Amsterdam City Rights is a local initiative in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, focused on improving the human and social rights of undocumented residents and people in legal limbo. It is presented as an independent think tank “for and by” undocumented people and refugees, and it operates as a project of the Here to Support foundation.
The project’s main aim is to build a city-based approach to rights: access to housing, education, work, healthcare, and dignified participation in urban life. Rather than working through national policy, Amsterdam City Rights argues that cities can take practical action where higher levels of government often do not. Its work is rooted in community building and in bringing together residents with and without papers to develop solutions together.
Methodologically, the project uses think tank gatherings, smaller events, and collaborative campaigning. A central focus has been the idea of an Amsterdam city ID card, also described as an urban citizenship card, intended for all residents, including undocumented migrants. The project also works on the right to work and education, and on tools that help cities become more inclusive in practice.
Amsterdam City Rights is part of the wider City Rights United network, which connects activists and organisations across Europe. That network has produced a toolkit based on shared practices from grassroots organisations and migrant-led initiatives in several cities. Partners named in the broader network include Here to Support Amsterdam, BAK Utrecht, Mangkulturellt Center Fittja, Ex OPG Naples, Sindicato Popular de Vendedores Ambulantes de Barcelona, Asmaras World Refugee Support Hamburg, and the Municipality of Amsterdam.
The project reflects a long-term effort to turn local cooperation into concrete access to rights for undocumented people in European cities.