NEWSLETTER DETAILS
News Briefs (January 2025)
Our News Briefs bring you the latest highlights from the advocacy efforts of APRRN and our members, as well as keeping you informed on upcoming events and activities. We strive to provide regular updates on the networkβs activities and developments in the refugee protection sphere, alongside the emerging political climate in the Asia Pacific region. We welcome contributions from members! Please share your updates, information, or resources with Ali at msco@aprrn.org

Warm Greetings from the APRRN secretariat as we embark on the new year; a year full of challenges for all of us. As we navigate this difficult time ahead together, we remain dedicated and committed to our shared mission and vision with all of you. Here are some updates from us.
Changes in the Secretariat: As many of you already know, Rana Refahi left her position as Afghanistan Consultant (and previously Vulnerable Populations Consultant) at the end of 2024 to take up a new position with the International Detention Coalition as Europe Programme Officer. We want to thank Rana for her legal expertise, commitment and passion which APRRN has benefited greatly from, and we wish her all the best in her new role! If you would like to stay in touch with Rana, please contact her at refahirana@protonmail.com
Global Compact on Migration Stakeholder Consultation
On 14 January, Klaus Dik Nielsen, with Fiona Robertson from the Mixed Migration Centre (a new member of APRRN, part of the Danish Refugee Council), co-led and facilitated the 5th stakeholder consultation leading up to the second Asia-Pacific Regional Review of Implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM). More than 200 members across our region identified gaps and provided recommendations on improving value-driven and evidence-based policymaking and public debate, reducing vulnerabilities in migration and enhancing cooperation (GCM objectives 1, 3, 7, 17 and 23). Fiona and Hafsar gave introductory remarks. Please have a look at the outcome report.
International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM20) Conference in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Ali Reza Yawari, our Membership Support and Communications Consultant presented in panel 54 of the conference “Knowledge: Subaltern Politics & the Voice 1”. His presentation: “Challenges of Refugee Youth to Become the Drivers of Change in Indonesia” delved into the roles of refugee youth in Indonesia, their resilience, innovation and a sense of mission, despite restrictions and their struggle against systemic neglect and barriers. His study examines the emergence of refugee youth activism, the spectrum of services they provide, and the challenges they confront. Refugee youth, predominantly unaccompanied minors who have turned adults after a decade, exhibit resilience, innovation, and a sense of mission in addressing community needs. However, youth refugee-led efforts encounter challenges stemming from resource constraints, restrictions set by immigration, and legal limitations. Legal documentation hurdles hinder their access to rights and impede their activism.
Hafsar Tameesuddin, Brian Barbour, Noor Azizah, and Chris Lewa participated at the IASFM20 Conference in Yogyakarta, Indonesia and spoke at the panel on, “Mobility of Rohingya in Southeast Asia (Drivers / Barriers / Responses) to raise awareness of the urgent protection needs of Rohingya in Southeast Asia and provided recommendations on the practical and needs-based solutions for the short-term and long.
Lars Stenger presented about the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN), members’ engagement and their work within the network. He introduced and spoke about the work of APRRN on forced migration in the Asia Pacific, refugee rights collective advocacy and APRRN’s effort to amplify meaningful refugee participation. Lars encouraged the attendees of the conference to visit the APRRN booth where they can learn more about, discuss relevant issues, read our reports and watch the three videos that APRRN screened 1) Khair Ullah speaking on the situation of Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh, Ali Reza Yawari explaining in a video addressed to Australian parliament on the situation of refugees in Indonesia and 3) Hafsar and Yasmin Ullah’s video addressing the misinformation and disinformation against Rohingya in Social Media.
SINGAPORE: Hafsar delivered a presentation on refugees and statelessness, Pathways to Hope, at the German European School Singapore on their one-day visit.
