Sign up to receive updates about our work in Rights & Justice.

Migration & Asylum

Migration & Asylum

Across the globe, from Africa to Southeast Asia, instability and persecution have forced thousands of people to leave their countries and seek protection elsewhere. The Open Society Foundations support groups that work on a broad range of issues affecting the safety and well-being of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.

We believe that migration and asylum policy should be grounded in economic and demographic realities, not driven by temporary political considerations or popular misconceptions. In Europe, many of our civil society partners are raising their voices demanding a common European approach in line with international human rights commitments. We also support legal action aimed at ensuring governments meet their obligations under international law to treat all migrants with dignity, and offer them asylum when circumstances dictate.

Volunteers and civil society organizations are showing a responsible and humane way to help those fleeing war and persecution. These practical expressions of solidarity with the plight of refugees highlight the important role of civil society and the readiness of thousands of ordinary citizens to do more.

Learn More

Contact Us

Questions about our work on this topic? Please use this contact box.

Programs

The following Open Society programs focus on this topic.

More on the ideas and programs behind our work: Migration & Asylum. Hide info

Recent Work

Voices
Slovenia Built a “Corridor” to Move Refugees Straight Through the Country

Inside the legally questionable system that funnels migrants through Slovenia as if they were never there.

Voices
Once Refugees Reach Europe, How Much Farther Should They Go?

Onward movement creates formidable challenges for states, asylum seekers, refugees, and the international protection system as a whole.

Event
City of Thorns: A Conversation with Ben Rawlence (Washington, D.C.)

Human rights activist and writer Ben Rawlence speaks about his new book, City of Thorns, which deals with daily life and the struggle for survival in the world’s largest refugee camp.

Event
City of Thorns: A Conversation with Ben Rawlence (New York)  

Human rights activist and writer Ben Rawlence speaks about his new book, City of Thorns, which deals with daily life and the struggle for survival in the world’s largest refugee camp.

Voices
Long Skeptical of Foreigners, Slovenia Struggles to Navigate the Refugee Crisis

In a country where excluding outsiders is part of the national identity, an influx of refugees is testing hearts and minds.

Voices
How Private Sponsorship Programs Could Help Resettle Refugees

When individuals agree to support refugees for the first year in their new country, everybody wins.