In April, Co-Secretary Klaus Dik Nielsen spent some time in Kuala Lumpur meeting with Members, Steering Committee Members, a donor and the Representative of UNHCR in Malaysia, Louise Aubin.

He explored if and how APRRN can add any value to strategies and activities undertaken by APRRN members and civil society. Discussions centred around developments from the  2025 APRRN-led research capacity building project with RLOS; the newly introduced  Dokumen Pendaftaran Pelarian (Refugee Registration Document) - a government-led refugee registration system introduced by the Malaysian government to collect biometric data and issue official ID documents to refugees and asylum seekers in the country,  and opportunities and challenges around this, in particular, ensuring that the new system does not exclude any groups, and access to work and livelihoods.

 

Hafsar joined the “Care and Safety in Displacement – A Virtual Convening” organised by Women’s Fund Asia (WFA) as the guest speaker. The event was part of the initiatives to support locally led Gender Based Violence. Beyond direct grants, this partnership promotes prevention and response with the aim of linking and learning while creating spaces, peer exchange, and wellbeing.

 

 

Members Spotlight!

Advancing the right to a Nationality in the Asia Pacific 

Nationality For All was established in 2020, emerging from the legacy of the Statelessness Network Asia Pacific (SNAP), which played a pioneering role in building awareness, civil society coordination, and advocacy on statelessness in the region. Recognising the need for a more structured and regionally focused institution to sustain and deepen this work, NFA was created as an independent organisation to combine research, advocacy, partnership strengthening, and movement-building. Today, NFA serves as a regional platform connecting affected-person-led organisations, grassroots movements, civil society actors, researchers, and global advocacy spaces to advance inclusive and rights-based solutions to statelessness and nationality exclusion. While legally registered in Australia, NFA’s regional operations are based in Nepal, reflecting our commitment to being closer to the communities and movements we work alongside.

NFA's 2025 Annual Report is Here.

 

Watch Judgment: Cases That Changed Australia. The ABC will broadcast an episode of Judgment: Cases That Changed Australia about landmark cases involving people seeking asylum. Kaldor Centre Director, Daniel Ghezelbash, is one of the legal commentators featured in Episode 3. Watch the program on ABC iView now. 

 

Three years after the outbreak of the civil war in Sudan, the Refugee Council of Australia highlighted the scale of the conflict, displacement, and humanitarian crisis. The Sudanese community in Australia has called for broader and more accessible visa pathways to support family members to escape the conflict, and for more settlement resources for people who have arrived in Australia in the past three years.

 

Australia is wasting migrant talent on an 'industrial scale', the former Treasury secretary says. Settlement Services International (SSI) chief executive officer Violet Roumeliotis explained that there are hundreds of thousands of qualified permanent migrants already in Australia who are working below their skill level. 

 

The Kaldor Centre has urged the Australian government to strengthen its humanitarian response, releasing a detailed submission on the future of Australia’s refugee and humanitarian program. The submission responds to a Department of Home Affairs discussion paper about the 2026-27 program. The Kaldor Centre submission includes a series of principled, evidence-based recommendations aimed at improving fairness, effectiveness and protection for people fleeing conflict and persecution. At its core is a call to refocus the program on those with the greatest need. It notes that Australia should: Australia prioritise refugees facing the most acute risks; ‘unlink’ the onshore and offshore components of the humanitarian program; lift the ban on resettlement of refugees from Indonesia; expand safe visa pathways that are additional to the resettlement program; remove restrictions on refugees from sponsoring their family members; make the skilled refugee program permanent; and introduce an emergency visa to enable faster, more consistent responses during humanitarian crises. Read the full submission. 
 

Fortify Rights: The new refugee registration scheme must end the indefinite detention of refugees. Rohingya Refugees Held Indefinitely in Inhumane and Degrading Conditions.
 

