Kindred is an organisation based on the principle there is no justification for discriminating between people because of some characteristic about them like race, gender, sexual orientation, religion.
The organisation promotes the values of equality and tolerance. We seek to transform our laws and our institutions to reflect these values.
We measure our success in both the individual lives we transform, and the policy change we drive from governments, businesses and international bodies.
Our current project is based in Calais and Dunkirk working with migrants there who are seeking to unite with UK family members. We are:
1) Offering legal help to families on either side of the channel.
This involves
2) Coordinating with existing NGOs working there
3) Campaigning for a political resolution of the situation
Our goal is to make the existing system work, as set out in the Common European Asylum Policy or Dublin III regulation. This provides a detailed set of legal rights to those seeking asylum to unify with family members. But it is not functioning. The UK and France are presiding over a situation that denies rather than facilitates people exercising legal rights. There needs to be formal apparatus for helping people establish their right to come to the UK and for adjudicating on that right.
The focus of the Dunkirk work, beginning with a documentary about the current situation, will be to head towards achieving some form of systemic reform, offering help to establish a refugee’s claim and to family unification, and independent adjudication on it.
Please visit our fundraising page, watch our video, and donate here – www.crowdjustice.com/case/unitefamilies/
Kindred is helping children in Northern France exercise their rights to unite with family members in the UK and claim asylum.
You can help child migrants to unite with UK families and claim asylum by donating here:
Alex Goodman is a barrister whose practise includes immigration law. He formerly chaired Medical Justice, a charity working for immigration detainees and was a councillor at London Borough of Camden. He has been working with others to set up the Dunkirk project working with refugees in camps and hostels in northern France over the past year.
Sasha is an experienced barrister with a particular expertise in immigration and judicial review.
Click here for more information on Sasha.
Samantha is an experienced immigration lawyer, who can also speak French.
Click here for more information.
Tim is a barrister specialising in human rights and public law with significant experience representing refugees.
Click here for more information on Tim.
Click here for more information on Annette.
Toby is a barrister specialising in public and human rights law. He has extensive experience representing refugees and asylum seekers.
Click here for more information on Toby.
Anjoli is a barrister with experience of a wide variety of immigration matters.
Click here for more information on Anjoli.
George is Director of Campaigns for a children’s NGO. He is supporting Kindred on policy, advocacy and campaigns.
Christopher is an experienced barrister, who has appeared in number of leading cases concerning refugees in the courts in England and Wales from Tribunal level to the Supreme Court.
Click here for more information of Christopher.
David is a barrister and QC specialising in public law with a particular emphasis on healthcare rights.
Click here for more information on David.
Naomi is a campaigner for rights and justice and currently a PhD researcher, previously at Friends of the Earth.
Natasha is a barrister at 3 Hare Court and has a public, commercial and civil practice focusing on international and cross-border work.
Click here for more information on Natasha.
Kate is a judicial review and human rights specialist who has conducted many asylum and immigration cases for applicants.
Click here for more information on Kate.
Click here for more information on Carine.
Martin is an Investment Partner at Omidyar Network, where he runs grants and advocacy related to open data, privacy & surveillance reform, as well as AI ethics.
Click here for more information on Martin.
Maya is assistant opinion editor at The Guardian.
Follow Maya on twitter @mwolferobinson