Legal Aid

For the most comprehensive collection of legal aid resources, please see The Rights in Exile Program. The Rights in Exile Program centralizes refugee legal aid resources to provide legal assistance to providers and refugees around the world.

See below for the legal aid and advocacy resources most relevant to the Asia Pacific region:

Databases

RefWorld contains an incredible collection of reports, policy documents, and publications relating to national and international legal frameworks. Of particular interest for legal aid providers:

RefWorld Case Law search for cases sorted by country, publisher, or topic

RefWorld Standards and Training for drafting papers and conducting country of origin research

Protection Starter Kit contains basic protection related documents

Useful Websites

Asylum Access, Refugee Rights Toolkit

The Toolkit offers concise, practical advice on advocating for refugee rights through direct legal services, community legal empowerment, policy advocacy and strategic litigation.

The Refugee Law Reader

The reader is a comprehensive online model curriculum for the study of the rapidly evolving field of international refugee law. The fourth section focuses on the challenges to refugee protection in Asia.

RSD Watch, an independent information source about the way the UNHCR decides refugee cases

UNHCR, Handbook and Guidelines on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees (December 2011)

This Handbook is intended to provide legal interpretative guidance for governments, legal practitioners, decision makers and the judiciary, as well as UNHCR staff carrying out refugee status determination under its mandate.

Journals & Publications

International Journal of Refugee Law

Journal of Refugee Studies

The Refugee Survey Quarterly

UNHCR, ExCom Conclusions (1975-2004)

Compilation of Conclusions adopted by the Executive Committee on the International protection of Refugees

UNHCR, Legal and Protection Policy Research Series

Series of legal research and protection policy papers produced by various legal advisors

Peoples Empowerment Foundation, Refugee Protection in ASEAN: National Failures, Regional Responsibilities (November 2010)

This report aims to highlight key issues and concerns related to refugee protection in Southeast Asia by outlining three refugee case studies -the Rohingya, Khmer Krom, and Lao Hmong – that reveal the lack of refugee protection mechanisms in several ASEAN countries.