1. Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network

2. Background on APRRN APRRN is a network of over 250 organisations and individuals from more than 26 countries in the Asia Pacific region APRRN was established in 2008 at the first Asia Pacific Consultation on Refugee Rights in Kuala Lumpur Members include: national civil society organisations, pro- bono lawyers, academics, students, others working on refugee issues and refugees themselves

3. Working Groups 5 thematic working groups: Immigration Detention Right to Health Women and Girls at Risk Legal Aid and Advocacy Statelessness 4 geographic working groups: South Asia Southeast Asia East Asia Australia & Pacific

4. Key activities Joint advocacy (national, regional and international) Mutual capacity strengthening (alternatives to detention, legal aid, refugee law, mental health, gender) Resource sharing and outreach APRRN = Platform that enables connections, learning, sharing, communications and joint action. A platform that connects different stakeholders – civil society, government officials, UN agencies, communities etc.

5. In the Asia Pacific…. 3.5 million refugees (UNHCR, 2014) 3.2 million IDPs (IDMC, 2013) 1.4 million stateless persons (UNHCR, 2014) Others, asylum seekers, returnees Situation of 2.6 million Afghan refugees remains largest protracted refugee situation in the world! Camp vs. urban based refugees

6. Asia context - Lack of protection Only 20 out of 45 countries in the region have signed on to the 1951 Refugee Convention Majority of the countries lack national laws to protect refugees Lack of legal status: Refugees and stateless persons often treated as“illegal immigrants/aliens” Complexity of mixed migration flows and irregular maritime movements Lack of durable solutions and legal alternatives No regional mechanism that ensures adequate protection of refugees

8. Government Responses Adoption of restrictive laws aimed at reducing the number of asylum seekers reaching the border National security and border control focus instead of human rights Immigration Detention as migration management tool Tendency to adopt lower standards with restrictive concepts and practices Limitations on local integration Ad-hoc policies and framework (e.g. in Thailand)

9. Issues and concerns - Urban refugees Safety and security (physical protection) Immigration Detention (no Alternatives to Detention) Long stays without any form of protection Livelihoods: No right to work Survival Needs: Food, Shelter, Clothing Lack of medical care (including psycho-social care) Education: Limited opportunities Language barriers Discrimination and xenophobia Dependency on assistance instead of self-reliance

10. Coping strategies of refugees Despite difficult environments refugees use different and often creative coping strategies to survive NGO support is not central to the refugee experience, but the community (local but also their own community) is Coping strategies range across all areas: livelihoods (e.g. entrepreneurship), education (home schooling, community centres, online learning), health (community support), safety (community alerts and protection), information (social networks) Resiliency and agency of refugees is often not recognised – how can we foster this by strengthening their coping strategies?