The Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI) has received the Bar of Ireland’s Human Rights Award for 2021.

The Bar of Ireland said that the award recognised MASI’s work with those in direct provision, and in the community.

The organisation advocates for better legal and social protection, as well as access to State services, including education, for those seeking international protection.

‘Tireless’ campaigning

the Bar of Ireland’s human-rights chair Joseph O’Sullivan BL described MASI is a "grassroots-up" organisation that had campaigned tirelessly on behalf of some of the most vulnerable people in the country.

MASI coordinator Lucky Khambule said: “We volunteer our time to work for the vindication of fundamental human rights for people deliberately placed on the margins of Irish society.

“We do this because of circumstances we find ourselves in the minute we stepped into a direct-provision centre to live with little to no privacy, personal autonomy, and the dignity that comes with such freedoms.”

White Paper

Maura McNally (chair of the Bar of Ireland) said that, while MASI campaigned on several issues, its work on direct provision deserved special recognition.

She also called on commitments made in the Government’s White Paper on direct provision to be honoured

“Direct provision has been a cause of trauma for those involved, some of whom are the most vulnerable people on our planet,” said McNally.