During the month, APRRN members convened in response to the unprecedented refoulement and protection concerns due to the deportation of Afghan women, men, and children from Iran and Pakistan, submitting a letter to the Prime Minister of Pakistan and discussing anti-Afghan sentiment in Iran. APRRN presented regional and global perspectives on refugee protection opportunities during a webinar with over 80 Indonesian stakeholders, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Immigration, and other authorities and CSOs, during the second of six webinars informing the revision of the Presidential Regulation on Foreign Refugees 125/2016. In preparation for the Asia Pacific Consultation on Refugee Rights next month, members proposed five working groups for adoption by APRRN's general assembly.  APRRN is co-organising with UNHCR and ICVA the Asia Pacific NGO consultations with UNHCR, bringing together diverse civil society voices to co-lead, co-create, and collectively shape practical solutions and shared commitments toward protection and localisation efforts.   

 

Earlier in the week, on 21 August, APRRN also joined the ASEAN Dialogue on Forced Migration (ADFM) hosted by the Centre for Policy Development (CPD), Fourteenth Asia Dialogue on Forced Migration. This platform allowed ADFM members to evaluate current momentum and push forward our collective advocacy on key priorities, including:

• Work rights
   
• Maritime movements
   
• Complementary pathways for resettlement
   
• Safe and dignified repatriation
   
• Durable solutions
   

While progress on these issues is often constrained by limited funding and the political will of states in the region, we are encouraged to see signs of progress. Compared to previous years, there is now greater openness among state representatives to engage in dialogue aimed at strengthening refugee protection. Although changes remain modest, these small but promising developments reflect the impact of sustained collective advocacy.

 

On 24–25 August, the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) was invited to participate in a stakeholder dialogue in Cox’s Bazar on the repatriation of Rohingya, in preparation for the upcoming High-Level Meeting on 30 September in New York. We are grateful to the Bangladesh Ambassador to Thailand for extending this invitation and for the opportunity to share a panel with the Chair of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) and the Ambassador of China to Bangladesh during the thematic session “Confidence-building measures (participation of stakeholders).”

APRRN, together with our members, remains committed to monitoring, evaluating, contributing, and holding stakeholders accountable to ensure that any repatriation process takes place in a manner that is safe, voluntary, and dignified for the Rohingya community.

 

Stakeholders Dialogue, Cox's Bazar

We also had the honour of facilitating and speaking at the 8th Genocide Commemoration event organised by the Rohingya Women Development Network (RWDN) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

 

Book review: An outsider opens a dark place with words - An overwhelming irony

Ali Reza Yawari, in his biography/poetry collection - in the genre of experience versus policy - reveals our moral flaws. Fortunately for his readers, he has found some peace, but it is not easy: "I have issues with trusting people. That is why I only develop friendships with whom I feel safe and close". He explains that some of his fellow asylum seekers see his activism as provocative, 'like my documentary films, book writing, and other creative means of using my talents/skills for awareness-raising, advocacy, and the right to liberty and freedom of speech'.

 

Restructuring of the Secretariat – more changes

To further respond to the 2023-2027 APRRN strategy and Operational Plan, which calls for strengthening our impact, we began designing a second phase of a new secretariat structure several months ago. As part of the restructuring, we concluded that the role of Finance Manager was no longer necessary, and we therefore initiated, in close consultation with Sunisa, a disestablishment process. Sunisa’s last day was on 20 August.  We hope that you will join us in thanking Sunisa for her dedication and commitment to APRRN during the last 6+ years and in wishing her well in her future endeavors. And this is not a farewell from our side, as we are sure that our paths will cross in the future again, in one way or another. If you wish to stay in touch with Sunisa, please contact Klaus or Hafsar.

We will be recruiting a part-time Finance Officer shortly, and in the interim, we have hired a short-term financial consultant. 

 

Members Spotlight!

Big News: The Statelessness Encyclopedia Asia Pacific (SEAP) website is updated with the first release of the SEAP Third Edition. 

