1. Overview of regional developments in refugee protection:
a civil society perspective
APF Senior Executive
Officers Network
23 June 2014
Tamara Domicelj
Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network

2. _______________ Presentation outline
Global snapshot 2013: forced displacement statistics & trends; asylum and refugee durable solutions
Asia-Pacific regional overview 2013: refugees & asylum seekers
Recent sub-regional developments: SA, CA, EA, SEA, ANZP
Relevant multilateral instruments: Bali Process RCF; Jakarta Declaration; ADHR; Almaty Process RCF
Recent civil society developments: APRRN Vision and Framework for Regional Protection; IDC/APRRN/UNHCR ATD workshops
Observations regarding opportunities for collaboration
_______________

3. Forced displacement: a global snapshot (2013)
51.2m people forcibly displaced by persecution, conflict, generalized violence, human rights violations (highest recorded; 45.6m in 2012):
16.7 refugees (15.4m in 2012); 6.3m in ‘protracted situations’; 50% children
1.2m asylum seekers (937,000 in 2012); 25,300 new UASC applicants (21,300 in 2012)
33.3 internally displaced people (28.8m in 2012)
Of these, 10.7m were newly displaced (inc. 2.5m refugees and 1.1m asylum seekers); an average of 32,200 pd
Further ‘persons of concern’ to UNHCR include:
an estimated 10m stateless people
836,100 refugee returnees
UNHCR, Global Trends 2013

4. UNHCR, Global Trends 2013

5. Refugees: asylum and durable solutions (2013)
86% hosted by developing countries (20yr high): Pakistan 1.6m; Iran 857,400; Lebanon 856,500; Jordan 641,900
Top source countries: Afghanistan 2.56m; Syria 2.47m; Somalia 1.12m
Durable solutions:
Voluntary return to country of origin: 414,600 (4th lowest in 25 yrs; 526,000 in 2012); primarily to Syria, DRC and Iraq
Local integration in host country: ?
Resettlement to a 3rd country: 98,400 (89,000 in 2012)
highest receiving countries: USA 66,200, Australia 13,200, Canada 12,200;
highest source countries: Myanmar 23,500; Iraq 13,200; DRC 12,200; Somalia 9,000; Bhutan 7,100;
highest departure countries: Nepal 10,700; Thailand 8,800; Malaysia 8,500, Turkey 7,200
UNHCR, Global Trends 2013; UNHCR, Projected Global Resettlement Needs 2014

6. Asia-Pacific regional overview: refugees and asylum seekers (2013)
Hosts 3.5m refugees (1/3rd of those within UNHCR mandate)
2 highest hosting countries, highest resettlement program, ^ asylum claims
66% live in urban environments (97% in Iran); and large-scale protracted camp populations (Nepal; Thailand; Bangladesh; India)
Only 20 states (of 45) have acceded to Refugee Convention; scant national legal infrastructure; UNHCR conducts majority RSD – overstretched; recognition generally doesn’t result in legal status – compromising livelihoods, health, education & fostering exploitation
Wide use of immigration detention as migration management tool; risk of arrest
Increasing maritime movements, with mounting loss of lives at sea
Increasingly restrictive asylum policies with focus on deterrence
Increasing focus on returns, where source country conditions may not be conducive for all or some & ‘voluntariness’ may be pressured
UNHCR, Global Trends 2013; UNHCR 2014 country operations profile - Asia and the Pacific

7. Snapshot of recent sub-regional developments
South Asia
Afghanistan: c5.7m returnees since 2002; 2012 SSAR to support VR, sustainable reintegration, assistance to host countries
Pakistan: protracted hosting; mid-2013 extended Proof of Registration Cards with tacit work rights to ec2015
Iran: allow 9month residence without registration & some long-term residence; refugees can access state education, health services and labour market
Nepal: prospects for adoption of national refugee framework; 5 camp closures (>83,000 Bhutanese resettled); alleged abuse of Tibetans (no documentation)
India: UNHCR-recognised refugees can apply for long-term visas/ work permits; refugees & asylum seekers can access basic state education, health and justice; UNHCR permitting lawyer access to registration/RSD interviews; 110 camps in Tamil Nadu
Sri Lanka: substantial IDP returns since 2009, but displacement persists with land/property disputes, livelihood difficulties, abuse allegations; substantial involuntary returns from Australia, without formal monitoring; ^ asylum claims
Bangladesh: c.500k unregistered refugees further to 30,000 encamped; c4,200 Rohingya refouled 2013; closure orders to IGOs; ^ maritime departures
UNHCR 2014 country operations profile - Asia and the Pacific