Introducing ‘Power Shift’: An experiment in dialogue Hafsar participated in a unique initiative, engaging in deep and honest discussions on decolonising aid. The conversations aim to challenge power imbalances and foster shared visions for fairer humanitarian responses. The trailer is now live, with the introductory episode releasing soon. Stay tuned for Hafsar’s episode, set to air in May!
Empowering Refugee Women Resource Kit Launch
APRRN and the UNSW launched a comprehensive Resource Kit and Training Materials for work with unregistered and registered refugee-led organisations, and groups with diverse levels of education to identify context-specific barriers and solutions to: Gender Equality, Participation, Leadership, Decision-making, Social inclusion, and an improved response to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence.
Member Spotlight!
Empower is a youth-led charitable organisation established to empower, educate, and enable refugee youth and other marginalised youth in New Zealand to access new opportunities and pursue meaningful paths of their choice. Empower fosters mutually rewarding relationships by bringing together young Kiwi mentors with young refugee students to help them contribute to their communities socially, economically, and environmentally. Empower provides the structure and support that every mentor and student needs to develop a close personal relationship. Mentors gain a holistic understanding of their student’s individual talents, aspirations, and challenges so that they are able to provide a high level of support and empowerment. Empower seeks to address the underrepresentation of refugees in higher education in New Zealand and provide a youth-specific support network within the resettlement process.

ACTIONS AND NEWS FROM MEMBERS
From 21 - 23 January 2025, 40 APRRN members (researchers, refugee leaders, advocates, and practitioners) participated in the 20th global conference of the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM20) bringing over 200 researchers from around the world to Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Co-organized by the Resilience Development Initiative - Urban Refugees Research Group (RDI UREF) under the theme of "Forced Displacement in an Urbanizing World" the conference was shaped by interventions from RLOs (including Emplace Youth Initiative, the Sisterhood, Refugees and Asylum Seekers Information Centre (RAIC), the Rohingya Maiyafuinor Collaborative Network, HELP for Refugees, Refugee Learning Centre and Care the Displaced Children), see the program, abstracts of presentations or panels and online publication of one of the books launched at the event: Refugee Protection in Southeast Asia Between Humanitarianism and Sovereignty.
SUMMARY online: APRRN members HAMI and APNOR spoke at the first ReSolve Multistakeholder Engagement Forum on Afghanistan a platform for continued dialogue, stocktaking, and collaboration among stakeholders in the region committed to working towards the objectives of the ReSolve Multi Stakeholder Pledge.
Emplace Youth Initiative in collaboration with the Same Skies organised and facilitated an Ignite Stage named, the Refugee-Led Community Impact: Youth Stage. The goal of this Ignite Stage was to amplify the voices of refugee youth and demonstrate the tangible results of refugee-led initiatives. The stage served as a space for these young leaders to represent and share their achievements, challenges, and lessons learned, while also advocating for the importance of youth-led and refugee-driven solutions to community development.
News from the region
U.S. foreign aid freeze under the new Trump administration
International aid organisations and UN agencies faced confusion and uncertainty after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day suspension of almost all U.S. foreign development assistance. The U.S. is the largest single contributor to global humanitarian aid, contributing some $13.9 billion in 2024, 42 per cent of all aid tracked by the UN. UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi reportedly ordered staff to make immediate expenditure cuts, including a 90-day halt on ordering non-emergency supplies and freezes on hiring and international air travel. In 2024, UNHCR received $2.49 billion in funding from the U.S, amounting to a fifth of the agency’s total budget. A UNHCR spokesperson said the agency is taking ‘temporary precautionary measures’ to mitigate funding uncertainty following the U.S. announcement. Please find an article in the New Humanitarian: What to make of the Trump aid freeze chaos? And analysis exploring the issues around the Freeze
APRRN is collecting information on the impact of the Funding Freeze on the space for the protection of refugees and other vulnerable people on the move in our region and affected APRRN members. member organisations an. Please do reach out to lars@aprrn.org with any updates or information.
