General
At present ARC's membership
is open to all organisations committed to the
rights of people seeking asylum and refugees.
Occasionally ARC members will extend invitations
to individuals and organisations not directly
involved in order to facilitate better communication
or forge partnerships of mutual interest.
Admission and Fees
ARC does not have
formal admission procedures, however members are
required to pay membership fees
based on the organisation's annual income.
Structure
Although un-constituted,
ARC does have an organisational structure
in order to be effective, accountable and transparent.
Decisions are made by consensus and recorded in
the minutes distributed to all ARC members. ARC
members meet on a monthly basis but also work
through a number of specialist
sub-groups that are concerned with
one particular aspect in the field of asylum and
refugee protection. The workload of ARC is shared
on a voluntary basis amongst its members based
on their resources, expertise and availability.
Officers
ARC has 3 elected
officers. Two Co-chairs and a Treasurer. Officers are nominated and
elected by secret ballot by all ARC members on a one member one vote
basis, either in meetings or by electronic vote. Officers take on administrative
duties to steer the work of ARC and are also bank signatories.
Administration
The level of commitment
to and the need for co-ordinated approach with regards to asylum and
protection issues is so urgent that ARC members decided to share their
resources rather than to go through exhaustive process of constituting
yet another organisation. The functioning of ARC requires administrative
support which is provided in kind by more established organisations.
The Refugee Council donates the time and resources of an administrator
to record and distribute the minutes and co-ordinate venues for meetings
and facilitate information exchange amongst members.
Funding
ARC
holds a small budget from its membership fees
and donations, which is usually used to facilitate
functioning of ARC. However, from time to time
ARC will approach grant giving bodies for specific
projects such as our 2004 'Providing
Protection in the 21st Century - Refugee rights
at the heart of asylum policy' report.
Decisions about expenditure and fundraising are
made by members in the main ARC meetings and are
reported upon by the Treasurer.
Meetings
Main ARC meetings
are held every first Friday in a month. For further
details of time and venue, as well as copy of
the minutes please contact
ARC