Advocacy Updates

AFGHANISTAN

• 10-13 December: APRRN, together with the Danish Refugee Council, Centre for Asia Pacific Refugee Studies, and Asia Displacement Solutions Platform co-organised the Professional Development Short Course on Advocacy for the Afghan Diaspora. 23 Afghan participants from across Europe convened in Copenhagen, Denmark for the four-day course with the aim of improving understanding on how to better promote the rights of displaced Afghans, and to strengthen linkages between the diaspora and civil society in Afghanistan for more effective advocacy. Rachel Tan from the Secretariat conducted and co-facilitated several advocacy sessions.

AUSTRALIA

• 7 December: Settlement Services International (SSI), in partnership with Cricket NSW and Cricket Australia, launched the Welcome Project to provide Afghan evacuees access to Australia’s favourite sport, cricket. The project is an SSI community engagement programme that fosters a sense of belonging and inclusion for newcomers, supporting them to create friendships, build social connections, and bridge the cultural divide as they settle into their new home.

BANGLADESH

• 17 December: Zaw Win (Fortify Rights) wrote an op-ed, ‘The Rohingya Trapped on a Remote Tropical Island’, for The Diplomat. The article discusses the relocation of thousands of Rohingya refugees to Bhasan Char and how it is not an ideal place for them to settle due to its vulnerability to floods.

INDIA

• Ali Johar, head of education at the Delhi-based Rohingya Human Rights Initiative, was mentioned in a news piece which highlighted the Kerala government’s affidavit that was submitted to the Supreme Court. The affidavit stated that the 12 Rohingya refugees residing in Kerala have been found to have no association with the Islamic State in Iraq, Syria or the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in Pakistan.

MYANMAR

• 7 December: Fortify Rights co-convened a side event to the International Criminal Court Assembly of State Parties on ‘Myanmar: What’s Next for International Justice Efforts Following the Coup?’ The panel consisted of experts discussing what’s next for international accountability efforts to respond to the situation in Myanmar, after Burmese security forces have killed more than 1,200 civilians, displaced more than 250,000 people, and arbitrarily detained more than 10,000 people as a result of the coup.

• 9 December: Patrick Phongsathorn (Fortify Rights) co-wrote an op-ed for the South China Morning Post on ‘Dangerous data: Telenor’s irresponsible exit from Myanmar may put customers’ lives at risk’, highlighting the selling of its Myanmar arm to Lebanese M1 Group, which has cooperated with regimes in Sudan and Syria, and the consequences that would follow, including the risk of exposing the data of Telenor’s customers in Myanmar. If exposed, this could lead to arrests and detention of people that are on the junta radar.

THAILAND

• 4 December: APRRN released an urgent statement calling on the Thai government to comply with international law and cease deportation of refugees following the arrest of Venerable Bor Bet, Cambodian monk and social activist, and the deportation of refugees from Thailand to Cambodia.

• 10 December: The Center for Asylum Protection was mentioned in VOA News’ article on the arrests and deportation of UNHCR-certified Cambodian refugees from Thailand.

• APRRN produced a video that explains what Thailand’s National Screening Mechanism (NSM) is, and it is available in 9 languages. The video is supported by the refugee community in Thailand and funded by the U.S Embassy. The video can be accessed here.

Regional

• 2 December: APRRN organised a regional roundtable to provide a space for local actors from across the region to come together, share experiences and discuss ways forward to strengthen the protection of refugees at sea. This regional roundtable concluded a process of consultations led by APRRN with local actors in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Bangladesh, and aimed to facilitate peer learning via the sharing of experiences, reflections and good practises among local actors from the four countries. Additionally, the roundtable gathered lessons learned, recommendations, and commitments of participants to contribute towards promoting safety of life at sea in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.

• 7 December: Oxfam hosted an online discussion on how to ensure vaccine accessibility for refugees and displaced people. Najeeba Wazefadowst (Asia Pacific Network of Refugees) was one of the panellists at the event.

• 9 December: Forcibly Displaced People Network co-organised an online course, ‘Building service capacity to work with LGBTIQ+ forcibly displaced people’, and it was designed to increase the capacity of various community services in providing affirming, safe and inclusive support for LGBTIQ+ forcibly displaced people. Ryan Figueiredo (Equal Asia Foundation) was the facilitator.

