INTRODUCTION TO APRRN

The Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) was founded in 2008 and is a membership network that works collaboratively on protecting and promoting the human rights of refugees and other people on the move in need of protection—including asylum seekers, trafficked persons, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), stateless persons, migrants in vulnerable situations and returnees—in the Asia Pacific region. APRRN is an open and growing network of over 270 individuals and organisations in 28 countries.

APRRN is a trusted advisor and resource; we deliver essential toolkits to facilitate joint, comprehensive advocacy in the region, and to ensure refugees and other people on the move have access to equitable protection, assistance, socioeconomic inclusion, and timely durable solutions. The APRRN Secretariat, with its main office in Bangkok, currently consists of 12 staff and consultants in the region under the leadership of two Co-Secretaries General, one of whom has lived experience.

THE CURRENT ASIA PACIFIC CONTEXT

The Asia Pacific is home to some of the world's most acute and protracted refugee situations, where millions of men, women, and children have been driven out of Myanmar and Afghanistan by conflict and instability. Two of the largest populations of stateless people in the world live in the Asia Pacific, a region for which climate-related displacement is also predicted to rise in the near future. 

The current human rights context and dynamics in most parts of the region are dire, including for refugees and other people on the move. They face multiple barriers that hinder access to the full enjoyment of rights, access to services, and opportunities to reach their full potential. ​​

There are currently over 7.3 million refugees and asylum seekers in the Asia Pacific, who lack fundamental human rights as most states in the region do not have protection frameworks or systems in place. The region maintains the lowest number of signatory states to the 1951 Refugee Convention and the majority of national protection systems are ad hoc and precarious. Therefore, human rights violations and abuses take place daily and include lack of due process, forced returns, torture, detention, and denial of the rights to health, housing, and education.

 

WHAT WE DO - COLLABORATIVE ADVOCACY, NETWORKING, AND CAPACITY BUILDING

APRRN is continuing to evolve and change in our pursuit of greater impact, inclusivity, and capacity as a network with a vision for protecting and promoting the rights of refugees and other people in need of protection in the Asia Pacific region. Our new 2023-2027 APRRN strategy reflects this vision.

APRRN facilitates cross-cultural collaboration and regional action, galvanising and directing momentum to ensure the region is effectively, safely, and collaboratively demanding action thereby advancing the socioeconomic inclusion and equitable human rights of refugees and other people on the move in situations of vulnerability. 

By working together as a regional network, our ability to hold governments to account is significant. APRRN advocates with governments in the Asia Pacific to draft, implement, and monitor laws, policies, and practices that protect the human rights of refugees and other displaced persons in the region to prevent and end severe violations of human rights. This includes addressing and recommending solutions to the ongoing persecution against Rohingya, and the displacement of all Myanmar and Afghan people on the move in our region. We also envisage to widen our advocacy to include other vulnerable and diverse groups, such as LGBTQI refugees.

Capacity building of APRRN members, with a specific focus on Refugee-Led organisations and initiatives, remains a core value and objective of APRRN, as does the implementation of intentional and meaningful refugee participation. Our efforts for our members to intentionally connect with each other across themes and regions, as well as with the Secretariat, is also an important and integral part of APRRN’s mission.