The go-to resource on statelessness in the Asia-Pacific region just got a major upgrade. 

An initiative by Nationality for All 

It is exciting to announce the first release of the Third Edition of the Statelessness Encyclopedia Asia Pacific (SEAP), covering 25 countries across 2 sub-regions - South Asia and the Pacific. What began in 2021 as an internal resource has grown into the go-to hub for analysing statelessness law and policy in the Asia Pacific. In previous editions, SEAP was published as a downloadable PDF report. This time, we are releasing updates directly on the SEAP website to make information available sooner and easier to navigate. The full PDF versions will be prepared and published alongside the remaining country factsheets in early 2026.

Access the website here  

 

ACTIONS AND NEWS FROM MEMBERS

ICMC Visits PNG refugee projects, strengthens partnership

The first-ever visit by the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) to Papua New Guinea (PNG) took place between 27 July and 4 August 2025. Jason Siwat, the Director of M&R Desk, accompanied Nicole to Vanimo to visit a project community in Blackwara where some West Papuan refugees are currently living. This group includes refugees who entered Vanimo through the border in 2021. The project funded the construction of a semi-permanent structure and installation of a water tank to enable transition to a more secure and stable living.

 

On 25 August, Fortify Rights and 57 other groups issued a joint statement urging United Nations member states to pursue accountability for genocide and other atrocities committed against ethnic Rohingya civilians in Rakhine State, Myanmar. August 25 is Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day and marks the Myanmar military’s initiation of a series of massacres, killings, rapes, and other genocidal attacks, which led to the forced deportation of at least 700,000 Rohingya people from northern Rakhine State to neighboring Bangladesh in 2017.

 

The Refugee Council of Australia released updated Statistics on boat arrivals and boat turnbacks [Dataset] alongside its report, “The System is making them homeless, ”calling for urgent action for people seeking asylum. 

 

Universal Periodic Review submissions:

• Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness (PMCS) and the Nationality for All (NFA) submitted to the Universal Periodic Review on statelessness to the United Nations Human Rights Council.
• Human Rights Law Center, Australia’s human rights record under scrutiny through 2025-26 UN Universal Periodic Review shows that Australia’s asylum policies remain punitive and unlawful. The UN has found Australia in breach of international law for arbitrary detention in both onshore and offshore facilities. Yet these practices continue.”

 

Ahmad Ibrahim and Mahbuba Kamal at Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) highlight that Bangladesh faces a legal void on climate-induced migration.

 

News from the region

Afghanistan: 

News released by BBC on 20 August 2025 states that seventy-nine people, including at least 19 children, died in western Afghanistan when a bus carrying Afghan returnees from Iran crashed and caught fire. All passengers on board were killed, according to an official of the Taliban government.

 

The Taliban government in Afghanistan released a five-year plan to prepare for the return of Afghan refugees, in the face of mass expulsions of Afghan nationals from Iran and Pakistan. The Taliban said it is allocating land in multiple provinces to build 21 residential towns for returnees and will also work to reduce problems encountered by returning refugees at the borders.

 

Advocacy groups sued Germany’s foreign and interior ministers for failing to protect Afghan refugees awaiting resettlement in Germany from being deported from Pakistan. According to the refugee support group PRO ASYL, more than 400 people already approved for relocation to Germany have been arrested in Pakistan in recent weeks, 34 of whom have already been deported. Some 2,400 Afghans remain in Pakistan awaiting relocation to Germany under a special admission program for those who supported German organisations and others at risk of persecution in Afghanistan. The program was put on hold pending review following Germany’s national elections in February. After several legal cases challenging the suspension, Germany said it will resume its program to resettle vulnerable Afghans, which it suspended several months ago, leaving about 2,000 Afghans stranded in Pakistan after being approved for relocation to Germany(Reuters news).

 

In Afghanistan, 1,800 returned refugees registered to work in Qatar under a labour agreement designed to address high rates of unemployment in Afghanistan.. So far this year, more than 2.1 million Afghans have returned or been forced back to Afghanistan according to UNHCR, including 1.6 million from Iran and more than 352,000 from Pakistan.

