmong People in Laos a lawyer provided the following feedback to us: “Thank you so much for the extensively researched report that you provided. It was extremely helpful in convincing the Judge to approve our asylum case. My clients are very grateful.”**
_**Immigration Lawyer (France)**_
**We published the full story on our blog: Atheist asylee: Aynoor’s story**
_**Immigration Lawyer (USA)**_
**Feedback 2021**
##
**In response to a research report on Sudan, we received the following feedback: “Asylos staff was highly professional and responsive. They reacted and responded to our call for support in spite of extremely narrow deadlines, understanding the importance of the ECtHR cases for the concrete individual but also for the EU/European future asylum and human rights legal practice. Your report helped us a lot in order to supply our observations with the appropriate sources. Without your report we would not be able to support some of our arguments in the pleadings. Besides, we couldn’t find local sources in Arabic having in mind that we couldn’t read nor speak Arabic ourselves.”**
_**Rados Djurovic, Executive Director Asylum Protection Center (Serbia)**_
**Origin Information**
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## **Achievements and Performance**
## **Feedback on our Ghana report**
**We increased our thematic research (with support from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation):**
We continued to monitor and address COI gaps to identify the most pertinent research topics. Our thematic research reports are designed to address these gaps by combining publicly available information with new information obtained from interviewing.
We published our fourth and fifth thematic research reports in 2021 in partnership with ARC Foundation.
The report **Ghana: State Treatment of LGBTQI+ Persons** was published in March 2021.
Recent information, particularly from Elements of the report were January 2021 onwards highlighted incorporated in the UK Home Office the deterioration of the situation of Country Policy and Information Note LGBTI+ persons in Ghana, particularly on Sexual and Gender Identity and by state actors. This includes arbitrary Expression in Ghana, as well as in a arrests, evictions and a new proposed report by the Dutch Directorate-General legislation that would criminalise for Migration and cited by ILGA World being gay, bisexual or transgender. and others. Throughout 2021, our Ghana report was downloaded from our website, ecoi.net and ARC Foundation’s website by over 2,228 unique users and used in numerous asylum cases.
**“It contains information we knew existed but never thought it had been researched on and documented for reference. This has been very helpful. Also, the report gave vital information on UK asylum seeking guidelines which we passed onto community members wishing to take that route in the UK.”**
**“Excellent report. With so few LGBTQI+ asylum claims able to get protection in the UK, this report speaks volumes.”**
_**Alex Kofi Donkor, Director of LGBT+ Rights Ghana**_
_**Phil Arnold of the British Red Cross / Asylos Trustee on Twitter**_
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## **Achievements and Performance**
**We increased our thematic research (with support from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation):**
We felt that there was a particularly pressing need to research disability at this time because persons with disabilities have been disproportionately impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic. Furthermore, new case law (DH (Particular Social Group: Mental Health) Afghanistan **[2020] UKUT 223 (IAC)** recognises for the first time in UK asylum law that a “person living with disability or mental ill-health” may qualify as a member of a particular social group (PSG), suggesting that there may be momentum towards a better understanding of disability within the asylum system.
We published our report **Nigeria: Children and Young People with Disabilities in October 2021** , again in partnership with ARC Foundation.
The topic choice was prompted by lawyers in the UK representing Nigerian children and young people with disabilities seeking asylum, who identified an information gap on this topic. The lack of good quality COI on issues related to disability stems from the way international protection claims for persons with disabilities are commonly presented: with a focus on medical responses to an impairment, a failure to take a holistic and intersectional approach in identifying the relevant issues, and an absence of relevant material or sources.
Sources interviewed for the report paint a troubling picture of the situation for children and young people with disabilities in Nigeria, despite the recent adoption of legislation by the State to comply with their obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
They highlight the multiple forms and layers of discrimination, by state actors and within communities and families, and the prevailing lack of protection or access to redress, that affect children and young people with disabilities in Nigeria, severely impairing their lives and in many cases putting them at (further) risk of exploitation and harm.