AFGHANISTAN
UNHCR, Afghanistan Situation Update
NRC: Millions of Afghans face expulsion under desperate conditions, Iran has announced plans to expel up to two million Afghans by March 2025. At least 800,000 Afghans have already been expelled from Pakistan since October 2023. Most are left with no choice but to stay in urban areas where they struggle to find work or housing.
UNHCR's non return advisory was issued in 2021 and renewed in 2023 (2021 Advisory, 2023 Guidance Note).
Hundreds of thousands of Afghans, many of whom supported US operations in Afghanistan, have been left in a ‘dangerous limbo’ in Afghanistan and Pakistan following the indefinite suspension of refugee resettlements to the US, according to the #AfghanEvac coalition. The suspension impacts at least 40,000 Afghans worldwide who are actively pursuing resettlement in the US, according to #AfghanEvac, including up to 15,000 who had been fully vetted and were preparing for departure.
The Taliban say they will close all NGOs employing Afghan women
USA executive order suspends REFUGEE ADMISSIONS PROGRAM from 27 January 2025, allowing the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security to jointly determine to admit aliens to the United States as refugees on a case-by-case basis only. 10,000 Refugees who had been approved to come to the United States before a deadline at the end of January suspending America’s refugee resettlement program have had their travel plans cancelled by the Trump administration.
That includes more than 1,600 Afghans who assisted America’s war effort, as well as relatives of active-duty U.S. military personnel. Many veterans of America’s longest war have tried for years to help Afghans they worked with, in addition to their families, find refuge in the U.S. Between 40,000 and 60,000 Afghans around the world are actively seeking resettlement in the United States, and thousands had already received U.S. government approval.
PAKISTAN
HRW World Report 2025: Government officials blamed Afghan refugees in Pakistan for the surge in attacks by militant groups, providing a pretext for an ongoing effort by the authorities to coerce Afghans — some of whom have lived in Pakistan for generations — to leave. Undocumented Afghans remained particularly vulnerable to abuse, as Pakistani police and local officials threatened undocumented Afghans. While the numbers deported or coerced to leave decreased compared to 2023, over 220,000 had returned to Afghanistan by September 2024, 88 percent of whom cited of whom cited fear of arrest as the reason. In July, the Pakistan government announced a one-year extension to more than 1.45 million Afghan refugees who held UNHCR-issued Proof of Registration (PoR) cards. However, government officials maintained that the push to deport the remaining two million unregistered Afghans would continue. In addition, Afghans living in Pakistan faced difficulties in accessing employment and education.
PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN: Afghanistan’s embassy in Pakistan has accused authorities in Islamabad and Rawalpindi of carrying out arbitrary arrests and mistreating Afghans in both cities. This follows similar claims from Amnesty International.
INDONESIA
UNHCR Indonesia - Emergency Update: Rohingya Boat Arrivals , 15 January 2025
More than 200 Rohingya came ashore over the weekend in Indonesia's Aceh province, with local media reporting: A (5/1/2025). 10 people are said to have died during the 15-day journey.
UNHCR Indonesia - Emergency Update: Rohingya Boat Arrivals as of 15 January 2025
In the first week of January 2025, two boats carrying 267 individuals (73 per cent women and children) disembarked in East Aceh. With the support of local authorities and local communities, those disembarked were immediately transferred to Rawang temporary site. UNHCR, IOM, and partners are working in this and other sites to respond to the protection and assistance needs of all Rohingya refugee arrivals.
Rohingya refugees in Medan protested IOM's reduction in refugee accommodation places, introduced due to funding constraints.