 

The Taliban government in Afghanistan criticised neighbouring countries for mass expulsions of Afghan nationals, calling them a ‘serious violation of international norms, humanitarian principles, and Islamic values’. Iran has forcibly returned nearly 1.8 million Afghans in the past three months, a further 184,459 have been deported from Pakistan, and more than 5,000 from Turkey so far this year.

 

With an estimated half a million Afghans deported from Iran since June, and claims that 30,000 were deported daily during the brief war with Israel, the Global Detention Project (GDP) submitted concerns to the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, urging her to examine harmful detention and deportation practices in her forthcoming report on the country.

 

UN experts have warned that former officials, including judges and lawyers, human rights defenders, journalists, and other critics of the Taliban, along with religious and ethnic minorities, are at particular risk if they are returned. Women and girls are being deported to a country where they can no longer attend secondary school or university and are prohibited from letting their voices be heard outside the house, and where the EU has estimated that basic health services are available to just 10% of women. By driving women out of jobs and severely restricting their movements, the Taliban have ensured that female-headed households face destitution. The prospect of return is particularly frightening for women’s rights activists who face imprisonment or death for their work.

 

See other updates on Afghan Refugee Issues here:

• Afghanistan: UN report documents human rights violations of forced returnees.

• Taliban use force to divert international aid, US watchdog says.

• The Taliban government in Afghanistan criticized neighboring countries for mass expulsions of Afghan nationals.
• The other Afghan scandal: countries are forcing refugees back to Taliban rule. The British government’s secret scheme to bring those at risk to the UK has dominated headlines, but worldwide, many times more are losing protection.
• The Quiet Crisis of Afghan Women's Return: Afghan women after the reverse exodus from Iran

 

IRAN: 

Refugees without refuge: Afghans in Iran.

“What we are witnessing is not a breakdown of refugee policy, but the continuation – albeit with renewed intensity – of a longstanding strategy (by Iran) …”

 

Afghans say they were scapegoated in Iran during the Israeli bombardment.

 

Refugees without refuge: Afghans in Iran.

 

Pakistan:

In Pakistan, some 200 Afghan families are living in a makeshift camp in a park in Islamabad after being evicted from their homes, as landlords are reportedly being pressured by the police to turn out Afghans. The UN has said Pakistan is already deporting documented Afghans, in advance of a 1 September deadline set by the government for Afghans to leave the country.

 

At least 15 people were killed and nearly 250,000 displaced by severe flooding in Pakistan’s Punjab province, as three major rivers burst their banks after torrential monsoon rains. State rescue services said they had evacuated 481,000 people stranded by floods, with more than 1.5 million people affected in total.

 

In Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, tens of thousands of residents fled their homes after security forces launched an offensive targeting militants’ hideouts along the Afghan border. The area was previously a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban.

 

UNHCR said it has received reports that Pakistan has started to deport legally documented Afghans, despite having extended the deadline for Afghan refugees to leave the country until 1 September. Pakistan had refused to renew Proof of Registration cards for 1.4 million Afghan refugees registered with UNHCR after 30 June, but recently announced a grace period up to August 31 for them to voluntarily return to Afghanistan. UNHCR urged Pakistan to exempt Afghans with international protection needs from deportation.

 

Aid organisations, human rights defenders, and legal experts are shocked by the federal interior ministry's notification to repatriate Afghan Proof of Residency cardholders by September 1, effectively ending four decades of refuge for this community in Pakistan. Also see:

• Displaced Twice: The Human Cost of Pakistan’s Forced Repatriation of Afghan Refugees.

“The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has described these actions as a form of forced repatriation, a practice inconsistent with international law. Vulnerable groups—women, children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and those at risk due to their professions—are disproportionately affected.” 

• APRRN joined a solidarity statement by JAC-R:  Refugee Solidarity Statement - Stop the Deportations, Establish a Refugee Policy!