Throughout 2021, the Nigeria report was downloaded from our website, ecoi.net and ARC Foundation’s website by over 813 unique users and used in numerous asylum cases. The report was the foundation from which we built our Principles Document, Training Handbook and series of webinar training sessions on researching information for asylum claims involving disability discussed further below. We were pleased to partner with Garden Court Chambers and the Helen Bamber Foundation to deliver the webinar and launch event **“Country of Origin Information for Persons with Disabilities”** in February 2022, to discuss the Nigeria report in a **blog post on the Free Movement website** and to have seen it featured on ecoi.net and Lifos, the Swedish Migration Agency’s database for country information and legal governance.
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## **Achievements and Performance**
## **We trained new Asylos volunteers:**
## **We invested in developing our research tools and standards:**
In 2021, we conducted a big volunteer recruitment drive. 22 new volunteers were recruited, trained and onboarded. The drive is part of an initiative to switch to an annual volunteer recruitment model, which we are hoping will make our volunteer recruitment more efficient and allow us to streamline volunteer checkins throughout the year.
We conducted an annual update on our core research training curriculum for Asylos volunteer researchers and ensured that volunteer researchers refresh their knowledge by re-taking the core training modules:
- About Asylos
- Country-of-origin Information
- From a Research Assignment to the Start of your Research
- Assessing and Selecting Source Material
- Writing the Report.
In addition, we launched four new thematic training modules specifically for Asylos volunteers.
- Our Interviewing training module launched in March 2021 and provides guidance for researchers on incorporating interviews into their research process, including guidelines on confidentiality and anonymity, as well as practical interviewing tips.
- We launched a child-specific research training module in June 2021. The training provides advice and guidance for conducting COI research on cases that involve children.
- In response to volunteer requests, we drafted and launched a new training module on researching medical Country of Origin Information in October 2021. The module explains the legal framework for medical cases and best practice of substantiating these with COI.
- We also launched a new internal training module on COI research for Family and Private Life related cases in December 2021, offering guidance on how to frame and approach research for these type of cases.
We invited Asylos volunteers to participate in our external COI training webinars covering basic, childspecific and disability-specific COI research. In addition, we started work on a new disability-specific research training module for Asylos volunteers, which was ultimately launched in early 2022. On occasion, further training opportunities were made available to volunteers in the context of our monthly Network Calls, to which sometimes invited external guest speakers who presented relevant work.
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## **Achievements and Performance**
**Feedback on our core research training modules:**
##
**Feedback on our core research training modules**
**“I found it extremely interesting and useful, and very thorough and well designed. I feel as though I definitely got a clear picture of how Asylos works, and the expectations, principles and standards required to complete COI research.”**
**“I enjoyed doing the research training, which was interesting, clear and straight to the point. I found Asylos methodology very professional.” “I was very pleased and impressed! I’ve never had** _**Silvia Frugoni (Asia team)**_ **such comprehensive tutorials with such detail. I also found the quizzes very useful.”**
_**Andrew Moore (Africa team)**_
**“I really enjoyed the training. It was so informative. I’ve actually just started the ‘Interviewing in COI research’ module, which I’m also enjoying.”**
_**Baya Faure (MENA team)**_
_**Kauthar Menhal (MENA team)**_
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## **Achievements and Performance**
**We offered COI training webinars to legal representatives in and beyond the UK:**
## **Feedback Feedback for 2021 2021 Training Webinars**
(With project funding from the AB Charitable Trust, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and the Leathersellers Company Charitable Fund)
Throughout 2021, we conducted external COI research training webinars for legal representatives in the UK and beyond in partnership with ARC Foundation.
- We delivered a series of 5 basic COI training webinars.
- In addition, we delivered 5 child-specific training webinars.
- We developed a new training module and handbook on disability-specific COI research, in preparation for the delivery of a series of disability-specific training webinars that took place in early 2022
In total, we trained 261 individuals in 2021.
- 96% of participants stated that as a result of the workshop they felt more confident in researching and using COI and 100% rated the training as ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’.