Update from a Partner Organisation in Pakistan

In light of the growing regional tensions across South Asia, particularly affecting Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran, vulnerable communities continue to bear the consequences of displacement, restrictive policies, and deepening uncertainty. Among the most affected are Afghan refugee families, many of whom have already spent decades navigating conflict, instability, and repeated displacement. In this climate of fear and uncertainty, many Afghan families are attempting to leave urban areas or return voluntarily due to documentation pressures and concerns for their safety. Yet return is not always a safe or informed option, particularly for families who have spent years building their lives in Pakistan.

 

News from the region

Afghanistan: 

The Trump administration is reportedly discussing the potential to transfer about 1,100 Afghans stranded in Qatar to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The US announced last month that it would close the As-Sayliyah camp in Qatar by 31 March, and those who did not opt for voluntary repatriation would be transferred to a third country. Afghanistan’s foreign ministry said the Afghans in Qatar can safely return to their home country. However, those in the camp, who assisted US forces in Afghanistan, said it is ‘a fact’ that they will be killed by the Taliban if they return.

 

Afghanistan’s commission for refugee affairs said Pakistan deported more than 9,000 Afghans in two days, with its crackdown on Afghan nationals intensifying since hostilities broke out between the two countries in late February. More than 86,000 Afghans have returned from Iran and Pakistan within one month, according to UNHCR.

 

About 240 Afghan nationals were released from prisons in Pakistan and returned to Afghanistan in the past two weeks, according to Afghan authorities. Many of these had reportedly been detained due to a lack of proper residency documents. 

 

At least 99 people have been killed and some 6,000 displaced by flooding across Afghanistan, driven by heavy rainfall since late March, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. Many of those displaced have limited access to essential resources.

 

An Afghan government official claimed 761 civilians have been killed, 621 people injured, and 27,407 families displaced due to clashes with Pakistan between 22 February and 4 April. UNICEF reported that survivors of last year’s earthquake in eastern Afghanistan are now being told to evacuate displacement camps near the border.

 

At least 12 people were killed by a 5.8-magnitude earthquake which struck Badakhshan province in northeastern Afghanistan, including eight members of a recently returned refugee family, who died when a wall collapsed on their tent.

 

The US State Department told more than 1,100 Afghan refugees stranded in a former US base in Qatar, which is now threatened by the US-Iran war, that it would close the camp by the end of March. The Afghans, many of whom have been approved for US resettlement, were told to accept resettlement in an unspecified third country or return to Afghanistan. Members of the group, who supported US personnel in Afghanistan before the Taliban takeover, said their lives will be in danger if they return.  

 

Australia: 

About 250 Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals are suspected dead after a boat sank in the Andaman Sea on route to Malaysia. An open letter to the Australian government from prominent organisations has called on Australia, as co-Chair of the Bali Process, to take urgent, practical steps, including conducting search and rescue operations. 

 

Conditions in immigration detention continue to experience chronic understaffing and deterioration in the rights of people detained. A subsidiary of the US-based private prison operator Management Training Corporation has been running immigration detention facilities in Australia for one year. They have been accused of deliberate understaffing, risking the safety of staff members and detainees.

 

A Muslim family who fled Somalia in 2016 arrived in Melbourne in 2025 through the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP). They were sponsored by a group of Jewish friends, the Hope for Eden group. The experience has been important for the Eden group during ‘a difficult period for their community’. CRISP is now a permanent feature of Australia’s humanitarian program. 

 

Australian Border Force reported that it resolved one maritime people-smuggling venture attempting to reach Australia, and that fewer than five unauthorised maritime arrivals were transferred from Australia to a regional processing country. 

 

Hours before news arrived that he could apply for a permanent protection visa, an asylum seeker from Afghanistan who had lived in Australia for 13 years on temporary visas was killed in February. Amamuddin Sadar had travelled to Australia by boat in 2012 and was caught up in the fast-track process, which reduced rights for some people seeking protection. Sadar was killed in a random attack by a mentally ill man in Western Sydney. 

