NATIONAL

 

MALAYSIA 

• 9 June: Hafsar Tamesuddin (APRRN Chair) was featured on Malaysia’s BFM radio station discussing the 59 Rohingya that were found stranded on Koh Dong Island in southern Thailand on 4 June. The group were starving and likely to have not had food or water for three to five days. Access the podcast here.

 

MYANMAR

• 8 June: Fortify Rights released a report ”Genocide by Attrition: The Role of Identity Documents in the Holocaust and the Genocides of Rwanda and Myanmar,”. You can watch a summary of the report here and the discussion during the launch here.

 

THAILAND 

• 7 June: Human Rights Watch published a press release calling on the Thai government to provide recently rescued Rohingya asylum seekers with assistance and immediate access to procedures to determine their refugee status. This was in response to the Thai navy finding 59 Rohingya – 31 men, 23 women, and 5 children – from Myanmar stranded on Koh Dong Island near Satun province in southern Thailand on 4 June. 

• 19 June: APRRN supported the The Coalition for the Rights of Refugees and Stateless Persons (CRSP)’s World Refugee Day event “Refugee Stories: from Ukraine to Thailand” at the Fort in Bangkok. The event consisted of a panel discussion, refugee-led photo and poetry exhibition, cultural performances, arts and crafts market and an opportunity for lawyers to sign up to provide pro bono refugee services. The panel discussion explored refugee work rights, composed of experts from diverse backgrounds. Read more about the event here.

• 25 June: Asylum Access Thailand held a physical event in Bangkok to commemorate World Refugee Day. Many persons with lived experience attended the event and discussions explored refugees’ right to work in Thailand. Read more here.

 

REGIONAL

• 7 June: APRRN held a side event on Afghanistan response during the UNHCR Global Consultations with NGOs. The event explored Afghanistan needs and next steps in Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan, including how to improve protection, global and regional advocacy efforts and access to donor communities and funding for refugee- and community-led organisations in these three countries. 70 participants attended the event. 

• 17 June: On World Refugee Day 2022, APRRN released a joint urgent statement calling on governments and international organisations to take urgent steps to protect Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples at imminent risk of refoulement. The statement was developed and signed by 23 refugee and human rights groups, including the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), and 48 Uyghur organisations. As atrocity crimes unfold in the Uyghur region of China—including mass detention, forced labour, and torture—Uyghurs outside China, including human rights defenders, are subject to persistent barriers to international protection and risks of deportation. See the statement on APHR here.

• 20 June: APRRN’s Programme Officer Zaw Win facilitated a panel discussion event “Rohingya Refugee Youth Forum” as part of proceedings for World Refugee Day 2022. The event was held in Rohingya language. It explored youth education, engagement and leadership, women’s empowerment, immigration detention and movement restrictions in Bangladesh, Thailand, India and Malaysia.

 

GLOBAL

• 8 June: PILnet held an unofficial side-event of the UNHCR-NGO Consultations, ‘Centering Refugee Leadership in Access to Justice’. The event explored both the benefits and barriers to increasing refugee leadership within legal aid and access to justice programming. Panellists shared how refugees can play, and are already playing leadership roles within access to justice. You can access the recording of the event here.

• 28 June: Evan Jones (Asia Displacement Solutions Platform) wrote an article for the Diplomat which underlined the need for the international community to provide greater support to countries neighbouring Afghanistan. These countries, such as Pakistan, are hosting the majority of Afghan refugees and delivering crucial services to a population which face limited options for resettlement. Read more here.

 

 

 

Development opportunities and tools 

• The Asia Pacific Network of Refugees is conducting a survey on Refugee capacity building needs in the Asia Pacific Region. Based on this survey APNOR will conduct training for the empowerment of refugees for a better future. Please head over here to take the survey.

• Tool: The Migration & Asylum Project  (M.A.P) has successfully launched a first-of-its-kind app for forcibly displaced women/girls in India. 'Talika' is designed for communities with low literacy levels, poor digital capacities, heightened privacy concerns, and language barriers. Through this app, M.A.P aims to facilitate linkages to hyperlocal support structures, mainly, NGOs, paralegal volunteers, government clinics, police stations, legal aid centres etc., and government helplines. The app is available for Android users to download here.