##
**“Thank you both so much for today’s excellent training. I found it really helpful [...]. It’s not always easy taking time out of case work, but this was absolutely worthwhile.”**
**“The workshop was one of the best I had been to and I was able to learn a great deal! The information I was able to take away from this workshop will continue to improve my research skills invaluably when advocating for others.”**
_**Charlotte Alderson - solicitor at Asylum Aid (January 2021)**_
**“The resources and practical activities. I have learnt loads and felt really engaged by it. Definitely the most helpful workshop I’ve been to in a long time!”**
_**Carla Field on LinkedIn (2021)**_
_**A training participant (February 2021)**_
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## **Achievements and Performance**
## **We raised awareness of our work:**
We increased the number of followers on social media (from 929 to 1,376 on LinkedIn, from 3,456 to 3,671 on Facebook and from 3,456 to 3,515 on Twitter).
Throughout 2021, we engaged in • advocacy and communication activities to raise awareness for the circumstances that motivate our work:
- We published nine **news items** and six **blog posts** on our website, including: “ **Atheist Asylee: Aynoor’s story** ”, “ **Four tips for efficient child-specific COI research** ” and “ **How interviews can help fill information gaps** ”.
Next to working on the production of research reports, we also worked on increasing the reach of our research:
- Even when we produce research with an individual asylum claim in mind, the evidence we find frequently applies to the cases of many other
- We welcomed 18,474 visitors to our main website (57.33% increase on previous year) and 3,829 visitors to our database of research reports (0.85% decrease on previous year).
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people seeking asylum. Our website is where our research lives, and registered lawyers can search our database for existing research by a range of countries and key words.
In 2021, our case-specific research reports were downloaded 1,128 times. This gives us an approximate indication of how many asylum cases they were used for. We estimate that each download represents approximately one use in an asylum case, with some downloads not leading to a use and other downloads leading to multiple uses.
We disseminated our research reports to 2,810 lawyers, caseworkers and (I)NGOs worldwide through monthly research updates (up from 2,536 subscribers).
## **We made our resources more accessible:**
Together with Clifford Chance, ARC Foundation and Thomson Reuters, we continue to develop a shared COI database to serve as a one-stop-shop for COI. This will increase access to our research, ensure the process is more user friendly and ultimately assist more people seeking asylum. While we had hoped to have completed this by the end of 2021, we have encountered some hurdles with the developers and look forward to continuing work on this project in 2022
## **Achievements and Performance**
**We responded to Emergency COI needs:**
**Continue improving COI access for cases that concern people with disabilities:**
**Feedback on the Afghanistan Repository**
In response to the crisis in Afghanistan, in September 2021 we started working with ARC Foundation, Clifford Chance and Refugee Action to compile an **Afghanistan Country of Origin Information Repository.** Updated weekly, the Repository covers topics such as life under the Taliban, access to medical care, freedom of movement and particular issues faced by women, people with disabilities, children and other targeted groups. Following extremely positive feedback, what started as an impromptu idea very quickly grew into a more concrete project.
At the end of 2021, we had over 4,201 unique visitors to the Afghanistan project page on our website, and 4,174 downloads of the Repository from our website and ecoi.net.
Our ability to respond quickly and nimbly to the crisis in Afghanistan was largely thanks to the core funding from donors like the Sigrid Rausing Trust. In addition, we were awarded an Emergency grant from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation that is allowing us to continue the work by engaging a consultant to take this work forward from January 2022 onwards.
(with project funding from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation)
We created and launched a **principles document** on researching disability which will be used in ongoing advocacy with the Home Office and EASO around the need for better informed COI on disability issues. [Afternote: in early 2022, we also launched a disability-specific research training handbook, a series of four training webinars and a project launch event hosted by Garden Court Chambers]
**“It’s bang up to date, with a new edition every Thursday for the time being.”**
_**Free Movement’s post**_
##
**“I have just become aware of your wonderful resource and intend to share it widely along with my own research efforts... So grateful for what you and so many others are doing!!”**
_**Cyndy Levy, VECINA and VIISTA – Villanova**_
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## **Achievements and Performance**
**We prepared for a project transfer from our long-term partner, ARC Foundation:**
We have been preparing for an imminent project transfer from our longterm project partner, ARC Foundation (after which ARC Foundation will wind up). Combined with our core work, the additional projects will considerably strengthen our capacity to advocate for stronger, more evidence-based asylum determinations and to make systematic changes to UK asylum policy, ultimately improving the lives of people seeking asylum across the UK. To that end, we have been able to hire two part-time Programme Managers who commenced in January 2022 and will share responsibility for this work.
