This research project aims to explain the role of Asian civil society in refugee protection. Asia has been left behind the international refugee protection despite the experiences of the massive outflow of refugees. Specifically, states and international organizations remain without concrete legal and political solutions to protect refugees. In contrast, Asian civil society mobilized itself as a global civil society network organization, Asia Pacific Refugee Right Network (APRRN), and shares alternative principles and practices, so-called the rights-based approach to protect refugees. In this circumstance, it is significant to understand how Asian civil society challenge legal and political domination of predominant stakeholders, and how does civil society implement alternative refugee protection norms. This research will argue that APRRN takes the more advanced role in refugee protection by reconfiguring the power relationships of the global governance process in three dimensions. The first is a change of internal power relationships in global civil society between the North and the South. Second, the APRRN changes the subordinated position of local NGOs in global governance process by challenging the conventional role of state and international organizations. Lastly, APRRN changes the state-centric nature of international refugee regime by bringing alternative norms based on international human rights.
 

<<Final Report>>http://toyotafound.or.jp/research/2017/data/Won_Geun_Choi_final_report_D17-R-0669.pdf

This research project explains the role of Asian civil society in refugee protection. Asia has been left behind the international refugee protection despite the experiences of the massive outflow of refugees. Specifically, states and international organizations remain without concrete legal and political solutions to protect refugees. In contrast, Asian civil society mobilized itself as a global civil society network organization, Asia Pacific Refugee Right Network (APRRN), and shares alternative principles and practices, so-called the rights-based approach to protect refugees. In this circumstance, it is significant to understand how Asian civil society challenges the legal and political domination of predominant stakeholders, and how does civil society implement alternative refugee protection norms. This research argues that Asian civil society aims to challenge the nature of refugee protection in Asia. Instead of encouraging states to ratify the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, APRRN stimulates the national-level implementation of refugee protection principles and practices from below. It engages its members in global decision-making by mobilizing and sharing resources with them. APRRN frames refugee protection as an international human right issue instead of as a national security concern.

In order to articulate the role of APRRN in refugee protection, I had observed the APRRN members participation in the 2018 UNHCR Annual Consultation with NGOs at Geneva, Switzerland and the 2018 Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Consultation at Bangkok, Thailand, and conducted interviews with APRRN members. Also, I had conducted participant observation at the Secretariat of the APRRN from July to December 2018. Throughout the research period, I was able to take advantage of being an affiliate at the Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, as well as to build a strong network with the Secretariat members of the APRRN.

The result of this research project had presented at the 2019 International Studies Association (ISA 2019) conference at Toronto, Canada, and published at the latest issue of a prominent academic journal, the Human Rights Review. In the future, the result of this research will be elaborated with the following researches and bring more academic and social attention on the emerging role of civil society in refugee protection in Asia.