European Network ICF
Overcoming Borders Together
The Information and Cooperation Forum (ICF) is a transnational asylum network in central Europe, comprising human rights organisations in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. The ICF partners campaign for the improvement of reception conditions for asylum seekers. ICF is co-financed by the European Refugee Fund.
Coordinated by Pro Asyl (Germany), ICF strengthens the collaboration between human rights organisations in the 'old' Member States in the west and those in the new ones on the eastern border of the European Union (EU).
The increasing harmonisation of EU asylum laws and the expansion of the EU to present new conditions and challenges to asylum and human rights. Through cross-border collaboration and the networking of ideas and activities, problematic areas in the transposition of EU asylum law and in asylum practice can be addressed jointly. [more: Impulse]
The ICF partners meet with very different economic, political and cultural conditions. But despite national borders, we are connected by a common goal: A humane asylum policy and practice for refugees in Europe. We work closely with the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). At the same time, ICF profits from other European networks, e.g., in the context of the EU program 'EQUAL'. [more: Cooperation]
All ICF partners are highly competent and bring a lot of practical experience to the network. At the same time, they benefit from participating actively in the development of expertise and dissemination of established methods in the area of human rights. [more: Campaign]
For Humane Reception Conditions and Fair Asylum Procedures for Refugees
For those seeking international protection in the EU Member States, humane reception conditions are vitally important. These include material benefits, but also participation in the social and economic life of the receiving country, such as access to education, language courses and the labour market. Humane reception conditions enable asylum seekers to lead independent, dignified lives and are therefore the prerequisites to a fair and efficient asylum process. [more]
