Dear List Members,
I had a message posted on 30 October 2003 requesting for information
regarding refugee policies and practice in Indonesia, Philippines,
Thailand and Cambodia and also stating that I will post the collection of
references/resources provided to me by members to the list.
In the end, the way that my paper turned out, I had to abandon my initial
and stated plan to make comparisons between refugee policies and practice
in Malaysia with those of the 4 countries above but as a positive way to
start the new year, I am still keeping to my word before the year ends!
Below are excerpts of emails sent to me in response to my request and for
members' information I had the opportunity to get in touch with people
from JRS Thailand and Cambodia who were very helpful. Of note, an
interesting article was referred to me entitled "Refugee Status
Determination Conducted by UNHCR" by Michael Alexander in the
International Journal of Refugee Law, Vol. 11, No. 2 (1999).
This article looks at the practice of RSD conducted by UNHCR in a number
of countries including Asian countries like Malaysia, Cambodia, and
Thailand. Although there have been some changes and improvements in the
RSD process in Malaysia for example, this article remains very relevant. I
am informed that the regime in Cambodia described in the appendix of that
article remains enforced and effective to this day, albeit with minor
differences brought about by expediency and convenience.
Here are the excerpts of emails I received --
From:
Diana Quick
Director of Communications
Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children
122 East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10168-1289
212.551.3087
fax: 212.551.3180
[log in to unmask]
www.womenscommission.org
The Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children has published a
couple of reports on Burmese refugees in Thailand - while they don't focus
particularly on asylum seekers (at least not "official" ones), they do
deal with the conditions for Burmese living in Thailand. I hope they are
useful.
Fear and Hope: Displaced Burmese Women in Burma and Thailand - February
2000 http://www.womenscommission.org/pdf/th_mm.pdf
Nowhere to Run: Ethnic Burmese Living in Refugee-like Circumstances in
Thailand February 2000
http://www.womenscommission.org/reports/th/index.html
The latter report covers reproductive health issues.
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From:
Bela Hovy, Head
Statistics
UNHCR Geneva
Just to let you know that loads of statistics on asylum-seekers and
refugee recognition in that area (and for other areas) are on the UNHCR
website: www.unhcr.ch (Statistics). The 2001 UNHCR Statistical Yearbook
might be a good start.
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From:
Elisa Mason
FM List Moderator
... you may find the FMO Research Guide on forced migration in Thailand
useful: http://www.forcedmigration.org/guides/fmo012/; see esp. the bibl.
at the end.
Also, UNHCR has a legal database (REFLEG) that provides access to
national legislation texts. Go to http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-
bin/texis/vtx/template/+ywLFqyGn5nwGqreUh5cTPeUzknwBoqeRhlnmeIybnMc and
select Legal information.
Moreover, UNHCR's country of origin database pulls together a wide range
of country-specific reports. Go to http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-
bin/texis/vtx/template/+ywLFqyGn5nwGqreUh5cTPeUzknwBoqeRhlnmeIybnMc and
select Country of origin information. Sources that regularly tend to have
summaries of government policies are UNHCR Background Papers and World
Refugee Survey profiles. No doubt other sources will too.
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From:
Jana Mason
I am the Asia policy analyst for the U.S. Committee for Refugees and
follow refugee and asylum policies in the countries you mention. Our
annual World Refugee Survey is on our website (www.refugees.org) and
contains country reports on those countries. You may wish to review the
country reports for the last few years to get a comprehensive overview,
although the most recent reports (for 2002) will contain the basics. The
website also has press releases that we've issued regarding Burmese in
Thailand, Acehnese in Malaysia, and other populations.
I also wrote an issue paper on refugees and internally displaced persons
in Indonesia, dated January 2001 (much of the material is still relevant,
although it largely focuses on IDPs), as well as a December 1998 paper on
Malaysia's treatment of the Acehnese (which is not unlike the current
crises with respect to Acehnese there).
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Thank you all so much. Here's wishing everyone a happy and wonderful new
year ahead!
Regards,
Azwa
[log in to unmask]
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Note: The material contained in this communication comes to you from the
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