 

Fifty years on from the first Vietnamese boat arrivals, Lam Tac Tam reflects on the harrowing journey he and his brother took fleeing Vietnam and the support that they received after arriving in Australia. Lam has remained in Darwin, working to strengthen ties between his home country of Vietnam and Australia, the country that welcomed him as a refugee. Lam argues that ‘[those] whose country starts up the war, you have to accept the refugees’. Dr Claire Higgins, a Kaldor Centre historian and researcher, reflected on the historic moment, saying that ‘[Malcolm] Fraser felt there was a moral obligation to aid the refugees given Australia’s military involvement in Vietnam’.

 

ABC Education shared a series of conversations with five Vietnamese refugees, in partnership with the Vietnamese Museum Australia. More than 110,000 refugees migrated to Australia from Vietnam between 1975 and 1995 after the Vietnam War.

 

Debates continue over the level of net overseas migration and the effect on public services and housing, with likely impacts for asylum seekers and refugees. A new paper from the Australian National University’s Migration Hub argues the government should meaningfully address the scale of temporary migrants, including by moving more temporary visa holders onto permanent visas. 

 

Australia's first Afghan refugee to join the Defence Force delivered a speech at the Australian War Memorial Dawn Service in Canberra. She spoke of values, legacy and sacrifice. She also told of how her father and other Afghan refugees were rescued at sea by the Australian Navy about 20 years ago.

 

A young man’s death in a public park has sparked conversations about homelessness and the lack of services available for non-residents in Australia. The Refugee Council of Australia estimates that about 5,000 people seeking asylum across Australia are living either in crisis or destitution.

 

More than 130 medical professionals have written to the Home Affairs Minister to raise concerns over refugee patients denied access to healthcare due to their Medicare status. Asylum seekers and refugees on certain temporary visas do not have access to Medicare. According to medical professionals, refugee patients are presenting with issues that could have been prevented with early intervention. 

 

The Afghan diaspora in Australia has responded to news of the arrest of former special forces soldier Ben Roberts-Smith on charges relating to the alleged unlawful killing of unarmed civilians in Afghanistan. Tahera Nassrat, a Refugee Council of Australia ambassador, told the media that the development offers ‘hope that justice is still possible’. Others have questioned the focus on one soldier while the Taliban are still in control of the country and continue to persecute the Afghan people, particularly women. 

 

The simple initiative helps migrants and refugees step into their new lives. A walking group in Darwin is helping refugees and new migrants connect with their community.

 

Bangladesh: 

A total of 2,907 Rohingya refugees left by sea from Myanmar and Bangladesh up to 31 March this year, a 90 per cent increase from 1,517 in the same period last year, according to data from UNHCR. Refugee representatives and aid groups said the trend is driven by a growing sense of hopelessness among refugees in camps in Bangladesh, exacerbated by deteriorating living conditions and cuts to food aid due to the global humanitarian funding shortfall. 

 

Iran:  

Two of the Iranian footballers who initially sought asylum in Australia and then decided to return to Iran spoke to Al Jazeera about their experience and the sense of duty that led them to make that decision. There have been no reported repercussions from the authorities in Iran. 

 

The impacts of the Australian government’s ban on Iranian nationals travelling to Australia continue to be felt by the Iranian diaspora in Australia. The arrival control determination was put in place on 25 March and has affected approximately 7,000 Iranian visa holders. Critics have called attention to the differential treatment of Iranians in comparison to Ukrainian and Palestinian people who travelled to Australia on temporary visas and were subsequently granted humanitarian visas. The Shia Muslim Council of Australia called for increased humanitarian assistance and pathways for migrants and refugees from Lebanon to remain open, as more than a million people have been reported displaced by Israel’s attacks. 

 

Japan: 

Japan deported 318 foreign nationals last year, a 30% increase over 2024, driven by its plan launched in May 2025 to fast-track the expulsion of people who have applied for asylum multiple times. Fifty-two of those expelled in 2025 had applied for asylum at least three times. 