**We developed and nurtured partnerships:**
Our Afghanistan Emergency research initiative was launched in partnership with Clifford Chance, ARC Foundation and Refugee Action.
Throughout 2021, we developed new partnerships and nurtured ongoing ones.
Our Nigeria disability project involved close collaboration with colleagues from the Helen Bamber Foundation, as well as with a Steering Committee composed of individuals specialised in disability law and research.
In the context of this project, we also established and strengthened working relationships with organisations including:
- the Public Interest Litigation Network (PILnet)
- the Asia-Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN)
- the Afghan Pro Bono Initiative
Working closely in partnership with others allowed us to pool resources in a context where we needed to act fast, as well as to ensure that we work efficiently and effectively, complementing each others’ work.
- the ATLAS network
- the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) and
- Villanova University.
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## **Achievements and Performance**
## **We focused on fundraising:**
**We strengthened our governance and advisory structures:**
In 2021, we convened a total of 7 network-wide calls, 5 board meetings and 3 fundraising sub-committee meetings.
We recruited two new highly competent We continued to convene quarterly members of the board of trustees: Phil finance and fundraising sub-committee Arnold, Head of Refugee Support for meetings with a subgroup of the Board, the British Red Cross (BRC) joined the the Director and the Fundraiser to Board in January 2021. Liz Williams, monitor progress and ensure financial Policy Impact Manager at the Modern stability. Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre and former Co-Founder We renewed funding with existing funders: and Co-Director of ARC Foundation, Sigrid Rausing Trust, AB Charitable joined the Board in December 2021. Trust, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, a [Afternote: In early 2022, we recruited Dutch private philanthropist, the Haella an additional new trustee, Stephanie Foundation, and the Souter Trust. Huber, Co-Founder and (former) Co-Director of ARC Foundation]
We convened one two-day coordination meeting in April 2021. Because of the pandemic and related travel restrictions, the conference was convened online, covering discussions about our shared vision and impact so far, our plans for 2021, the research and coordination process as well as a training workshop on interviewing in COI research.
Colin Yeo retired from the board upon the expiration of his term at the end of May 2021 and is now a member of our Advisory Committee.
We also went through a rotation of Chair of the Board: This role was handed from Dick Oosting to Alexandra Dufresne. Dick Oosting remains a trustee at Asylos.
We also confirmed grants with several new funders: the Allen Lane Foundation, Evan Cornish Foundation, an Austrian private Philanthropist, Hilden Charitable Fund, Oak Foundation and Leathersellers’ Company Charitable Fund.
We raised 2,197 EUR in individual donations.
## **Financial Review**
During the year, the net funds raised from the general public and philanthropies was 272,000 EUR. Philanthropic donations are our biggest source of income and in total we raised a net income of 235,000 EUR from this source. In addition, we carried over 57,000 EUR from the previous year. Our total expenses in 2021 amounted to 166,000 EUR.
As shown in the restricted funds column in the Statement of Financial Activities, restrictive income was 241,000 EUR which was raised for particular programmes or to be spent within a particular timeframe. We still have 140,000 EUR left which will be used as these programmes progress.
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INCOME
Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Total funds 2020
Paul Hamlyn Foundation €104,302 €104,302 €57,946
Sigrid Rausing Trust €13,907 €55,628 €69,535 €46,357
AB Charitable Trust €23,178 €23,178 €23,178
Open Society Initative for Europe €21,687
Dutch private donor €15,000 €15,000 €15,000
Haella Foundation €5,000 €5,000 €5,000
Stichting Niks Voor Niks €5,000
European Programme for Integra-
€1,000
tion and Migration
Allen Lane Foundation €11,589 €11,589
Leathersellers’ Company Charita-
€1,738 €1,738
ble Trust
Austrian Private Philanthropist €20,000 €20,000
Evan Cornish Foundation €5,795 €5,795
Souter Trust €4,634 €4,634
Oak Foundation €8,692 €8,692
Other donations €2,197 €2,197 €2,573
Interest and other €11 €11 €133
TOTAL INCOME €31,115 €240,556 €271,671 €177,874
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## **Financial Review**
At the end of 2021, Asylos had 22,862 EUR in reserves. This represents more than one month unrestricted funds expenditure on charitable activities. It is the trustees’ view that the charity ideally needs about three months’ worth of expenditure to cover emergency situations and prevent disruptions to programmes. Trustees will therefore aim to build further reserves over time.