 

Thailand: 

Refugees face Aid Cut but Win New Rights

Recent US funding cut, Thailand: Aid Cuts Put Myanmar Refugees at Grave Risk: Thai Government Should Permit Work, Travel Outside Refugee Camps. This left more than 100,000 Myanmar refugees in Thailand who have lost access to essential food and medical aid due to US funding cuts, putting them at serious risk. Thailand’s National Security Council has proposed measures to address the drop-off in assistance in the camps. Human Rights Watch said more than 100,000 Myanmar refugees in Thailand have lost access to food and healthcare due to US funding cuts. Also see: Myanmar refugees on the brink as funding cuts bite: ‘I feel so anxious’, Refugees in camps along the Thailand-Myanmar border face hunger and healthcare issues as aid workers scramble for solutions.

 

However, Thailand has announced it will grant employment rights to refugees from Myanmar living in camps on the Thai-Myanmar border. UNHCR welcomed the move, which will enable some 81,000 refugees, many of whom have been living in the camps for decades, to support themselves by working legally and contributing to the Thai economy. Thailand’s move could also serve as a model of sustainable, rights-based refugee policies for other countries in the region, according to UNHCR. 

 

In early 2025, the standard monthly allowance for refugees in nine camps on the Thai-Myanmar border was reduced to about US$2.30 per adult, and, in July, food aid was terminated for 80% of households.

 

1 August 2025 (So far, no Cambodian asylum seekers and refugees have been attacked – but many stay in hiding or away from work at markets out of fear.) Cambodian migrant workers are being attacked in Thailand.

 

Authorities Abuse, Exploit Myanmar Nationals - Introduce Temporary Protection Regime; Recognize Refugee Status.

 

Malaysia:

End Torture, Arbitrary Arrest and Detention of Refugees.

 

Malaysia to have its own refugee database.

 

Be kind to Myanmar refugees.

“The Minister of Home Affairs, Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, is considering the option to create dedicated camps to house UNHCR refugees and is looking into the places, infrastructure, and costs of accommodating them following suggestions from the general public. This has met with strong resistance from the Malaysian Advisory Group on Myanmar, who expressed their disappointment over the move to create refugee camps.”

 

MEF wants asylum seekers to be allowed to work.

Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) wants the government to allow asylum seekers to work under a structured, regulated, and safeguarded framework. Such access to gainful employment for asylum seekers would not only support Malaysia’s economic growth, but also benefit businesses and consumers while offering them the opportunity to recover from conflicts in their home countries.”

 

MEF calls for an integrated system for foreign worker Perkeso registration.

“Clearer guidelines were needed to educate employers and address confusion, such as whether refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented workers, and outsourced or subcontracted foreign workers should be registered under Perkeso.”

 

Myanmar refugees in Malaysia plead against deportation over safety fears.

 

India:

Muslims in India's Assam targeted in BJP-led ethnic removals.

 

2 Months After India Allegedly Abandoned Rohingya Refugees At Sea, Agonised Families Desperate To Know Where They Are.

 

Hindu Refugees From Pakistan Lost Homes When They Fled. Now, The New Homes They Built In Delhi Face Demolition.

 

The Architecture of Rights Violations & Exclusion in India’s Citizenship Trials.

 

India pledges support for Myanmar digital ID pilot.

 

Thousands of Muslim families evicted in India’s Assam.
In India’s northeastern state of Assam, an escalating eviction campaign has displaced thousands of Bengali-origin Muslim families – commonly known as Miya Muslims – ahead of state elections. Since mid-June, authorities have demolished the homes of more than 5,300 Muslim families, accusing them of illegally occupying government land, in what is being described as the most intense crackdown in decades. In just the past few days, over 4,000 homes have been bulldozed and nearly 5,000 acres of land cleared, according to government data. Most of those displaced are now living in the open or in makeshift shelters constructed from tarpaulin sheets and plastic.

 

Seeking sanctuary, facing scrutiny: Why India must revisit its approach to the displaced. 75 years since the Constitution, India still lacks a refugee law aligned with international standards—and hasn’t ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention.

