Equal Rights Beyond Borders

What Equal Rights Beyond Borders does

Equal Rights Beyond Borders is a Greek-German non-profit human rights organization that provides free legal aid to asylum seekers, refugees, and people on the move in Greece, Germany, and across the European Union. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Athens, the organization is structured as two separate legal entities — a Civil Non-Profit Company (AMKE) in Greece and a Gemeinnütziger Verein (e.V.) in Germany — each with its own board and administrator. The organization operates from four offices: main offices in Athens and Berlin, and field offices on the Greek islands of Chios and Kos, staffed by an international and multilingual team of human rights lawyers, advocates, and interpreters (15 staff in total).

Its core offering is a portfolio of interconnected legal programs rather than a technology product: free legal aid and representation across the asylum procedure, strategic litigation challenging unlawful detention, pushbacks, and externalization of protection before Greek, German, and European courts, family reunification work (both within the EU and from third countries), specialized representation for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence and unaccompanied children, and policy monitoring of the new Common European Asylum System. Underlying technical components are standard non-profit tooling (WordPress, Mailchimp, Matomo, Podio, Tape, Twingle, Google reCAPTCHA v3) — there is no proprietary technology product or platform.

The business model is grant-funded: the organization is financed entirely through grants from foundations, churches, institutional donors (including Deutsche Postcode Lotterie, Stiftung Mercator, Porticus, UMCOR, Brot für die Welt, Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, UNO Flüchtlingshilfe, Choose Love, and Otto per Mille), and individual donations. All legal services are delivered free of charge to clients, and the organization holds ISO 9001:2015 certification for quality management on its Greek entity.

Name

Equal Rights Beyond Borders

Legal name

Equal Rights Beyond Borders (Consists of two separate legal entities: Equal Rights Beyond Borders e.V. in Germany and Equal Rights Beyond Borders AMKE in Greece)

Website

https://equal-rights.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Equal Rights Beyond Borders is a Greek-German non-profit providing free legal aid and strategic litigation for asylum seekers, refugees, and people on the move in Greece, Germany, and across the EU, operating from offices in Athens, Berlin, Chios, and Kos.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Aid Services

NAICS

Other Legal Services (54119), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Individual and Family Services (6241)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Migrant & Refugee Legal Aid and Documentation Services (BPADAHAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Protection Services (GBV, Child Protection, Safeguarding) (BPADAHAF), Diaspora, Family Reunification & Case Management Services (BPADAHAM), Immigrant & Refugee Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAG), Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB)

Keywords

• Free legal aid
• Human rights litigation
• Asylum representation
• Refugee protection
• Strategic litigation

Headquarters

HQ city

Athens

HQ country

Greece

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Grants and Donations: The organization is funded entirely through grants from foundations, churches, institutional donors, and individual donations. All legal services are provided free of charge to clients. Revenue is not generated from client fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Equal Rights Beyond Borders provides free legal aid and representation to people on the move (asylum seekers, refugees, and their families) in Greece, Germany, and across the EU. The organization combines individual legal representation in asylum procedures with strategic litigation before Greek, German, and European courts (including the European Court of Human Rights), alongside advocacy, monitoring, and policy work on issues such as unlawful detention, pushbacks, family reunification, and the rights of unaccompanied minors and survivors of gender-based violence. All services are delivered free of charge by a multilingual team of human rights lawyers, advocates, and interpreters working from offices in Athens, Berlin, Chios, and Kos.