Restricted funds and unrestricted funds that are earmarked to be spent in a certain timeframe are not included in the trustees’ view of reserve needs because these funds are held by the charity for only as long as is necessary to organise the relevant activities. Normally these funds are spent within one year of receipt.
## **EXPENDITURE**
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Payments Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Total funds 2020
Network coordination €8,253 €95,799 €104,052 €99,840
Volunteer meetings €218 €218 €4,076
€12,822 €12,822 €7,096
Office costs
UK Project €43,777 €43,777 €63,255
Governance and development €5,195 €5,195 €5,017
TOTAL PAYMENTS €8,253 €157,812 €166,065 €179,284 ,822
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## **NET RECEIPTS/PAYMENTS**
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Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Total funds 2020
Net of receipts/payments €22,862 €82,744 €105,606 -€1,410
Transfer between funds €10,292 €10,292
Cash funds last year end €10,292 €46,552 €56,844 €58,254
TOTAL PAYMENTS €22,862 €139,588 €162,450 €56,844
CASH FUNDS
BNP Paribas (Belgium) €22,862 €27,288
Triodos (UK) €112,299
TOTAL €22,862 €139,588
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## **Structure, Governance and Management**
Asylos is an international non-governmental organisation established in 2010. Its original constitution is dated July 29, 2014 and was amended on May 19, 2020. It is registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation with the Charity Commission of England and Wales. The constitution defines the charity’s objects as:
‘The promotion of human rights law as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent United Nations or regional conventions and declarations, and in national law. In pursuing this object, Asylos will focus on the advancement of human rights law with respect to people seeking asylum and stateless people in the UK and elsewhere.’
## **Board of Trustees**
The constitution allows for up to 12 trustees to be appointed. Trustees serve for renewable terms of three years, with the exception of the founding trustees, who served for renewable terms of four years. Trustees can serve until they either resign or their term ends without renewal. None of our trustees were remunerated for their trusteeship aside from expenses.
Our trustees are responsible for setting the strategy and are responsible in law for the running of Asylos. All trustees, except where otherwise stated, served for the whole year:
- Alexandra Dufresne (chair)
- Katharina Natter (vice chair)
- Phil Arnold (appointed in January 2021)
- Anna Magyarlaki
- Dick Oosting
- Diamantoula Vlantoni
- Liz Williams (appointed in December 2021)
- Mira Wolf-Bauwens [Afternote: Mira Wolf-Bauwens relinquished her duties as Trustee in 2022]
When new trustees are appointed, they are given a formal induction to the work of the charity and provided with the information they need to fulfill their roles, which includes information about the role of trustees and charity law. New trustees are nominated by the board of trustees, and appointed where they have the necessary skills to contribute to the charity’s management and development.