 

Myanmar:  

Myanmar security forces involved in systematic torture, UN report says.

“The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), formed in 2018 to analyse evidence of serious violations of international law, said victims were subject to beatings, electric shocks, gang rape, strangulation, and other forms of torture like the removal of fingernails with pliers.”

 

Fortify Rights's investigation reveals the Arakan Army (AA) committed war crimes against Rohingya civilians, including abductions, torture, killings, and beheadings, in areas under their control in Rakhine State, now asking the International Criminal Court to investigate.

 

As the Myanmar junta’s forced conscription campaign intensifies, communities in junta-controlled areas like Ayeyarwady Region are facing extortion, arbitrary arrests, forced recruitment, and restrictions on their movement. It is important to document these abuses and share them with trusted networks and human rights groups to help expose what’s happening.

 

If we die, we die”: Myanmar’s Rakhine pushed to the brink.

“If food supplies continue to be blocked, Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya communities could face famine in the coming months.”

 

Bangladesh: 

Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus said the country has run out of resources to support 1.3 million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, and he called on the international community to create a workable plan for their voluntary repatriation. Yunus was speaking at a conference marking eight years since the arrival of more than 700,000 Rohingyas fleeing from a brutal clampdown by the Myanmar military. Tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh held a protest demanding a safe return to their home country.

 

Ensure Accountability for Enforced Disappearances, Provide Reparations for Survivors and Victims’ Families.

 

When the Rohingya crisis becomes an opportunity for some.

“Diaspora voices are important. But the problem is one of authenticity, accountability, and impact. What too often emerges is not leadership rooted in community, but performance tailored for international consumption. Instead of lifting their people, some have learned how to profit from their pain.”

 

Mosquito-Borne Illnesses Surge: Rohingya Camps Face Mysterious Fever as Bangladesh Battles Chikungunya Outbreak.

“A fast-spreading fever is moving through the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, worrying residents and raising fears of a bigger health crisis. The outbreak comes as Bangladesh is facing a sharp rise in chikungunya cases.”

 

Foreign Aid Cuts Affect Rohingya Children’s Education: Support Community-led Schools for Refugee Students.

 

Australia:

‘The government moves to bolster powers to deport non-citizens to Nauru’. The Albanese government is seeking to fortify its new powers to deport non-citizens to third countries, with legislation introduced last week that would remove the obligation to provide procedural fairness in such circumstances. The powers would apply to, among others, three men identified earlier this year for removal to Nauru who have legal challenges before the courts. Civil society groups and lawyers called the proposals ‘incredibly alarming’. Opposition legal affairs spokesman Julian Leeser signalled the Coalition would likely support the legislation. 

 

Australia ‘belongs to all of us’: Ley calls for calm ahead of anti-immigration march.

 

Community leaders say weekend rallies stir memories of White Australia policy.

 

March for Australia protests clearly racist, minister says, amid immigration debate calls.

 

The Albanese government will pay Nauru more than $408 million to resettle hundreds of non-citizens under a deal signed by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke during an unannounced visit to Nauru last week.  In a memorandum of understanding, the Australian government also committed to pay almost $70 million per year to cover the ongoing resettlement costs for the group of more than 350 people. There was also a discussion about Nauru granting further long-term visas to people who no longer had a legal right to remain in Australia. A government source told SBS News that about 280 members of the NZYQ cohort have been granted visas in Nauru and will live among the local population of around 12,000 people.

• Greens, refugee advocates criticise $400m deal with Nauru to deport former detainees.
• Australian government criticised over ‘disgraceful’ $400m deal to deport foreign-born former detainees to Nauru.
• Hundreds of former immigration detainees to be deported.
• Australia Defends Deportation Deal With Tiny Island of Nauru.
• Hundreds of former detainees to be deported to Nauru set to live among the community.

