mission statement

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The European Council on Refugees & Exiles (ECRE) is a pan-European network of refugee-assisting non-governmental organisations. ECRE is concerned with the needs of all individuals who seek refuge and protection within Europe.

aim

To promote the protection and integration of refugees in Europe based on the values of human dignity, human rights, and an ethic of solidarity.

methods

ECRE seeks to achieve this aim by:

1. Advocating a humane and generous European asylum policy and by promoting the development of a comprehensive and coherent response by the international community to refugee movements.
2. Strengthening networking between refugee-assisting non-governmental organisations in Europe.
3. Developing the institutional capacity of refugee-assisting non-governmental organisations in Europe.

ECRE draws on the energy, ideas and commitment of an active membership of refugee-assisting non-governmental organisations and a strong secretariat. It also strives to involve wider civil society, the political community and refugee communities in its work. It respects the cultural values of different parts of Europe.

It aims to ensure that its ideas and positions are of high quality, legally accurate and representative of a wide range of knowledge, experience and best practice throughout Europe.

Its working methods are guided by democratic values and the principle of seeking to mobilise the widest possible active involvement of its member agencies through working groups, advisory groups, regional fora and Europe-wide networks. It encourages, wherever appropriate, its member agencies to take the lead on a particular project.