THAILAND
PRESS RELEASE: WUC Urges Thai Government to Halt Deportation of Uyghur Refugees After SOS Call
Thailand - responses to Uighur asylum-seekers who have been held in detention for more than a decade
Thai lawyer Chuchart Kanpai petitioned a Thai court on 30 January to release dozens of Uyghur asylum seekers who have been held in immigration detention for over a decade. Many have staged a three-week hunger strike in response to apparent preparations to deport them to China. That same day, in response to a request for assurances by a Senate panel, Thailand’s deputy prime minister pledged to follow international law while handling the group. The court is scheduled to hold a hearing on the Uyghurs’ detention on 17 February.
The Associated Press, A group of Uyghur men who were detained in Thailand over a decade ago say that the Thai government is preparing to deport them to China, alarming activists and family members who say the men are at risk of abuse and torture if they are sent back. In a letter obtained 43 Uyghur men held in Bangkok made a public appeal to halt what they called an imminent threat of deportation.
BBC Thai service about the continued outrageous and unacceptable detention of the 48 hashtag Uyghurs held in Thai Immigration for now more than a decade, and the government's totally unacceptable refusal to allow them access to UNHCR to seek refugee status and resettlement to a third country.
Questions grow over UNHCR inaction as Uyghurs in Thailand face deportation threat
HRW World Report 2025: Thailand's Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act prohibits refoulement—the forcible return of anyone to a place where they would face a genuine risk of persecution, torture, or other ill-treatment, or a threat to their life. However, Thai officials continued to treat refugees and asylum seekers as irregular migrants subject to arrest and deportation. Thai authorities violated the international prohibition against refoulement by returning refugees and asylum seekers to countries where they are likely to face persecution.
Impact of Trump’s Aid Suspension
The Diplomat, Trump’s Aid Suspension Wreaks Havoc on Thailand-Myanmar Border, International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds medical clinics with U.S. support, had told them to shut by January 31. Hospitals closed in five refugee camps - including Mae La camp. This has forced Thai officials to transfer the sickest patients to other facilities in Thailand. 30 January 2025
The Irrawaddy, Thai Immigration Officials Feed Myanmar Deportees Into Junta’s War Machine
Deportation Fear Grips Myanmar Dissidents Amid Thai Border Scam Crackdown,
Once-safe havens for political exiles have become dangerous territories
Escalating fighting in Myanmar and the junta’s enforcement of the conscription law has raised concerns about more people fleeing Myanmar and their ability to access to protection in Thailand. In April, the Foreign Ministry stated that Thailand had prepared to temporarily receive up to 100,000 Myanmar refugees—in addition to approximately 90,000 people living in nine refugee camps along the Myanmar border for the past three decades.
Thai authorities have refused to consider Lao, Hmong, Uyghurs, Rohingya, and North Koreans for refugee status under the National Screening Mechanism.
In August, Thailand withdrew its reservation to Article 22 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child regarding the protection of children seeking refugee status or who are considered a refugee. However the Education Ministry shut down six schools for children from Myanmar across the country in September 2024 for illegally teaching in the Burmese language.
Migrant workers of all nationalities are barred by Thailand’s Labor Relations Act from organizing and establishing labor unions or serving as government-recognized labor union leaders.
MALAYSIA
Malaysia doubles patrols to find Myanmar migrant boats after nearly 200 detained
Between 2010 and 2024, Malaysian authorities detained 2,089 undocumented Myanmar migrants attempting to enter the country by sea, the coastguard said.
HRW World Report 2025: The Malaysian government is detaining about 16,000 migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in immigration detention centers. Detainees spend months or years in overcrowded, unhygienic conditions, routinely subjected to physical and psychological abuse, without judicial oversight and at risk of indefinite detention. Inadequate medical care and malnutrition is widespread in these facilities.
From January to June, there were 20 reported deaths in Malaysia’s immigration detention centres.
The government has denied UNHCR access to immigration detention centers since August 2019 including Baitul Mahabbah centers, dedicated facilities for children ages 10 and younger that were launched in September 2023. At the time of writing, there are 170 children—some unaccompanied—in Baitul Mahabbah centers, which do not provide a genuine alternative to detention.