• Settlement Services International is currently calling for applicants with a refugee background to join their Refugee Employment Support Programme (RESP). RESP is available to people in western Sydney and the Illawarra who are underemployed or unemployed and require extra support. Any person who has arrived in Australia on a refugee visa from December 1, 2011, aged 16 to 66, is eligible for the programme. For the full description, please go here.

• Talent Beyond Borders (TBB) offers an employment connection platform for refugees, in English and Arabic. TBB is a nonprofit organisation committed to opening labour mobility pathways for refugees and other displaced people. TBB does not work on refugee resettlement but rather connects refugees with international employment opportunities so that they may work in countries where they can access full rights and stability. By registering on the platform, refugees are connected to companies in need of their skills. Employers gain valuable talent and displaced people have a chance to rebuild their careers and lives. More information here.

• May 2022: Grant Mitchell, formerly of the International Detention Coalition released the Practice Guide for Civil Society: Engaging decision-makers on human rights issues. The guide includes a range of tools, tips, resources, and strategies used to increase access, overcome barriers, and contribute to decision-maker receptivity to consider policy change in line with international human rights. A key focus of the guide is to support emerging civil society leadership and the voice and self-representation of affected communities and activists in their advocacy work.

• The United Nations Network on Migration secretariat released a summary of the key outcomes from the IMRF held in May 2022. Access to website, website and overview of side events here.

• APRRN is pleased to announce the call for applications for our Refugee Rights and Advocacy Course 2022! We are excited to be partnering with the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies at Mahidol University and the Centre for Applied Human Rights at the University of York for our course again this year. Our course is a combination of practical and learning modules with the aim of developing critical human-rights understanding relevant to forced migration issues and strengthening the capacity of advocates for refugee rights in the Asia Pacific region. Each year our course brings together a range of experts, from experienced practitioners to advocates with lived refugee experience as resource people and mentors. Participants will also have spaces to network, exchange and be connected with a wider community of practice. The course will run between 27 September to 21 October 2022, held on Tuesdays and Fridays. The deadline for applications is 20 July 2022 at 6:00pm Bangkok time. Please see here for more information; and apply to the course here. Enquiries about the course can be directed to the APRRN Secretariat at PO@aprrn.org 

Funding opportunities  

• UNHCR released a call for proposals within their Refugee-led Innovation Fund. The Fund provides a support mechanism combining financial resources, mentoring and other expertise directly to organisations led by people who experience forced displacement. The Fund provides up to 50,000 USD to organisations to test and implement ideas, as well as project management, peer-to-peer and technical support, expertise and coaching. Organisations led by people with experience of forced displacement are eligible to apply, including both registered and unregistered organisations. Deadline 17 July. Read more here.

• Women’s Fund Asia is now accepting applications within their Strengthening Feminist Movements (SFM) grants programme from women, girls, trans, and intersex rights activists, groups, and networks, working at the local, subnational, and national levels. Applicants from 17 countries in Asia are eligible to apply. The priorities for the call for proposals includes strengthening feminist voices; movement and labour; autonomy, decisions and sexual rights; access to justice and environmental justice. Organisations can apply for up to 10,000 USD for one year, or up to 20,000 USD for two years of funding. Women’s Fund Asia provides both core (unrestricted) and programmatic (restricted) funding. Deadline 29 July. More information here.

• The U.S. Mission to Thailand is offering funding from the U.S. Embassy Bangkok. Funding priorities include: rule of law, democratic values, and human rights; environment and global health; youth critical thinking skills and promoting civic engagement to counter disinformation and improve media/digital literacy; building digital skills and opportunities for women entrepreneurs; and education. 5,000 - 25,000 USD is available for a period of maximum 12 months. The deadline is 31 July 2022. More information here.

