Advocacy Updates

AFGHANISTAN

• 9 November: Host International held the 'Afghan Info and Consultation Session', an online consultation for Afghan communities to find out more about the organisation's new Employment Coaching programme for evacuees in Australia, and to input into their programme design.  
   
• APRRN member, Brian Gorlick (Refugee Law Initiative) provided his Expert Opinion for Development Aid on the Afghanistan crisis, making eight recommendations on what the international community should do.

INDONESIA

• 15 November: The Cisarua Refugee Learning Centre released a joint statement on the challenges and difficulties of refugee and asylum seeker lives in Indonesia. The statement called on the Indonesian government to increase the quota of resettlement places for refugees in Indonesia.

MYANMAR

• 10 November: Fortify Rights published a news release, 'Military junta blocking lifesaving aid to displaced civilians', highlighting the junta's inhumane action of blocking lifesaving humanitarian aid to displaced civilians by arbitrarily arresting aid workers, destroying food stocks, confiscating aid, and other ongoing acts that may constitute war crimes. 

THAILAND

• 8 November: Fortify Rights published a news release, 'Thailand: Provide Legal Status to Refugees, End Detention and Forced Returns', calling on the Thai government to take immediate and concrete steps to facilitate legal status for refugees and end the arbitrary arrest, detention, and forced returns of refugees.

Regional

• 9-11 November: The Asia Pacific Network of Refugees organised the 2nd Asia Pacific Summit of Refugees which brought together refugee communities and refugee-led organisations across the region to discuss what refugee leadership has achieved in the last two years, and how they can build on their successes in the future.

Global

• DARA has launched the Refugee Response Index (RRI) Guidebook and Questionnaire which is available to download here. The RRI Guidebook and Questionnaire is the result of several years of research, development, and engagement with numerous partners and stakeholders globally. The RRI is a civil society-led initiative designed to assess and monitor countries’ response to refugees and asylum seekers in an independent and comprehensive manner. It covers each component of an adequate refugee response and can be used in any country context, regardless of size or contribution to the global refugee response. APRRN member Brian Gorlick (Refugee Law Initiative) is the Project Manager of this initiative.

On the radar

• Learning opportunity: The Internal Displacement Research Programme is offering a free six-week online training course that provides organisational staff, counterparts, and the general public with a comprehensive introduction to key issues in the field of internal displacement, conflict, and protection. These resources respond to the UN High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement's call to strengthen ‘effective use of internal displacement data and analysis’. Learn more about the course and the enrollment here.
  The Internal Displacement Research Programme also launched the 'Researching Internal Displacement' hub, as a major centre for interdisciplinary and independent research. This platform connects researchers, practitioners, policy-makers, students, artists, and people from displacement-affected communities with cutting-edge research, analysis, creative materials, and events on internal displacement.
   
• Training opportunity: Borderless360 is organising an introduction to Emergency Pedagogy on 27 and 28 November, and they look forward to bringing together as many educators, therapists, social workers, parents, and others working witinh crisis intervention, particularly for children, as possible. If you are in a financial situation that would prevent you from attending the event but feel you could benefit from it, please reach out to Borderless360 at events@borderless360.org detailing your circumstance.
   
• Call for papers: New Series on ‘Health and Internal Displacement’. This new series seeks to increase engagement on the health needs of IDPs and support research, policy, and programming responses. The series focuses specifically on IDP health but is not prescriptive in terms of health conditions, age groups, geographic region, camp or urban setting. Accepted articles will be published by the Elsevier Journal of Migration and Health. The deadline for submissions is 15 December.
   
• 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.
   
• Scholarship opportunity: The Master of Public Health programme at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH), in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health, has launched a refugee scholarship programme to support one individual who has been displaced due to the conflicts in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, and Syria. These students will receive full tuition, while pursuing a Master of Public Health (MPH) graduate degree at JHSPH. The deadline for applications is on 1 December. Learn more about it here.
   
• 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.

From the Secretariat

Now hiring

Malaysia Consultant
APRRN's Rohingya Working Group is seeking to hire a short-term consultant to develop an advocacy strategy on eliminating and preventing the immigration detention of Rohingya refugees in Malaysia. The consultant will ideally be based in Malaysia and will work closely with the APRRN Secretariat’s Rohingya Consultant, members of APRRN’s Rohingya Working Group, and will report to the Chair/Deputy Chair of the Rohingya Working Group and to the APRRN Programme Coordinator.
Payment: 9,000 USD (subject to tax)
Location: Malaysia
Length of the role: 45 working days in total (within the span of three months)
Applications close: 25 November
For more information, please go here.

Afghanistan Rapporteur Consultant
APRRN is seeking to contract a consultant Afghanistan Rapporteur for a six month period to map out the situation, guide and support members, and strengthen the network’s response to the ongoing crisis. Throughout this scope of work, the Rapporteur will engage the representation and voice of Afghan groups and the wider diaspora with a gender-sensitive lens.
Payment: 18,571 AUD (approximately 13,519 USD)
Length of the role: Six months. Further extension of this position is subject to the availability of funding.
Application close: 7 December
For more information, please go here.

External Communications Consultancy
We are seeking to contract an expert communications consultant with the objective of improving APRRN’s external communications and in turn strengthening network-wide information sharing, collaboration, engagement, and active participation of members and non-members across the Asia Pacific region.
Payment: 10,000 EUR (approximately 11,624 USD)
Timeline: Over a maximum 4 month period: 4 January 2022 – 4 May 2022
Applications close: 10 December
For more information, please go here.

Monitoring and Evaluation Capacity Strengthening Consultancy
We are looking for an expert M&E consultant with the objective of improving the monitoring, evaluation and learning capacity of APRRN members and the Secretariat, including on conducting baselines, establishing clear results frameworks, monitoring and evaluating working group action plans, and measuring qualitative and quantitative impact.
Payment: 10,000 EUR (approximately 11,624 USD)
Timeline: Over a maximum 4 month period: 4 January 2022 – 4 May 2022
Applications close: 10 December
For more information, please go here.

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.