KISA
KISA - Action for Equality, Support, Antiracism is a grassroots human rights organisation based in Cyprus, established in 1998. The organisation strives for a secular, all-inclusive, diverse society which adheres to the rule of law, respects the rights and promotes the active and equal participation of all its members in the various spheres of life irrespective of racial, national or ethnic background, colour, religion or beliefs, gender, sexual orientation or identity, age, inability, migration status or any other diversity.
KISA focuses its work on migration, asylum, anti-racism, anti-discrimination and trafficking and provides services to individuals in need. The organisation is member of various European and international networks such as ENAR (European Network Against Racism), PICUM (Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants), EuroMed Rights, Migreurop, Justicia and Fair Trials Networks.
KISA, despite its ongoing criminalization and defamation by state agents as well as ultra-nationalist and far right actors in the country, continues to be one of the main civil society actors in the protection of the rights of migrants and refuges and the promotion of human rights and the rule of law in the country.
The division of Cyprus between the Cypriot-controlled south and Turkish Cypriot-controlled north has impacted on human rights throughout the island, including on the right to life, non-discrimination, freedom of movement and the right to seek asylum. Since 2015, Cyprus has had the highest number of registered first-time asylum applicants per capita in the European Union, which has led to tension with the local populations. Migrant and refugee rights defenders have been subjected to physical attack, online violence and arbitrary detention, while human rights organisations defending the rights of migrants face criminalisation.