In September, reportedly at the request of the Cambodian authorities, the Malaysian authorities deported Nuon Thoeun for criticizing Cambodia’s leadership on Facebook. She now faces politically motivated incitement charges.
EMIR Research, Refugees and Radicalisation: Addressing Malaysia’s Overlooked Security Risks, Addressing the basic needs of refugees in Malaysia and integrating them into society is crucial to preventing their radicalisation and addressing national security risks.
INDIA
Jaipur: A citywide crackdown on illegal immigrants saw 394 Rohingya refugees being arrested
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday launched the third part of the BJP manifesto for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections, scheduled for February 5. The party has announced several promises, ranging from granting ownership rights to people in refugee colonies. (Note: Refugees here refer to those fleeing during and after the partition of Bangladesh, people from the western border. During the creation of Bangladesh land was given to these communities to set up shops and homes but legal rights are still limited).
HRW World Report 2025: Rohingya refugees in India faced tightened restrictions, arbitrary detention, violent attacks often incited by political leaders, and a heightened risk of forced returns. Indian authorities continued to detain hundreds of Rohingya refugees, prompting the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to call on the government in July 2024 to end their arbitrary detention and refrain from their forcible deportation and return to Myanmar.
In May, the Indian government granted the first set of citizenship certificates under the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which the parliament had enacted in 2019. The law fast-tracks citizenship requests from non-Muslims fleeing religious persecution from India’s Muslim-majority neighbors—Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh—but excludes Muslim refugees from those countries.
Rohingya refugees in India struggle for children's future
MYANMAR
Military junta extends state of emergency in Myanmar for another 6 months.
Myanmar’s military ramped up violence against civilians last year to unprecedented levels, inflicting the heaviest civilian death toll since they launched their coup four years ago, the UN Human Rights Office reported
UNHCR Regional Update - Myanmar Emergency (end December 2024).
RFA, Fighting in Myanmar’s Sagaing region prompts thousands to flee to India border taking refuge on the Manipur side of the border, not far from Tamu, ... those who can afford to, rent houses, while others live in tents.
RFA, Myanmar junta begins recruiting women for active military service: Women are also being forced to serve as soldiers in a pro-junta ethnic militia.
RFA, Myanmar aid groups struggle with freeze as UN warns of ‘staggering’ hunger, 20 relief groups providing healthcare with USAID assistance along the Thai-Myanmar border were at risk of being suspended. Thailand has offered help to refugee camps along the border for the time being - statement by Thai Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin.
The New Humanitarian, Rohingya civilians recall alleged Arakan Army abuses. Since the beginning of the year, the Bangladeshi Border Guard has pushed 11,546 Rohingya back to Rakhine.
IRC included Myanmar for the first time is in the top three of the Emergency Watchlist due to escalating conflict and climate disasters.
HRW 2025 World Report: The Myanmar junta has ramped up its “scorched earth” tactics against civilians in response to the growing armed resistance and territorial losses. The military’s atrocities committed since the February 2021 coup amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, fueled by decades of impunity. Ethnic Rohingya are currently facing the gravest threats since the military’s 2017 atrocities. Refugees from the conflict are increasingly fleeing to neighboring countries and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
OCHA, Fighting in Rakhine State has escalated, with civilians bearing the brunt of the conflict. On 8 January, an aerial attack in Kyauk Ni Maw Village, Ramree Township, reportedly killed over 40 civilians, including women and children, and injured more than 20 people. Approximately 500 homes were allegedly destroyed. Civilians in Rakhine face extreme risks, acute food insecurity, and a near total collapse of critical public services. The humanitarian community calls for all parties to uphold international humanitarian law and ensure the protection of civilians and unimpeded humanitarian access.
In Myanmar, healthcare and disease prevention are neglected casualties of war. “Myanmar alone could be responsible for reversing progress on malaria in Africa and globally.”