Product overview

Equal Rights Beyond Borders operates as a dual legal entity (registered in Greece and Germany) providing free legal services to people on the move. The organization offers a portfolio of interconnected legal programs: core legal representation services (Free Legal Aid), strategic litigation projects (Challenging Externalization, Opposing Unlawful Detention, Preventing Illegal Deportations), family reunification services (EU and non-EU), specialized protection work (Combating SGBV, Protecting Unaccompanied Children), and policy monitoring (new CEAS Framework). All services are free of charge and delivered through multilingual teams operating from offices in Athens, Berlin, Chios, and Kos.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Free Legal Aid for People on the Move Free legal aid and representation to people on the move in Greece, fighting for clients throughout the entire asylum procedure, including representation before Greek and European courts.
• Challenging Externalization of Protection Challenges approaches to externalize asylum procedures and unlawful rejections of asylum applications based on the EU-Turkey statement, representing clients before Greek administrative bodies, courts, and the European Court of Human Rights.
• Improving Living Conditions Monitors situations of people on the move exposed to deplorable living conditions in Greece and takes legal actions before national and international courts and human rights bodies.
• Opposing Unlawful Detention Challenges unlawful detention practices before Greek, European, and international courts, as well as through independent complaints mechanisms, and raises awareness through advocacy reports.
• Preventing Illegal Deportations Challenges returns of people on the move to Greece from other EU countries, fighting against illegal deportation practices that amount to human rights violations.
• Family Reunification within the EU Provides legal support for family reunification procedures, particularly challenging unlawful rejections of Dublin family reunification requests before administrative courts in Germany.
• Family Reunification from Middle East and African Countries Challenges unlawful administrative practices of German embassies in family reunification procedures, primarily representing family members in East Africa and the Middle East, with focus on unaccompanied minors.
• Combating Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Raises awareness about women on the move, builds support networks, and provides individual legal representation for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) with a holistic approach covering asylum procedure, criminal proceedings, and family law.
• Protecting Asylum Rights within the New CEAS Framework Analyzes and critically monitors the implementation of the new Common European Asylum System (CEAS), applying across the EU from June 2026.
• Protecting Rights of Unaccompanied Children Protects rights of unaccompanied children through legal support, advocacy, monitoring, and strategic interventions at both national and international level.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully represented clients in landmark cases before the European Court of Human Rights and Greek/German administrative courts

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-financing the project in Athens, run jointly. Also part of the international family reunification project promoted by IRAP.
• #LeaveNoOneBehindcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint strategic litigation project with #LeaveNoOneBehind.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Asylum Information Database (AIDA) / ECRE: Comparative database managed by ECRE documenting asylum procedures and reception conditions across European countries. Comparable to Equal Rights Beyond Borders' CEAS and detention monitoring work as an information and policy resource, and a complementary ecosystem player.

Direct peers

• Greek Council for Refugees (GCR): Greek NGO providing free legal aid and representation to asylum seekers and refugees in Greece, including strategic litigation before the ECtHR. Operates alongside Equal Rights Beyond Borders in the Athens legal aid ecosystem and serves the same primary client base (asylum seekers on Greek territory).
• European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE): European-wide umbrella/NGO network for refugee-assisting organizations, conducting strategic litigation, advocacy, and policy monitoring on EU asylum law including the CEAS. Closely comparable to Equal Rights Beyond Borders' CEAS monitoring and strategic litigation functions, though organized as a network rather than a direct service provider.
• International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP): International legal aid organization providing free legal services to refugees and displaced people, with a strategic litigation and family reunification focus. Documented as a co-financing partner of Equal Rights Beyond Borders in Athens and in family reunification work, confirming direct service overlap.
• HIAS Europe: International Jewish refugee aid organization running legal aid and resettlement programs across multiple European countries, including services for asylum seekers and family reunification. Directly comparable to Equal Rights Beyond Borders in functional legal services for refugees and operating in Greece as a peer migrant legal aid provider.
• Refugee Support Aegean (RSA): Greek NGO providing legal and social support to refugees and migrants on the Aegean islands, including Chios, with a programmatic focus broadly overlapping Equal Rights Beyond Borders' Greek island field operations. Comparable in client base, services, and geographic footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Amnesty International: Global human rights organization conducting research, advocacy, and strategic litigation on refugee and migrant rights across Europe. Overlaps with Equal Rights Beyond Borders on ECtHR strategic litigation and policy advocacy concerning EU asylum, but operates at significantly larger scale and broadened scope.
• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF): International humanitarian organization providing medical and psychosocial support to migrants and refugees in Greece including on the Aegean islands and in detention. Compares to Equal Rights Beyond Borders as a co-located humanitarian NGO on Chios and Kos, with overlapping attention to SGBV survivors and detention conditions.
• Human Rights Watch: Global human rights organization that publishes in-depth research and conducts advocacy on European asylum and border policies, including Greece. Comparable to Equal Rights Beyond Borders' monitoring-and-reporting work on detention and pushbacks, but with much broader geographic and thematic scope.
• Danish Refugee Council (DRC): International humanitarian organization providing protection, legal aid, and integration services to refugees across Europe, including Greece. Overlaps with Equal Rights Beyond Borders in legal aid for asylum seekers and case management, with a notably larger operational footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/equal-rights-beyond-borders

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Equal Rights Beyond Borders