 

Malaysia:

UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported at least 250 people were dead or missing after a boat carrying hundreds of Rohingya refugees capsized in the Andaman Sea while heading from Bangladesh towards Malaysia. The Bangladeshi Coast Guard said nine survivors were rescued, including three Rohingya and six Bangladeshi nationals. Last year, more than 6,500 Rohingya refugees attempted crossings of the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal, and nearly 900 were reported dead or missing, making it the deadliest year on record. 

 

Human Rights Watch: New Refugee Registration System Raises Concerns: Amid Crackdown, Process Heightens Fear, Uncertainty.

 

Myanmar:  

New Report: The Siege of Arakan: Looking Inside Arakan Army’s Genocide Tactics Against Rohingyas.

 

International Criminal Court: Expand Investigation to Include Arakan Army Massacre of Rohingya in Hoyyar Siri. New evidence details the Arakan Army massacre of Rohingya civilians in Rakhine State.

 

A New York County Medical Examiner's office ruled a nearly blind Rohingya refugee’s death was a homicide, after he was abandoned by US Border Patrol agents outside a closed coffee shop in freezing weather in February. The medical examiner found Nurul Amin Shah Alam’s death from a ​perforated duodenal ulcer was precipitated by hypothermia and dehydration, and said homicide could result from negligence or omission, without implying intent or criminality.  

 

No Redress for Rohingya Muslims in Arakan Army Massacre: Hundreds Killed at Hoyyar Siri in 2024 Amid Military Indifference; Survivors Denied Return.

 

Nauru and Manus Island:

A hotel owner in Port Moresby claims that the Australian government owes him $11 million in unpaid bills. When the Manus Island regional processing centre closed down, the Australian government began paying for accommodation in Port Moresby for asylum seekers and refugees. In 2021, when Australia ended offshore processing arrangements with Papua New Guinea, the payments stopped, but refugees continue to live in this accommodation, and one hotel owner is attempting to sue the Australian government for the unpaid fees. The case has raised broader questions about the use of Australian taxpayer money overseas.

• ‘PNG hotel owner says Australia owes money’, ABC News.
• ‘PNG hotel owner looks to sue Australian government for $11m in unpaid refugee accommodation costs’, ABC News.

 

The Opposition and Greens accused the Labour government of withholding information about an Australian Defence Force mission that stopped over in Nauru, at a reported cost of $389,340. The flight occurred during a bilateral training exercise with the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force. It is not clear why the aircraft landed in Nauru. Greens Senator David Shoebridge said that ‘it looks like the Albanese government is using the Australian Air Force as a shuttle service for offshore detention’. 

 

Thailand:

Protect Rohingya Refugees in Thailand. Survivors of forced return to Myanmar now face detention, extortion, and renewed risk of refoulement in Thailand.

 

Thailand's risky Myanmar policy: At the 48th Asean Summit in Cebu on 7-8 May, several member states signalled support for "calibrated engagement" with Myanmar's junta after five years of failed diplomacy.

 

Other news:

The International Organization for ​Migration (IOM) reported that nearly 8,000 migrants were recorded dead or missing ​on migration routes worldwide in 2025. IOM said the reported total was lower than the 9,197 reported in 2024, partly due to 1,500 cases that it was unable to verify after cuts in aid funding. 

Since October 2025, the US has admitted 4,499 refugees, all but three of them South African, according to the Department of State’s Bureau of Population. The Trump administration announced in October 2025 that it would reduce total refugee admissions to 7,500 in this fiscal year, with priority to be given to white South Africans, compared to a cap of 125,000 per year under former President Joe Biden.

 

Canada's Immigration Department is informing about 30,000 asylum applicants that their claims may be ineligible, with some of them being told that they should leave Canada immediately. The move follows the introduction of Bill C-12 last month, which restricts eligibility for applications from people who entered Canada more than a year before they claimed asylum. The new law applies retrospectively to claims made on or after 3 June 2025, affecting individuals who entered Canada from June 2020.

