Advocacy Updates

Afghanistan

• 19 October: The Asia Pacific Network of Refugees organised an online consultation on Afghanistan, guiding internally displaced Afghans on the development of an effective response to the ongoing crisis.

• 27 October: Sitarah Mohammadi (Deputy Chair of APRRN) and Sajjad Askary (Deputy Chair of APRRN's Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Working Group) wrote an op-ed on Al-Jazeera discussing the persecution the Hazaras are facing in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover, and the urgent need for the international community to intervene to prevent widespreadgenocide.

Indonesia

• Between 6 and 8 October, APRRN and Geutanyoe Foundation Indonesia held a seminar and workshop on the Evaluation of the Presidential Regulation 125 from 2016 on Refugees. The evaluation brought together government representatives, fishermen associations, civil society, and academics in Banda Aceh to formulate recommendations towards clearer regulations at the provincial and national level. The event was followed by a Focus Group Discussion on the role of local actors during rescue at sea and disembarkation, documenting good practices, challenges, and lessons learned from Aceh.

Malaysia

• 18 October: Tenaganita hosted an afternoon tea live session with refugee leaders and advocates as a part of the organisation’s 30th anniversary celebration. This live session was part of a month-long series diving into Tenaganita’s rich history over the past 30 years.

• 19 October: APRRN, Yayasan Isra (Isra Foundation), and Geutanyoe Foundation co-organised a Maulidur Rasul event with local actors in Kedah, Malaysia, within the theme of humanitarian response to the Rohingya and understanding through the Islamic faith. Over 50 participants joined, including members of the Rohingya community, Members of Parliament and the All Party Parliamentary Group, NGOs, and students. Discussions included ways to strengthen community engagement and response through religious leaders; the role of faith based organisations in providing humanitarian support; and local actor understanding of the need to respond to the refugee crisis.

• 26 October: The Chin Human Rights Organisation released a statement voicing their concerns about reports that Chin refugees and asylum seekers are being deported from Malaysia to Myanmar. Since 1 February, 178 Chin refugees and asylum seekers have been deported via the Myanmar Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Hundreds more were arrested and remain in detention.

Philippines

• 13 October: Rappler featured Steven Muncy, Executive Director of Community and Family Services International, in their article. Muncy received the Ramon Magsaysay Award, a prize given to individuals and organisations who achieve excellence in their respective fields, for his work in helping refugees across Asia Pacific.

• Brian Barbour’s (Act for Peace) policy briefs with UNHCR and the Government of the Philippines that was produced last year is now available on Refworld. The article covered certain legislative priorities that the Philippines Government was looking at, including: a) proposed accession to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, and analysis of the current law for consistency with its requirements; b) review of draft bills establishing the refugee and stateless status determination (RSSD) system; and c) a proposed bill on naturalisation for those recognised through the Philippines RSSD procedures.

Regional

• 29 October: ALTSEAN-Burma organised the ALTSEAN Stakeholders Assembly. The event included individuals and representatives of local, national, and regional organisations that have partnered with ALTSEAN in design and/or implementation of its activities in the preceding four years. The organisation also recapped their achievements and work over the past four years, particularly within their advocacy efforts to alleviate human rights abuses in Myanmar, securing human rights for the country’s displaced population, and more.

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 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.

• Outreach: The Asia Pacific Network of Refugees (APNOR) is organising the second Asia Pacific Summit of Refugees (APSOR) virtually, between 9 - 11 November. APSOR will bring together refugee communities and refugee-led organisations across the region to discuss what refugee leadership has achieved in the last two years, and how we can build on our successes in the future. If you're a refugee or displaced person anywhere in the Asia Pacific, you are highly encouraged to join APSOR for a three-day forum so we can learn about your work, your community, and how we can work together to protect refugees across Asia. Go here for more details and to register.

• 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.

From the Secretariat

Now hiring

• Afghanistan Rapporteur Consultant

APRRN is seeking to contract a consultant Afghanistan Rapporteur for a three and a half 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. Interested applicants must be fluent in English and are encouraged to send a cover letter, CV, and a brief narrative proposal including desk review, consultation, learning exchange and advocacy strategy content, methodology and time schedule before 15 November. For more information, please go here.

• Programme Officer

We are looking for a dedicated person to join our programmes team as Programme Officer, based in Thailand or Malaysia. The ideal candidate must have a university degree in social sciences, understanding of the overall socio-political and human rights situation in the Asia Pacific region, minimum 5 years of work experience in promoting and protecting the human rights of forced migrants, experience in coordinating advocacy positions at national and regional levels, and consulting with multiple partners/stakeholders in different geographic contexts in order to design and implement coordinated activities. The deadline for the applications is on 16 November. To learn more about the role and to apply, please go here.

APRRN updates

• APRRN is very pleased to announce that Lars Stenger is our new Programme Coordinator. Larsis known to many of those within our network;he has been actively involved in APRRN since 2008, andwas the Chair of the Immigration Detention Working Group from 2018 to 2020 as well as the Interim Secretary General for a few months this year. We are grateful to have him on board, with his wealth of experience and knowledge.
  
  'I am looking forward to working with the Secretariat, APRRN members, and refugees in finding programmatic solutions to some of the many challenges currently experienced in our region.'

APRRN’s 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’ socioeconomic 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.