8. Snapshot of recent sub-regional developments
Central Asia
c3,100 refugees; 2,600 asylum seekers; 28,000 stateless persons
All except Uzbekistan have acceded to RC & adopted national refugee laws, although protection not compliant with international standards
Turkmenistan allows citizenship applications from refugees; Tajikistan forbids refugee residence in major cities – a likely destination for waive of new Afghan asylum seekers
East Asia
Japan: Recognition rate < 0.1%; resettlement pilot; tripartite ATD pilot; amongst highest $ contributors to UNHCR
Korea: New Refugee Act includes right to work, financial support, and commitment to resettlement; some access to citizenship
China: Party to RC (extended to Macau) but UNHCR conducts RSD/ limited access; refoulement of N Koreans; growing interest in ATD, esp for children
Hong Kong: Not party to RC, but non-refoulement Universal Screening Mechanism to commence – UNHCR will cease RSD; modest state- administered humanitarian assistance
Taiwan: Not party to RC; drafting national refugee law
UNHCR 2014 country operations profile - Asia and the Pacific

9. Snapshot of recent sub-regional developments
South-East Asia
Indonesia: Steep ^ in new arrivals; 7,200 asylum seekers & 3,300 refugees; stay tolerated, but no legal rights; c2,000 detention population; has spearheaded recent multilateral focus on protection (esp. in rescue at sea context) & critique of Australia’s turn-back policy
Malaysia: >142,200 registered refugees/asylum seekers & c.70k stateless; in UNHCR newly registered 53k & RSD for 16,200 (2013); UNHCR-recognition provides some protection against detention, but large-scale immigration raids in late 2013 and no legal rights; large-scale resettlement
Thailand: c130k refugees/asylum seekers (overwhelmingly camp-based) & c500k stateless;
Cambodia: Party to RC; low RSD recognition & low UNHCR presence; prospect of ‘resettlement agreement’ with Australia
Philippines: relatively robust protection environment – has acceded to RC, developed domestic refugee infrastructure, asylum seekers can access lawyer during RSD, virtually no detention, can access provisional work permits; ETC; massive IDPs (135k in Mindanao; >4m following Haiyan)
UNHCR 2014 country operations profile - Asia and the Pacific

10. Snapshot of recent sub-regional developments
ANZP
Australia: Dramatically corroded protection; commencement of military-led response to boat arrivals, including tow-backs (largely covert operations); reinstatement of ‘3rd country processing arrangements’ with Naura & PNG – also resettlement (& agreement under discussion with Cambodia); ‘enhanced screening’ of Sri Lankans; ongoing mandatory indefinite detention of ‘unlawful non-citizens’ with increased community-based arrangements, but pared back work rights; cap on permanent protection recently overruled by HCA; halving of resettlement commitment; ^ed use of maligning language/reporting
New Zealand: 2013 legislative amendment allowing detention for up to 6 months of asylum seekers arriving in groups (30+); National Refugee Resettlement Strategy introduced to strengthen self-sufficiency and integration
Various Pacific states: are party to RC; significant disturbances in PNG and Nauru detention centres established by Australia
UNHCR 2014 country operations profile - Asia and the Pacific

11. Relevant multilateral instruments
Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime’s Regional Cooperation Framework (2011)
Jakarta Declaration on Addressing Irregular Movement of Persons (2013); followed by International workshop on Protection of Irregular Movements of Persons at Sea (2014)
Almaty Process on Refugee Protection and International Migration’s Regional Cooperation Framework (2012)
ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (2012)
Bangkok Principles on the Status and Treatment of Refugees (1966)

12. Recent regional civil society developments
Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network
A five year old growing and diverse civil society network dedicated to the advancement of refugee rights in the Asia-Pacific region, with over 180 mostly organisational members across 24 countries spanning New Zealand through to Iran across to Japan
Structure: 4 sub-regional working groups and 5 cross-cutting thematic working groups (women and girls at risk; immigration detention; legal aid and advocacy; right to health; statelessness)
Developing a Vision and Framework for Regional Protection, comprising: Vision (6 thematic areas); Plan of Action; Research and Consultation Strategy. Cross-sector & transnational collaboration & dialogue, innovation, solutions-orientation and continuous learning are at core of initiative.
APRRN/ IDC/ UNHCR ATD initiatives
Workshops conducted in national & sub-regional contexts (with NHRI engagement); focus on tripartite dialogue with states & ATD pilots/ action plans

13. Observations: opportunities for collaboration
Engagement with APRRN’s Vision and Framework for Regional Protection initiative
Strengthened use of ATDs and robust monitoring of conditions of detention; Suakham, Komnasham and NHRCs of Thailand and Bangladesh have already engaged with UNHCR/IDC/APRRN processes (SEANF was to table as key issue in 2014); scope for joint training in this area; extensive expertise exists amongst APF membership
Protecting and promoting rights of children, especially UASC – build on UNHCR-commissioned UASC Guidelines
Other population of acute concern – eg. Rohingya
Seek observer status at Bali Process, engaging in dialogue with UNHCR & civil society
Public education regarding rights of refugees and asylum seekers derived from IHRL

14. Thank you