Myanmar’s Internet Blackouts Target Rohingya
KHRG, [Briefing Paper] Neglected Suffering: Sexual violence and barriers to justice faced by villagers in Southeast Burma since the 2021 coup presents evidence of sexual violence perpetrated against villagers in locally-defined Karen State since the February 2021 coup until September 2024, and the barriers to obtaining justice reported by survivors, families and community members.
BANGLADESH
Common Feedback Platform (CFP): Monthly Sector Cumulative Report (January - December 2024)
The Common Feedback Platform (CFP) is a joint inter-agency report that gives an overview of some of the community feedback that is raised within the Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh Rohingya response. Through Complaints and Feedback Mechanisms (CFMs), affected communities share challenges regarding programs, services, and the associated humanitarian response.
Bangladesh’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, said the US has confirmed it will maintain food aid for some one million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar living in his country, despite the foreign aid freeze.
Gendered violence and insecurity in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh – new insights and ways forward. The deteriorating security situation and protracted refugee situation require bold new steps.
The Daily Star, Fresh Rohingya influx will deteriorate the refugee crisis: World leaders must address renewed concerns over funding.
Bhasan Char News, Thousands Flee Bhasan Char in Two Weeks, Thousands of Rohingya have fled Bhasan Char in the past two weeks, citing lack of employment opportunities, delayed family visits, and harassment. Officials are now proposing monthly visits to Cox’s Bazar as a potential solution. NSI Meeting Reveals.
CARE, Rapid Gender Analysis in Bhasan Char July 2023, now online for download
HRW World Report 2025: There are nearly one million Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh. In September, Yunus reiterated his support for a mechanism that would hold the junta in Myanmar accountable for the abuses it has perpetrated against the Rohingya, adding that the international community must help to create conditions under which the Rohingya can return safely to Myanmar. The authorities have repeatedly stated that the country is unable to accept more refugees.
An increase in violence in Myanmar mid-year drove another 18,000 Rohingya refugees to seek asylum in Bangladesh, but security forces have pushed back thousands. Unregistered refugees risk hunger, and do not seek necessary healthcare out of fear that they will be returned. Bangladesh is bound by the customary international law prohibition on refoulement, and under the UN Convention Against Torture, to not forcibly return anyone to a place where they would face a real risk of persecution, torture, or other ill-treatment.
Rohingya refugees in camps face precarious living conditions, including due to violence by armed groups and gangs in the camps. There is no criminal justice system available to refugees. Security forces have failed to address a culture of impunity surrounding sexual violence, where women and girls as well as LGBT refugees are often victims of attacks.
A fire at a refugee camp in January and heavy monsoon rains in July exacerbated the humanitarian crisis.
Bangladesh’s Rohingya Strategy: Hypocrisy and Hidden Agendas, Bangladesh Repeats Its Flawed Rohingya Policies.
AUSTRALIA
Turned away by Australia and rejected by Trump, these refugees have been living in limbo for 12 years
Following President Donald Trump's order, advocates are asking the Australian government to lift its ban on resettling refugees from Indonesia.
UN Human Rights Committee finds Australia responsible for arbitrary detention of asylum seekers in offshore facilities, 9 January 2025, in two landmark decisions: “A State party cannot escape its human rights responsibility when outsourcing asylum processing to another State,” said Committee member Mahjoub El Haiba, adding that, “Where a State exercises effective control over an area, its obligations under international law remain firmly in place and cannot be transferred.” The Committee .... observed that pursuant to various public and official sources, Australia had arranged for the construction and establishment of the Regional Processing Centre in Nauru and directly contributed to its operation through financing, contracting with private and other entities which were accountable to Australia, and management.
See also the statement by Refugee Advice & Casework Service.
The Guardian, Who is accountable for what happens in an offshore processing centre? It’s remarkable this is still a question in Australia.
The Australian Government announced the first Australian Refugee Advisory Panel (the Panel) in December 2023 including APRRN members.