• 13 December: APRRN released a statement urging the High Level Officials Meeting (HLOM) to increase efforts to respond to the needs of those displaced from Afghanistan and Myanmar and to meaningfully include civil society and refugee-led organisations in response efforts and the HLOM.

• The International Detention Coalition released their 2020-2021 annual report. The full PDF report can be accessed here.

• Borderless360 ran a music competition for refugee artists which will provide cash rewards as well as exposure and networking opportunities for refugee musicians. The videos for the submission can be viewed on their YouTube playlist.

On the radar

• Fundraising opportunity: RUN Hong Kong is currently running a WiFA x RUN Virtual Fitness Challenge fundraising campaign to support vulnerable refugees to rebuild their mental and physical strength, unite across differences as a community, and nurture self-reliance for a more hopeful future.

• Call for participation: The upcoming Forced Migration Review issue focuses on questions of knowledge, voice, and power: In the field of forced migration, whose knowledge is valued and whose voices are heard? What needs to change in order to address significant power imbalances in representation in policy, practice and academia? Issue 70 will focus on how knowledge is produced, shared and received, and what changes can and should be made to help ensure that power is shared and more diverse voices are heard and valued. Please go here for the full call for articles, with questions to help guide you, plus submission requirements.

• Job opportunity: Borderless360 (B360) is seeking an energetic and dedicated person to support the B360 Inclusive Education Initiative (IEI) team to coordinate its Refugee General Educational Development (GED) programme and undertake other functions in support of the development of its Inclusive Education Initiative. Head over here for the full job description.

• Funding opportunity: The Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative (RRLI) is providing funds for refugee-led organisations (RLOs) in Indonesia. RRLI is a coalition of refugee-led organisations which seek to resource RLOs to uplift communities and combat systematic refugee exclusion within refugee response. Applications close on 4 March. Learn more about the funding opportunity here.

• Funding opportunity: The U.S Embassy in South Korea is calling for proposals for the 2022 Julia Taft Refugee Fund from potential partners working to assist refugees in South Korea. The Taft Fund, established in 2000, provides grants of up to USD $25,000 per country to national or local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for quick impact projects to meet currently unaddressed needs. The deadline to submit the proposals is 11 February. For more details, please go here.

• Charity: The Manushya Foundation is running a fundraising campaign for displaced people and refugees from Myanmar as a result of the violence perpetrated by the military in Kayah state in late December 2021. For more information, please go here.

From the Secretariat

APRRN updates

• The Short Course on Refugee Rights and Advocacy started in the middle of November and continued until 10 December with two sessions per week. The short course is an annual capacity building activity organised by APRRN, in collaboration with academic partners and experts, which aims to increase knowledge, develop critical human-rights understanding relevant to forced migration, and strengthen the capacity of refugee rights advocates in the Asia Pacific region. This year, the course was conducted online in partnership with the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies of Mahidol University in Thailand, and the Centre for Applied Human Rights at the University of York in the United Kingdom.

• 6 December: APRRN was mentioned in the Buddhist Door Global’s article on the release of a
  Cambodian monk and social activist who was in custody for two days in Thailand.

• APRRN released an Expression Video in which our members highlighted why APRRN is so important, and what makes the network unique. Members underline why it is so important to continue APRRN’s collective work in advancing refugee rights in the region. With that in mind, we would like to thank our members who generously contributed videos to the Expression piece. Your dedication to upholding the rights of refugees and support of the network is truly exceptional and inspirational.

Sparkraise campaign

For more than 13 years, APRRN has been a leader in the region, developing unique strategies and interventions that have directly advanced refugees’ socio-economic inclusion and equitable rights in a region facing severe human rights crises. APRRN plays a critical role in the civil society response to forced displacement, advocating for the rights of refugees through coordinated regional action to promote the implementation of refugee protective policy and legislation. Please support APRRN by contributing to our campaign, to ensure this crucial work continues unabated, while also enabling us to continue to respond to emerging crises in Afghanistan and Myanmar.