• From refugee to investor: Chuy’s journey to a multimillion-dollar portfolio.
• Former immigration minister Alex Hawke calls for action on bridging visa backlog, with thousands left in limbo.
• Australia grants asylum to a former Hong Kong lawmaker and pro-democracy activist.
• Fighting to stay.
• ‘When I wear the clothes... I feel proud.’ How these women fleeing conflict find strength.
• World-first study to examine regional Australia’s worker need and skilled refugee employment.

“A pioneering new research project is set to shape win-win solutions that help address regional Australia’s chronic skill shortages and ensure skilled refugees find employment.”

 

• The slow response to indefinite detention.

 

“The latest Commonwealth Ombudsman’s report into long-term detention took nearly nine months to be tabled in parliament, indicative of the cruel pace at which time moves for asylum seekers. By Sarah Price.”

UN urges Australia to stop our client’s deportation to Nauru.

 

Australia and New Zealand’s Pacific approach diverges.

 

The solution to Australia's skills shortage hiding in plain sight.

 

UN urges Australia to halt the deportation of a man to Nauru while the complaint is investigated.

 

OTHER 

Uganda announced it has agreed with the US to take in nationals from third countries who may not get asylum in the US but are ‘reluctant’ to return to their home countries. Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it will not accept people with criminal records or unaccompanied minors under the agreement, and would prefer to receive nationals from African countries.

 

The Trump administration in the US is reportedly considering a refugee admissions cap of about 40,000 for the next fiscal year, with 30,000 places allocated to Afrikaners from South Africa, according to unnamed government officials. About 100,000 refugees were admitted in the 2024 fiscal year under former President Joseph Biden, compared to a record-low cap of 15,000 set by President Donald Trump in 2021, the final year of his first term.

 

The US and Paraguay signed a Safe Third Country Agreement requiring asylum seekers to apply for protection in the first safe country they enter. The agreement is the first of its kind between the US and a South American country. In his first term, President Trump signed migration agreements with Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, which President Joe Biden subsequently rescinded.

 

Reports & Publications

Powerful Reflection by Tini, Yayasan Chow Kit, on the preventable death of a 1-year-old stateless child. 

 

Caritas, ‘Rohingya refugees still in crisis eight years on’.
 

Jannatul Ferdous and Emrah Atar, ‘Stalled Repatriation of Rohingya Refugees: Diplomatic Hurdles, Regional Politics, and the Path to Sustainable Solutions’, Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies.
 

Graham Thom and Noor Azizah, ‘Forgotten but not gone: The Rohingya crisis in Cox’s Bazar’, Pearls and Irritations.

 

Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, ‘Albanese Government makes secret deportation deal with Nauru for almost half a billion dollars’.

 

Australian Human Rights Commission, ‘Human Rights Commissioner concerned about proposed changes to Migration Act’.

 

Mustafa Alio and Rez Gardi, ‘Protection or prevention? The global refugee system is at a crossroads’.

 

Kevin J.A. Thomas, ‘African migration: 5 trends and what’s driving them’.

 

Ottilia Anna Maunganidze and Aimée-Noël Mbiyozo, ‘Displacement as a weapon of war: targeting Africa’s most vulnerable’.
 

Sanmati Verma and Josephine Langbien, ‘A new chapter in Australia’s shameful history of cruel offshore detentions’.

 

Bahana Mirindi Hydrogene, ‘Why we need a new playbook for refugee inclusion’.

 

Daria Sartori, ‘Asylum must not be a casualty of border politics’.

 

Grace Benson, ‘The Future of U.S. Refugee Resettlement and Lessons From Other Countries’.

 

UNHCR, Regional Plans Hyper-Prioritization Fact Sheets

Tier 1: Lifesaving assistance, including food, water, shelter, health care, and registration.

Tier 2: Time-sensitive support to stabilize communities, such as education, livelihoods, and community outreach.

Tier 3: Medium- to long-term efforts like integration and inclusion, which have been largely deferred.