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
## **Advisory Committee**
## **Staff**
Since 2012, Asylos has benefitted from an Advisory Committee to advise on research priorities and to support fundraising. In 2021, its members are:
- Thomas Klau (Chair of the Advisory Committee, co-founder of Asylos and editor of Eurointelligence)
- Franziska Brantner (member of the German Bundestag) [Afternote: Franziska Brantner relinquished her duties as Advisory Committee member in 2022]
- Géraud de Geouffre de la Pradelle (President of the Citizen’s Enquiry Commission on France’s Role in Rwanda and a Patron of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine)
- Gunnar Lund (former Ambassador of Sweden to France, the US, and the EU) Anila Noor (Refugee activist based in the Netherlands)
- Salim Salamah (Activist focusing on the issue of statelessness among the Syrian-Palestinian population)
- Satya Staes Polet (lawyer in a leading international law firm)
At the end of 2021, Asylos had three staff members (two full-time and one part-time), all based in the Netherlands. Asylos’ Director, Sophie Kloos, is responsible for the strategic management of the organisation and the daily coordination and delegation of all Asylos-related tasks. The Network Coordinator, Nanneke Wisman (full-time), coordinates the volunteer network. Our part-time Fundraiser, Laura Wu, raises funds for Asylos. Asylos also worked with two part-time consultants, Maya Pritchard and Lara Casalotti, based in London, who delivered its UK-specific activities. [Afternote: In January 2022, two new part-time members of staff and one new part-time consultant were recruited to coordinate Asylos’ UK-specific activities and Afghanistan Emergency Response].
Asylos’ staff work closely with the volunteer coordination team, comprising Asylos’ 12 regional research coordinators (up to three per team) for Africa, Americas, Asia, MENA and the Russia/CIS team. Each coordinator oversees the work of the volunteer researchers in the respective team and contributes to the strategic development of the network and its functions.
- Nick Witney (senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations)
- Colin Yeo (Founder and Editor of the Free Movement blog; barrister at Garden Court Chambers)
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## **Declarations**
The Trustees are responsible for preparing the trustees’ report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom accounting standards. The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period.
The trustees are responsible for keeping accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy the financial position of the charity and enable them to ascertain to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 1993, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulation 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
In the interest of transparency and accountability to our donors we publish our annual report and accounts on our website. The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the charity and financial information included on the charity’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
Approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:
31st October 2022
## **Katharina Natter Date**
**21**
## **We stand for asylum decisions based on evidence.**
**www.asylos.eu**
|||**Charity Name**|**Charity Name**|||||||||**No (if any)**|**No (if any)**|**No (if any)**|**No (if any)**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**Asylos**||||||||||**1158386**|||||||||
||||**Receipts and payments accounts**||||||||||||||||**CC16a**||
||||**For the period**
**from**||||Period start date
1/1/2021||||**To**||||Period end date
31/12/2021||||||
|**Section A Receipts and payments**|||||||||||||||||||||
||||**Unrestricted**
**funds**|||**Restricted funds**|||||**Endowment**
**funds**||||**Total funds**||||**Last year**||
||||**to the nearest €**||||**to the nearest €**||||**to the nearest €**||||**to the nearest €**||||**to the nearest €**||
|**A1 Receipts**|||||||||||||||||||||
|Paul Hamlyn Foundation||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**104,302-**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**104,302-**|||**-**|**57,946-**||
|Sigrid Rausing Trust||**-**|**13,907-**|||**-**|**55,628-**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**69,535-**|||**-**|**46,357-**||
|AB Charitable Trust||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**23,178-**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**23,178-**|||**-**|**23,178-**||
|Open Society Initiative for Europe||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**21,687-**||
|Dutch private donor||**-**|**15,000-**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**15,000-**|||**-**|**15,000-**||
|Haella Foundation||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**5,000-**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**5,000-**|||**-**|**5,000-**||
|Stichting Niks Voor Niks||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**5,000-**||
|European Programme for Integration and||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**1,000-**||
|Allen Lane Foundation||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**11,589-**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**11,589-**|||**-**|**--**||
