Mission & Objectives

KISA is an NGO based in Cyprus, established in 1998. KISA 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, 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.

Focused in the fields of Migration, Asylum, Racism, Discrimination, Trafficking and Human Rights, KISA’s actions include:

• Documentation and awareness raising: Over the years, KISA has gathered unique expertise in the documentation of the realities on the ground from a grassroots perspective and as a watchdog organization, in relation to the legal framework, government policies, their implementation and actual impact on the lives of the people concerned.
• Provision of free services: KISA provides information, advice, support and mediation services, especially to victims of gender-based violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, discrimination, racism and hate crimes, trafficking and other sever forms of labour exploitation.
• Strategic litigation: KISA considers strategic litigation as an important integral part of its work aiming at the improvement of the relevant case law, the protection of the rights of the victims and positive reforms/structural changes in these fields.
• Cooperation and Networking: KISA is also a very active member and participates in European and international NGOs and networks such as ENAR (European Network Against Racism), PICUM (Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants), EuroMed Rights, Migreurop, Justicia and Fair Trials Networks.
• Public consultation: KISA participates actively in public consultations and cooperates with various other stakeholders and independent institutions and monitoring bodies related to its scope and objectives at national, European and international level, such as ECRI, GREVIO and GRETA of the CoE,CAT, CEDAW and CERD of the UN, the Civil Society Platform on Trafficking in Human Beings and Integration Forum of the EU as well as FRA’s Fundamental Rights Platform.