 

A US federal appeals court ruled that President Trump’s Day 1 proclamation barring asylum claims at the southern border is unlawful, in a case brought by a coalition of rights groups and migrant support organisations. The appeals court upheld the ruling of a lower court that Trump exceeded his legal authority by preventing migrants who had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border from making asylum claims. The Trump administration has signalled it will appeal the decision.

 

Paraguay’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it has agreed to accept third-country migrants expelled from the US, with a first group of 25 Spanish-speaking deportees expected to arrive shortly. 

 

The UK and France signed a new three-year agreement worth £662m to prevent migrants crossing the Channel in small boats, with about £100m of the funding contingent on delivery of results. Under the agreement, France will increase the number of law enforcement officers on the coast by more than half, reaching 1,400 by 2029, and will deploy drones, helicopters and a camera system. 

 

Eurostat reported the EU received 51,160 first-time asylum applications in January, a 7% increase on the number in December 2025 (47,650) and a 23% reduction compared with 66,745 in January last year. Venezuela was the most common country of origin of applicants (7,300), followed by Afghanistan (4,790), Bangladesh (2,940), and Egypt (2,280).

 

In the UK, an undercover investigation by the BBC revealed that unregistered lawyers and immigration agents are allegedly targeting migrants and instructing them to make fake claims that they are gay in order to apply for asylum. 

 

Reports & Publications

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) published its annual displacement forecast report, which projects that conflict, wars, violence and persecution will result in a further 4.2 million people being forcibly displaced by the end of 2027. DRC said the projection does not include the impact of the current war in the Middle East, as it was based on available data at the end of 2025. 
 

UN Institutional Reform: Promoting Solidarity and ‘Delivering as One’ for the Forcibly Displaced, By Brian Gorlick. 

 

Nanako Inaba, ‘Two Sides of Japan’s Immigration Policy: Welcoming Migrant Workers and Excluding Asylum Seekers’, Georgetown Journal of International Affairs.

 

Raawiyah Rifath, Alex Powell and Calogero Giametta, ‘There is something wrong with the asylum process for LGBTQ+ people – but it’s not fake claimants’.

 

Steph Cousins, ‘Non-discrimination is a core Australian value. We must defend it’.

 

Lucy Haley, ‘In a high stakes environment, AI is failing asylum seekers’, Lowy Institute.

 

María Teresa Gil Bazo, ‘EU ‘return hubs’: what are they, and how will they change the rights of migrants and asylum seekers?’, The Conversation.

 

Abul Rizvi, ‘Suggested Cabinet submission for 2026-27 migration and humanitarian program’, Independent Australia.

SEAP FELLOWS 2026

Nationality for All (NFA) is pleased to launch the inaugural SEAP Fellows 2026 Programme for early-career human rights professionals from across the Asia-Pacific region. This fellowship is part of NFA’s work on the Statelessness Encyclopedia Asia Pacific (SEAP) — one of the region’s leading knowledge resources platforms on statelessness, nationality rights, legal identity, and exclusion in Asia-Pacific.

FELLOWSHIP DURATION: June 15 – September 11, 2026 

💻 FORMAT: Full-time remote fellowship 

💰 STIPEND: AUD 200–400 per month (depending on Fellow location) 

🌏 ELIGIBILITY: Open to applicants from across the Asia-Pacific region 

⭐ PRIORITY CONSIDERATION: Applicants with lived experience of statelessness are strongly encouraged to apply and will be given preference.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS: 

Please submit: 

• CV • Cover Letter • One original writing sample 

📩 Send applications to: info@nationalityforall.org 

📌 Subject Line: Application – SEAP Fellows 2026 

⏰ APPLICATION DEADLINE: May 25, 2026

 

UNSW is offering a new scholarship for undergraduate students from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds based in Australia to undertake any undergraduate degree at UNSW. Significantly, it is open to students on temporary visas. It covers full tuition fees, accommodation support, and a living stipend, removing many of the financial barriers for students to access higher education. Find out more. 