|Leathersellers' Company Charitable Trust||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**1,738-**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**1,738-**|||**-**|**--**||
|Austrian Private Philanthropist||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**20,000-**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**20,000-**|||**-**|**--**||
|Evan Cornish Foundation||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**5,795-**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**5,795-**|||**-**|**--**||
|Souter Trust||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**4,634-**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**4,634-**|||**-**|**--**||
|Oak Foundation||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**8,692-**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**8,692-**|||**-**|**--**||
|Other donations||**-**|**2,197-**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**2,197-**|||**-**|**2,573-**||
|Interest and other||**-**|**11-**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**11-**|||**-**|**133-**||
|||**-**|**31,115-**|||**-**|**240,556-**|||**-**|**--**|||**-**|**271,671-**|||**-**|**177,874-**||
|**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for AR)_|||||||||||||||||||||
||**Charity Name**
**Asylos**
|**Charity Name**
**Asylos**
|**Charity Name**
**Asylos**
|**Charity Name**
**Asylos**
|**Charity Name**
**Asylos**
|**No (if any)**
**1158386**|**No (if any)**
**1158386**|**CC16a**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**For the period**
**from**||Period start date
1/1/2021||**To**
|Period end date
31/12/2021|||
||||||||||
|**Section A Receipts and payments**|||||||||
|**A1 Receipts**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest €**||**Restricted funds**
**to the nearest €**||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to the nearest €**|**Total funds**
**to the nearest €**||**Last year**
**to the nearest €**|
|Paul Hamlyn Foundation|**-**
**--**||**-**
**104,302-**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**104,302-**||**-**
**57,946-**|
|Sigrid Rausing Trust|**-**
**13,907-**||**-**
**55,628-**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**69,535-**||**-**
**46,357-**|
|AB Charitable Trust|**-**
**--**||**-**
**23,178-**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**23,178-**||**-**
**23,178-**|
|Open Society Initiative for Europe|**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**--**||**-**
**21,687-**|
|Dutch private donor|**-**
**15,000-**||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**15,000-**||**-**
**15,000-**|
|Haella Foundation|**-**
**--**||**-**
**5,000-**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**5,000-**||**-**
**5,000-**|
|Stichting Niks Voor Niks|**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**--**||**-**
**5,000-**|
|European Programme for Integration and|**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**--**||**-**
**1,000-**|
|Allen Lane Foundation|**-**
**--**||**-**
**11,589-**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**11,589-**||**-**
**--**|
|Leathersellers' Company Charitable Trust|**-**
**--**||**-**
**1,738-**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**1,738-**||**-**
**--**|
|Austrian Private Philanthropist|**-**
**--**||**-**
**20,000-**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**20,000-**||**-**
**--**|
|Evan Cornish Foundation|**-**
**--**||**-**
**5,795-**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**5,795-**||**-**
**--**|
|Souter Trust|**-**
**--**||**-**
**4,634-**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**4,634-**||**-**
**--**|
|Oak Foundation|**-**
**--**||**-**
**8,692-**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**8,692-**||**-**
**--**|
|Other donations|**-**
**2,197-**||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**2,197-**||**-**
**2,573-**|
|Interest and other|**-**
**11-**||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**11-**||**-**
**133-**|
|**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for AR)_|**-**
**31,115-**||**-**
**240,556-**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**271,671-**||**-**
**177,874-**|
|**A2 Asset and investment sales, (see**
**table).**|||||||||
||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**--**|||
||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**|
|**_Sub total_-**
**--**
**_Total receipts_ -**
**31,115-**
**A3 Payments**
Network Coordination
**-**
**8,253-**
Volunteer meetings
Office costs
UK Project
Governance and Development
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**|**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**|
||||||||||
||**-**
**31,115-**||**-**
**240,556-**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**271,671-**||**-**
**177,874-**|
||||||||||
||**-**
**8,253-**||**-**
**95,799-**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**104,052-**||**-**
**99,840-**|
|Volunteer meetings|||**-**
**218-**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**218-**||**-**
**4,076-**|
|Office costs|||**-**
**12,822-**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**12,822-**||**-**
**7,096-**|
|UK Project|||**-**
**43,777-**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**43,777-**||**-**
**63,255-**|
|Governance and Development|||**-**
**5,195-**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**5,195-**||**-**
**5,017-**|
||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**|