• The Open Technology Fund is offering funding within their Internet Freedom Fund. This programme supports projects and people working on open and accessible technology-focused initiatives that promote human rights, Internet freedom, and open societies. The Internet Freedom Fund accepts applications on a rolling basis, meaning there is no set deadline, and is done in a two-stage-process, from concept note to full application. More information here.

 

If you would like to apply to one of these funds in partnership with APRRN, please reach out to FDM@aprrn.org. APRRN would be happy to provide support and/or partnership where needed. 

Want to see more funding opportunities? Please see here for APRRN’s funding database, which in particular sets out funding opportunities for refugee-led organisations and initiatives, alongside a sign-up sheet to provide support on applications as needed.

 

 

• The UNHCR Global Consultations with NGOs took place between 7 - 10 June in a hybrid format. The themes for the Consultations, “Climate Action” and “Localisation” build on UNHCR Strategic Framework for Climate Action and the 2021 Regional Consultations with NGOs. Two of APRRN’s Secretariat and several members attended the Consultations. The Secretariat and membership collated key messages from the network to raise during this conference. Key messages focused on forced displacement from Afghanistan and Myanmar, and the need to support local and refugee led responses to displacement. The Chair of APRRN’s Women, Gender and Diversity Working Group, Apajok Biar, also appeared on an expert panel on gender-based violence, on 10 June. The APRRN Secretary General and a number of members attended side meetings, including those with Malaysia’s Permanent Representative to UN in Geneva, UNHCR’s new Director of the Division of International Protection, and others with representatives of UNHCR’s Regional Bureau for Asia Pacific and Refugee Status Determination Unit. APRRN’s Secretary General and members were also engaged with Global Refugee Forum Legal Community Pledge retreat, and side events on strategic litigation and centering refugee leadership in access to justice.

• 4 June: In support of World Refugee Day, APRRN co-organised a theatre event ‘Converging Paths’, in partnership with Parastoo Theatre. Parastoo is a refugee founded and led theatre group that uses the language of art to dialogue and amplify voices. The theatre director and producer, Saleh Sepas and Amin Kamrani were featured on Malaysia’ BFM Radio to discuss inspirations behind the production. The performance was covered by Al Jazeera, The Vibes - Malaysia and The Star. You can listen to the podcast here and read media coverage of the event here.

• APRRN's Afghanistan advisors are collating information on legal pathways out of Afghanistan, practical information on border crossings, passport issue and renewal, mapping mental health and psychosocial support services (MHPSS), and online or remote employment opportunities open to Afghan refugees. This information is collated on an Afghanistan-specific Facebook page, in both English and Dari. 

• June 2022: APRRN posted two new job Secretariat announcements: Rohingya Consultant and Fundraising and Development Specialist. The Secretariat is in the process of finalising candidates for these roles.

• June 2022: APRRN's Myanmar Consultants held a presentation for the network mapping situations and actors responding to displacement in and from Myanmar. 15 APRRN members attended this briefing, which disseminated key findings and enabled identification of future collaborations and joint activities between members and partners of our network. The mapping report is available upon request.

• June 2022: APRRN’s new Membership Support and Communications Officer, Sharon Kisubi started working at the Secretariat. Sharon has previously worked at JRS and her continuous curiosity around human behaviour has led her to positions that require a significant amount of empathy, patience, and the ability to connect, traits that Sharon holds close to her heart and continues to develop. Being an avid learner, Sharon seeks out opportunities that enable her to be goal-oriented, challenged, conscientious and resilient.

 

Sparkraise campaign 

Please support our crowd-funding campaign to enable us to channel funding to refugee-led organisations (RLOs) across Asia Pacific. RLOs are experts in providing effective interventions due to their practical understanding of the unique situation refugees are in. In other words, RLOs bridge the gap between absent refugee protection policy and the essential services this population needs. Despite the vital nature of this work, RLOs are often excluded from funding streams due to complex donor requirements and administrative burdens, compounded by a competitive environment. This in turn limits RLOs’ autonomy, leadership and connection to the global community. APRRN is thus raising funds to channel finance directly to RLOs, to ensure these organisations can continue to support, protect and assist the ever expanding refugee population across the region.