-          Afghanistan RRP Hyper-Prioritization Fact Sheet

-          Rohingya JRP Hyper-Prioritization Fact Sheet 

 

UNHCR, International Agreements for the Transfer of Refugees and Asylum-seekers

 

RSRI, Who Gets Seen: How RLOs Remodel Media Inequalities in Pursuit of Self-Reliance

“Media visibility isn’t just storytelling; it’s a currency of legitimacy. When RLOs are absent from these spaces, they’re not just overlooked, but they’re systematically excluded from funding, decision-making, and strategic partnerships.”

 

11 November, 9.00 am - 12.30 pm PILnet Forum - GRF Legal Community Pledge Workshop at this year's PILnet 2025 Global Forum. 

 

8 to 17 December 2025, GRF preparation sessions and forum attendance, FDPN invites expressions of interest from LGBTIQA+ people with lived experience of displacement currently living in Australia who would like to be considered as part of our delegation to attend the 2025 UNHCR Global Refugee Forum (GRF) Progress Review in Geneva Switzerland, taking place from 15 to 17 December 2025. Apply today

 

Funding opportunities

The Wellcome Trust is seeking applications for the Mental Health Award to fund projects that robustly test the real-world effectiveness and assess implementation strategies of scalable, transformative early interventions for anxiety, depression and psychosis in young people. Deadline 11 November 2025

 

The Young Researchers’ Fellowship Program Bangladesh at the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development provides tailored training and mentorship to budding social science researchers through experiential learning in research methodology and methodological skills.

 

Südwind ElectroPower Fund: Support for Worker-Led Initiatives against Forced Labour, calling for proposals from worker-led groups and civil society actors in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Deadline: 14 November 2025

 

Nominations open for Commonwealth Youth Awards to recognise and celebrate young people (aged 15 – 29) in the Commonwealth who are spearheading impactful, sustainable development work in their communities in Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tuvalu, Vanuatu. Deadline: 17 October 2025

 

Embassy of the Czech Republic in Manila: Small Scale Projects 2026 for Marshall Islands, Micronesia Federated States of Nauru, Palau, Philippines, a chance for local entities to bring about meaningful development. Deadline: 15 October 2025

 

UNHCR Call for Expression of Interest: Refugee Education in Malaysia is seeking grant applications to enhance access to quality education for refugee and asylum-seeking children and youth across Malaysia. Deadline: 18 September 2025

 

UNHCR Request for EOIs: Second-Line Treatment and Social Welfare Support in Malaysia is an opportunity for interested organizations to partner in delivering second-line healthcare and holistic social welfare case management for refugees and stateless persons in Malaysia. Health, Health care, Sexual Abuse, Refugee & Asylum Seekers. Deadline: 18 September 2025

 

UNHCR Open Call: Integrated Primary Care and Community Health Outreach Services (Malaysia) seeking expressions of interest from capable organizations to implement a project that integrates primary healthcare services with basic mental health and psychosocial support, as well as community-based health outreach through trained health workers. Deadline: 18 September 2025

 

UNHCR Applications open for HIV Treatment Adherence Support Program (Malaysia) for capable and experienced partners to support a health sector project focused on refugees and asylum-seekers living with HIV. Deadline: 18 September 2025

 

Entries open for Cash Assistance for Vulnerable Refugees Program (Malaysia) - UNHCR Malaysia is calling for expressions of interest from qualified partners to support a cash-based assistance project aimed at improving the well-being of vulnerable refugees and asylum-seekers across several states in Malaysia. Deadline 18 September 2025

 

RFAs: Kuala Lumpur City for All - Strengthening Refugee Resilience and Social Equity (Malaysia) to support a community-based project in Kuala Lumpur that aims to empower refugee communities, enhance gender equality, and strengthen access to essential services. Deadline 18 September 2025

 

Stanley 1913 Creators Fund Offers $50,000 Grants to Nonprofits is inviting early-stage nonprofit organizations to apply for its 2025 Creators Fund, an inspiring grant opportunity that honors innovation and community impact. Area: Food Safety, Community Development, Climate Change, Environment, Housing & Shelter, Social Justice, Innovation, Deadline: 19 September 2025