||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**|
||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**|
||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**|
|**_Sub total_ -**
**8,253-**
**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**|**-**
**8,253-**||**-**
**157,812-**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**166,065-**||**-**
**179,284-**|
||||||||||
|**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**|||||||||
||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**--**|||
||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**--**|||
|**_Sub total_ -**
**--**
**_Total payments_ -**
**8,253-**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_ -**
**22,862-**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**-**
**10,292-**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**-**
**10,292-**
**_Cash funds this year end_ -**
**22,862-**|**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**--**|||
||||||||||
||**-**
**8,253-**||**-**
**157,812-**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**166,065-**||**-**
**179,284-**|
||||||||||
||**-**
**22,862-**||**-**
**82,744-**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**105,606-**||**-**
**1,410-**|
||**-**
**10,292-**||**-**
**10,292-**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**|
||**-**
**10,292-**||**-**
**46,552-**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**56,844-**||**-**
**58,254-**|
||**-**
**22,862-**||**-**
**139,588-**||**-**
**--**|**-**
**162,450-**||**-**
**56,844-**|
||||||||||
|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**|||||||||
|**Categories**
**B1 Cash funds**|**Details**
BNP Paribas (Belgium)
Triodos (UK)||||**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to nearest €**|**Restricted funds**
**to nearest €**
**-**
**27,288-**
**-**
**112,299-**||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest €**|
||BNP Paribas (Belgium)||||**-**
**22,862-**|**-**
**27,288-**||**-**
**--**|
||Triodos (UK)|||||**-**
**112,299-**||**-**
**--**|
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
10/21/2022
1
|||||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**||**-**
**--**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**B2 Other monetary assets**
**B3 Investment assets**
**B4 Assets retained for the**
**charity’s own use**
**B5 Liabilities**
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of
all the trustees|**_Total cash funds_**
(agree balances with receipts and payments account
(s))
**Details**
**Details**
**Details**
**Details**
Funds incurred in 2021, but not paid until 2022
Signature|||**-**
**22,862-**||**-**
**139,588-**||**-**
**--**|
|||||||||OK|
|||||**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted funds**
**to nearest €**
**to nearest €**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**Fund to which asset**
**belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**Fund to which asset**
**belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**Fund to which**
**liability relates**
**Amount due**
**(optional)**
5,157
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
**-**
**--**
Print Name
Katharina Natter||||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest €**|
|||||||||**-**
**--**|
|||||||||**-**
**--**|
|||||||||**-**
**--**|
|||||||||**-**
**--**|
|||||||||**-**
**--**|
|||||||||**-**
**--**|
|||||||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
|||||||||**-**
**--**|
|||||||||**-**
**--**|
|||||||||**-**
**--**|
|||||||||**-**
**--**|
|||||||||**-**
**--**|
|||||||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
|||||||||**-**
**--**|
|||||||||**-**
**--**|
|||||||||**-**
**--**|
|||||||||**-**
**--**|
|||||||||**-**
**--**|
|||||||||**-**
**--**|
|||||||||**-**
**--**|
|||||||||**-**
**--**|
|||||||||**-**
**--**|
|||||||||**When due**
**(optional)**|
||||||||||
||||||||||
||||||||||
||||||||||
||||||||||
|||||||||Date of approval|
|||||Katharina Natter||||24.10.2022|
||||||||||
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
10/21/2022
2
Independent Examlner's report to the trustees of Asylos
I report to the trustees on my examinallon of the accounts of A5ylos CIO 1.the CIO") for the year ended
31 December 2021
Responslbllltlfjs 4nd basss of report
As the charity trustees of the CIO you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts In accordance
with the requirements of the Charit(es Act 20111"the ACVI.
l report In respect of my examlnat(on of the CIO'S accounts carried out under sectlon 145 of the Art and
in carryinB OLIt my examination, I have followed the applicable Dlrection5 8iven by the Charity
Commlsslon under sethon 1451511bl of the Art.
Indèptndent *xamSntrr's statement
I have completed my eXamInaOn. I conflrm that no materlal matters have come to my atten0 In
connecdon wlth my examSnation givln8 me cause to belleve that in any materlal re5pert.'
accoundng record5 were not kept In respect of the CIO as requlred under secdon 130 of the Act;
or
2. the accounts do not accord wlth the accounYn8 re¢ords.
I have no concern5 and have come across no other matters in connectlon with the examinadon to whl¢h
ttentlon should be drawn In thls report order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be
reached.
-ieS
Trevor james FCA DChA FCIE
Oormer Cotta8e
West 8royle
Chichester
West Sussex
P019 3PR
20 October 2022