| Who
We Are...
SHARP; a Non-Governmental Organization is working in Pakistan,
as a humanitarian group, for the uplift of human rights in
the country. SHARP is working with the mission to “strive
for a human rights friendly Pakistan.”
SHARP was initially assigned registration
of the Afghan refugees and non-Afghan asylum seekers in the
year 1999 and later on in 2001 when UNHCR started screening
of Afghan refugees in NWFP camps, SHARP was selected as a
partner for the said programmed. SHARP hence assists UNHCR,
in registration of the asylum seekers that compliments the
Refugee Status Determination (RSD) of the asylum seekers and
refugees through its legal assistance project. As an implementing
partner of UNHCR, SHARP registers all refugees and asylum
seekers approaching UNHCR for protection. All such cases are
referred to SHARP where an experienced team of Legal staff
collects the basic information of the applicant and hence
registers them accordingly. After registration their cases
are sent to UNHCR for further processing.
In the year 2002, SHARP assisted UNHCR as
an implementing partner in facilitating the returns of Afghan
refugees under the voluntary repatriation project. SHARP assisted
UNHCR in repatriating 1.5 million Afghan refugees from NWFP,
Sind, Punjab and Islamabad.
During the repatriation of Afghan refugees,
it was envisioned that the returnees living in Pakistan for
over two decades had lots of socio-legal problems barring
them from repatriation. UNHCR then assigned SHARP with a unique
project called the Advice and Legal Aid Centre (ALAC) to help
returnees in their legal and protection issues, thus removing
impediments to their voluntary return. Therefore, ALAC project
was then designed to provide returnees and refugees information
about their country of origin in order to enable them to make
informed decisions as to their return. SHARP runs Advice and
Legal Aid Centres (ALAC) for Afghan and non Afghan Refugees
and Asylum seekers in different parts of Pakistan through
designated offices in Karachi, Lahore, Mianwali and Head office
in Islamabad. Advice and Legal Aid Centres (ALACs) have been
established in both urban and rural areas close to refugee
population concentrations. The objective of ALACs is to provide
free legal aid in Legal and socio legal concerns of Refugees
and Asylum seekers and counselling, including legal representation,
to vulnerable asylum seekers and refugees in Pakistan that
are in need of assistance.
Moreover, SHARP is also currently engaged
in registration of the Pakistani IDPs coming in to Islamabad
and Punjab from the war affected areas of FATA and NWFP.
Apart from its collaboration with UNHCR,
SHARP has also been working in collaboration with the European
Commission (strengthening trade unions /child labour), DFID
and World Bank (HIV / AIDS prevention), Solidarity Centre
(Human Trafficking), Islamic development Bank (vocational
training centres for destitute women) and Action Aid (Attorneys
of human rights) etc.
For further details about SHARP, please email at info@sharp-pakistan.org |
