Our Understanding of Advocacy

For us, to advocate is to bear witness. To transform proximity into accountability. To insist that what we see should not be left unseen, and that seeing obligates us to speak. Doing advocacy this way brings friction and pressure but comfort is not the measure of integrity and it is not the measure of correct decisions. The measure is whether we are willing to name what we say we are here to do and change the situation we see. Clearly, publicly, and without retreat.

Our Thematic Focus Areas

Deaths & Disappearances: People are dying at Europe’s borders. We are working to document these losses, insist on accountability, and work to prevent the conditions that make so many deaths inevitable.

Detention: Detention has become the default response to people seeking safety. We expose these systems and advocate for alternatives grounded in dignity and rights.

Forced Returns: When choice is removed, “voluntary” becomes coercion. We document these pressures and push for real pathways to protection.

These issues are not separate. They are the three ends of a system defined by containment, exclusion and the disposability of human lives.

Our Methodology

Proximity:

We base our analysis on lived realities we witness on the ground.

Evidence:

We combine testimony, investigation, and research to produce our reports.

Accountability:

We publish publicly, advocate directly, and engage with institutions to drive systemic change.

Why this matters

Deaths, detentions and deportations should not be inevitable. They are the predictable result of choices made by the public and by governments.

Ending them requires fieldwork, robust evidence, sustained pressure and ultimately collective action. Advocacy is what brings these pieces together.

Support from the public

Advocacy like this takes time, trust, and tenacity. It means showing up, documenting what others overlook, and speaking out when silence would be easier. Every report we publish, every story we verify, every policy we challenge: it all depends on independent support.

Join our community

Regular giving allows us to stay independent, act quickly, and sustain long term investigations that hold systems to account.

Share our work

Visibility creates pressure. Each person who reads and shares amplifies the demand for change.

work with us

Our Approach to Advocacy

Speaking the truth of what we see at Europe’s borders. Defined by the people we work alongside.

We publish thematic reports on critical issues throughout the year, and every month

We publish essays, blogs and updates to contribute informed reflections on our work.

We issue official statements in response to key issues and developments.

We engage directly with institutional human and fundamental rights oversight channels.

Our Understanding of Advocacy

Our Thematic Focus Areas

Deaths & Disappearances: People are dying at Europe’s borders. We are working to document these losses, insist on accountability, and work to prevent the conditions that make so many deaths inevitable.

Detention: Detention has become the default response to people seeking safety. We expose these systems and advocate for alternatives grounded in dignity and rights.

Forced Returns: When choice is removed, “voluntary” becomes coercion. We document these pressures and push for real pathways to protection.

These issues are not separate. They are the three ends of a system defined by containment, exclusion and the disposability of human lives.

Our Methodology

Proximity:

We base our analysis on lived realities we witness on the ground.

Evidence:

We combine testimony, investigation, and research to produce our reports.

Accountability:

We publish publicly, advocate directly, and engage with institutions to drive systemic change.

Why this matters

Deaths, detentions and deportations should not be inevitable. They are the predictable result of choices made by the public and by governments.

Ending them requires fieldwork, robust evidence, sustained pressure and ultimately collective action. Advocacy is what brings these pieces together.

Support from the public

Advocacy like this takes time, trust, and tenacity. It means showing up, documenting what others overlook, and speaking out when silence would be easier. Every report we publish, every story we verify, every policy we challenge: it all depends on independent support.

Regular giving allows us to stay independent, act quickly, and sustain long term investigations that hold systems to account.

Visibility creates pressure. Each person who reads and shares amplifies the demand for change.

We collaborate with a range of researchers. Get in touch if you would like to work together.