Labor to pay $2.3bn to controversial US prison operator subsidiary to run onshore detention, Secure Journeys, a local subsidiary of Management & Training Corporation, will begin operating the centres from early 2025.
Serco’s ugly legacy in Australia’s immigration detention system... When Graham Thom started advocating for refugees held in onshore immigration detention centres more than 20 years ago, visitors were allowed to take detainees out on excursions and could deliver home-cooked food.
HRW World Report 2025: Australia continues to evade its international obligations to asylum seekers by transferring individuals who arrive by boat to Nauru.
At the time of writing, an estimated 94 asylum seekers were on Nauru after being transferred there by Australian authorities. Asylum seekers have reported that officials have confiscated their smartphones and replaced them with camera-less phones, preventing them from documenting their conditions.
Approximately 44 male asylum seekers and refugees remain in Papua New Guinea. It is over a decade since Australia first transferred them there. They were previously held in the now-closed Manus Island detention center. This group also includes about 17 female partners and 34 children. The Australian and PNG governments have been in an ongoing dispute about payments for accommodation.
In November, the government passed new laws that grant it the authority to pay third-party countries to accept non-citizens, including recognized refugees, seek jail time for those who resist deportation, and ban phones from detention centers.
From Myanmar to Australia, a former refugee shares what it means to struggle for Rohingya rights
JAPAN
HRW World Report 2025: Japan’s asylum and refugee determination system remains strongly oriented against granting refugee status. In 2023, the Justice Ministry received 13,823 applications for refugee status, but recognized only 303 people as refugees, and categorized 1,005 people, 920 from Myanmar, as needing humanitarian assistance, allowing them to stay in Japan. Applications for refugee status in 2023 increased by 266 percent from 2022.
In June, the amended Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act went into effect. The new law allows Japan to deport asylum seekers who apply for refugee status more than twice.
OTHER
UNHCR message to countries in the region: Focus on saving lives, urges UNHCR as more Rohingya flee by sea.
NFA Joint Submission to the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) on gender discrimination in Nepal's nationality law and its impact on stateless women and girls, ahead of Nepal's review in Feb 2025.
Cynthia Huihui, President of Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change and member of the Strategic Litigation Network, which is co-led by APRRN and OHCHR under the Regional UN Network on Migration in Asia and Pacific delivered a powerful statement to the International Court of Justice calling for climate justice and the recognition of the principle of intergenerational equity.
Civil war survivors in Sri Lanka come to the rescue of Rohingya asylum seekers.
Reports & Publications
Most recent from the Asia Displacement Solutions Platform (ADSP) publications and Danish Refugee Council and Norwegian Refugee Council who are members of both ADSP and APRRN:
- NGO Guide on Utilising ASEAN to promote solutions for Rohingya communities
- A guide for NGOs to the Bali Process, how to improve protection of Rohingya communities
- For other updates on activities including other APRRN members see ADSP Newsletter
Two new resources on equitable partnerships:
- The Nine Roles That Intermediaries Can Play in International Cooperation
- Report on: Transforming Partnerships in International Cooperation
International Detention Coalition and the Secretariat of the Asia Dialogue on Forced Migration (ADFM) published their report Learning Together: Advancing Alternatives for Children, reflecting on five years of work in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Thailand on implementing community-based alternatives to the detention of children in the context of migration looking at key outcomes and key factors of success: Convening in partnership; Being intentional about who is in the room; Creating the right enabling environment; Site visits and lived experience; Careful agenda design.
Global Refugee Forum (GRF) Legal Community Pledge: 2020 – 2023 Impact Report
WORLD CONFERENCE ON STATELESSNESS 2024 — REPORTING the KEY TAKEAWAYS
How the UN Cybercrime Convention 2023 can pose a threat to human rights defenders and exiled journalists, Without adequate safeguards, the treaty could legitimize and facilitate the persecution of human rights defenders and journalists beyond national borders.