 

Australia Awards Fellowships aim to build networks of influence and leadership by strengthening partnerships between Australian organisations and partner organisations in the region. Australian organisations can apply for funding (up to AUD $34,500 per Fellow) to host and support a range of professional development activities, including: work attachment; supervised research; a management or leadership course; a study tour; program meetings and visits, or a combination of these.

 

2026 International Grant Program

The grant program focuses on deepening mutual understanding and knowledge-sharing among people on the ground in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia who are finding solutions to shared issues. Through promoting direct interaction among key players, the grant program aims to survey and analyse situations in target countries, obtain new perspectives, and expand the potential of future generations.

Proposal Submission Period: From April 1 to May 30, 2026, 11:59 p.m. Japan Standard Time

 

CFPs: Women's Scholarship for International Students 2026

Deadline: Aug 28, 2026

Donor: educations.com

Grant Type: Scholarship

Grant Size: $1000 to $10,000

Countries/Regions: All Countries

Area: Students, Women and Girls, Women & Gender

Applicants are now invited to submit applications for the Women's Scholarship to award female students at all higher study levels.

 

Small Grants Program, Mérieux Foundation

The Mérieux Foundation’s Small Grants Program supports local, community-rooted initiatives combating infectious diseases in vulnerable populations, especially mothers and children. Grants fund implementation-ready projects that are aligned with local priorities, integrated with existing health efforts, and led by organisations embedded in the target communities. Applicants must demonstrate a long-term commitment to public health and adhere to the ethical principles outlined in the Foundation’s charter.

• Geographies: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Vietnam, Iraq, Iran, 
• Who can apply: Local nonprofit organisations registered for ≥3 years; student groups and international NGOs are not eligible.
• Funding amount: Up to EUR €5,000 per project; overall project budget may not exceed €50,000.
• Targeted Sectors / SDGs: Health; Focus areas: maternal & child health, community-based infectious disease response, gender equity.
• Deadline: Two rounds yearly, March 1, 2026, and August 1, 2026.
• Learn more and apply here.

 

In July 2026, the lululemon Gives Community Wellbeing Grant will open a call for funding to community-led organisations around the globe that are advancing wellbeing through movement and mindfulness. Interested organisations can apply for up to $50,000 USD, which should not exceed 40% of their most recently completed fiscal year’s operating budget.   

 

Nominations Open: Cartier Women’s Initiative Regional Awards

Deadline: Jun 16, 2026

Donor: Cartier Women's Initiative

Grant Type: Awards, Prizes and Challenges

Grant Size: $10,000 to $100,000

Countries/Regions: All Countries

Area: Business & Industry, Entrepreneurship, Individuals, Women & Gender

The Cartier Women’s Initiative Regional Awards support women-led impact businesses worldwide with funding, training, and global exposure to scale solutions addressing social and environmental challenges.

 

Taiwan Foundation for Democracy's Domestic Grants

Deadline: Jun 25, 2026

Donor: Taiwan Foundation for Democracy

Grant Type: Grant

Grant Size: $1000 to $10,000

Countries/Regions: Taiwan

Area: Community Development, Democracy & Good Governance, Education, Human Rights, Research

The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy offers domestic grants to support initiatives that advance democracy and human rights through research, education, and international engagement.

 

Entries open for the Pankaj Award to End Conflict

Deadline: Jun 15, 2026

Donor: One Young World

Grant Type: Awards, Prizes and Challenges

Grant Size: $10,000 to $100,000

Countries/Regions: All Countries

Area: Leaders, Leadership, Peace & Conflict Resolution, Youth & Adolescents

The Pankaj Award recognises and funds young leaders who are actively creating unity in a world marked by increasing conflict and division.