The Southern Refugee Legal Aid Network (SRLAN) was set up in 2007 at a conference held in Nairobi. It is a configuration of non-governmental organisations working for the implementation of refugee rights enshrined in international human rights and refugee law.
The particular challenges that refugees face with regards access to judicial recourse in the global south have demanded an increase in rights-based advocacy for refugees, through pro bono legal aid, research and policy advocacy. The SRLAN member organisations are bound by a common desire to foster respect for the rights of refugees in the global south, whilst not all necessarily being based there. The SRLAN provides a platform for these organisations to learn from one another’s experiences, and coordinate advocacy and legal challenges with the support and expertise of a network of practitioners.
The Southern Refugee Legal Aid Network was initiated to formalise cooperation, with a view to channelling disparate refugee rights organisations into a movement for refugee rights in the global south. At the time of inception, the SRLAN concluded the Nairobi Code to which all members of the Network agreed to abide.