APRRN/Members’ Job Vacancies
Asylum Access is seeking a Development Volunteer:
Development & Communications - Remote
Co-Chief Executive Officer – Practice Leadership, Service Innovation and Quality: This exciting and unique role is a strategic leadership position designed to provide authentic, adaptive and value aligned leadership and management to fulfill QPASTT’s goals of recovery and healing from the impact of torture and trauma. This role is responsible for the area of Individual and Family Recovery including Duty, Intake, Brief Intervention, Individual and Family Counselling and Advocacy across the lifespan. If you believe you possess the skills, attributes and passion to contribute to QPASTT’s goals, please email your application to JobApplication@qpastt.org.au before 19 March 2025

APRRN Member, the Human Rights Working Group (HRWG) published a "Toolkit for Media Campaign by Migrant, Displaced & Stateless Communities" based on input from 11 migrant organisations:
Tell your own powerful stories
Master social media & mainstream media
Stay safe online
Awards and Prizes
The World Justice Project is thrilled to invite nominations for its Anthony Lewis Prize to recognize journalistic courage and craft that strengthens accountability, advances adherence to rule of law principles, and builds awareness of the foundational importance of the rule of law.
STUDENT ESSAY AND THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF DISPLACEMENT AWARDs recognize the outstanding scholarship produced by students and early-career researchers within the academic field of refugee and forced migration studies. The LEDA aims to ensure that refugee and forced migration research is shaped by a more inclusive and equitable collective engagement and has the objective of amplifying and highlighting the voices of those who have lived an experience of forced displacement. The finalists for SEC and LEDA contests will be awarded a $500 prize for one winning research paper in each of the three categories (for a total of 6 winners): Undergraduate students / Graduate and/or law students / Early-career researchers. Deadline 31 March 2025.
Funding opportunities
Strivers' Hub Grant Funding calling all Malaysian Women Entrepreneurs to join mentorship program and qualify for the exclusive Grant Funding event. Funding of up to RM 5,000
The Kofi Annan Foundation and the Democracy and Culture Foundation invite nominations for the third edition of the Kofi Annan NextGen Democracy Award, by 31 March 2025
Gerda Henkel Foundation has initiated the Special Program “Forced Migration” to bring into conversation several disciplinary, methodological and epistemological perspectives on forced migration, and to build on the promising approaches and developments of global research while responding to the existing desiderata in related scholarship. Contact: Oleg Golberg - oleg.golberg@gerda-henkel-stiftung.de Core areas of research:
1) Forced-migration infrastructures
2) South-South (im)mobilities
3) Multiple displacements
4) Displaced people’s agency
5) Gender and intersectionality
6) (Supra-)state influences on displacement processes
Deadline is 5 May 2025
Laerdal Foundation announces Saving Lives at Birth Program (Bangladesh, India and Nepal) 30,000-50,000 USD Deadline Date: April 01, 2025
Call for Nominations: UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award, Deadline: 7 April 2025
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe - Vigdís Prize for Women's Empowerment 2025, (60,000 Euro), rewards outstanding initiatives promoting the empowerment of women in all their diversity, which can range from achievements in gender equality, including women’s public participation and access to decision-making, to championing outstanding women’s achievements and role models, as well as transformative actions to achieve inclusive policies and practices that benefit women’s public and private lives. Deadline March 28, 2025
One Young World: Leading Scholarship
Global ||
Leadership
Not specified ||
Jul 7 ||
EN
Are between the ages of 18 - 30
Call for Applications: Australia Awards Scholarships in Thailand
Area: Disability, Economic Development, Education, Climate Change, Individuals, Researchers, Students, Leadership, Human Trafficking, Narcotics Drugs & Crime, Research, Water, Gender Equality
Deadline: Apr 30, 2025
Donor: Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Grant Type: Scholarship
Grant Size: Not Available
Countries/Regions: Thailand
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