South East Asia

Operational information on the South-East Asia subregion is presented below. A summary of this can also be downloaded in PDF format. This subregion covers the following countries:
 

| Bangladesh | Brunei Darussalam | Cambodia | Indonesia |Lao People’s Democratic Republic | Malaysia | Mongolia | Myanmar | Philippines | Singapore | Thailand | Timor-Leste | Viet Nam |

Subregion: South East Asia

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The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.

 


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Budgets and Expenditure in Subregion South East Asia

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2019 {"categories":[2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2019],"budget":[159.04005036,169.348267493,139.74159814200002,186.14113247,326.58805622000006,403.70435415000003],"expenditure":[70.15169772,59.542463950000005,56.2090856,99.25054657,212.90504519,227.37807072]} {"categories":[2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2019],"p1":[84.64840292,114.01420427400001,104.8296167,149.94478163,280.22573367,365.60070766],"p2":[16.99425914,20.40722544,7.317298551,10.917601789999999,27.80146192,25.70885083],"p3":[null,null,null,null,null,null],"p4":[57.397388299999996,34.926837778999996,27.594682890999998,25.278749050000002,18.56086063,12.39479566]} {"categories":[2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2019],"p1":[38.357348439999996,43.66420899,39.16382945,81.69782382,190.41983829,205.15482237],"p2":[7.9551821799999995,6.57623988,5.094947769999999,5.55401014,12.490434,14.54154871],"p3":[null,null,null,null,null,null],"p4":[23.8391671,9.30201508,11.950308380000001,11.99871261,9.994772900000001,7.68169964]}
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People of Concern - 2019

[["Refugees",1043778],["Refugee-like situation",48659],["Asylum-seekers",55257],["IDPs",490915],["Returned IDPs",116747],["Returned refugees",879],["Stateless",1053735],["Others of concern",184735]]
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Response in 2019

Durable solutions remained an elusive goal in the region. Protracted conflicts prevented sustainable return, while the gap between resettlement spaces and identified needs continued to grow.
 
Refugees and asylum-seekers from Myanmar remained the largest population of concern at the end of 2019, with some 1.1 million people across the sub-region (855,000 in Bangladesh, 154,000 in Malaysia and 93,000 in Thailand). Moreover, some 600,000 stateless persons and 300,000 IDPs — many of whom were also stateless — were of concern to UNHCR in Myanmar. The vast majority of these refugees and stateless persons were Rohingya (with the exception of those in Thailand), whose right to freedom of movement, as well as access to livelihoods and education, remained limited in 2019. UNHCR and the Government of Bangladesh completed the registration of all Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh in 2019, issuing them individual documentation and establishing a tool to help exercise their right to return to Myanmar. In Myanmar, UNHCR continued to advocate for the rights and status of Rohingya who remained in Rakhine State, while working with UNDP to conduct needs assessments and implement quick impact projects to improve conditions in the northern townships of the state. UNHCR also facilitated the voluntary return of nearly 900 Karen and Karenni refugees from Thailand to Myanmar, while working with the respective governments to enable a dignified, sustainable and comprehensive end to the decades-long encampment of the remaining 93,200 refugees in Thailand. 
 
In the absence of durable solutions, UNHCR focused its engagement with countries in South-East Asia on comprehensive protection and resilience, such as expanded legal pathways and enhanced access to education and livelihoods. Notable progress was made on alternatives to the detention of children in Thailand, with the release of children and their mothers from the main immigration detention centre by the end of 2019. The Malaysian Government was finalizing plans to grant refugees the right to work in certain sectors; and in Indonesia, refugee children began to enrol in public schools. 

In addition to Malaysia’s research into statelessness and the status of individual documentation in the eastern part of the country, the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) developed a research report examining the legal and policy framework on identity and nationality for women and children in ASEAN Member States, with UNHCR’s support. In collaboration with the Regional Support Office for the Bali Process and Thailand’s Ministry of Interior, a Bali Process Civil Registration Assessment Toolkit was piloted in Thailand, prior to roll out in Bali Process Member States. Halfway into the #IBelong campaign, almost 60,000 formerly stateless individuals in Thailand had either acquired nationality or had their nationality confirmed through reformed nationality and civil registration laws and policies.

 

Operations in South East Asia in 2019


The Philippines
 
Natural disasters and low intensity conflicts continued to cause recurrent or protracted internal displacement with nearly 702,000 people newly displaced in Mindanao during 2019. While some 49% had returned home by the end of the year, UNHCR remained concerned about their safety and ability to access basic services. The Philippines was host to a small refugee population of some 700 in 2019, along with some 330 asylum-seekers, while there were approximately 130,000 Sama Bajau people and nearly 400 people of Indonesian descent at risk of statelessness.
 
UNHCR co-led the protection cluster in support of the Government’s response to internal displacement and supported capacity-building toward full government leadership. UNHCR also provided limited financial assistance and continued advocacy for education and employment opportunities. UNHCR supported the implementation of the 1954 Convention and the national action plan to end statelessness, helping nearly 8,400 people of Indonesian descent and around 400 Sama Bajaus to obtain crucial documentation.
 
As co-lead of the protection working group, UNHCR continued capacity-building activities in newly created Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), including in emergency preparedness and response to internal displacement. Protection, humanitarian assistance and protection monitoring activities were sustained, and the resolution of housing, land, and property issues was also advanced. Quick impact projects allowed vulnerable communities to meet their urgent needs and, in coordination with the local government, a solutions-oriented IDP profiling exercise was conducted in BARMM.
 
Viet Nam
 
Viet Nam had made considerable progress since 2002 in addressing nationality and documentation issues, notably through naturalization, birth registration and determination of nationality for children, as well as issuing of permanent residence permits for eligible migrants. In 2019, Viet Nam developed a strategic plan to address statelessness and started preparations to accede to one or both statelessness conventions.

Operational environment

 In 2018, UNHCR’s response in South East Asia continued to be dominated by the situation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, over 700,000 of whom fled violence in the Rakhine State of Myanmar in 2017. The humanitarian needs of both the refugees in Bangladesh and the stateless persons in Myanmar are likely to remain immense and dire in 2019. As a result, there is a risk that refugees will continue making dangerous crossings, either overland or by sea, to other countries in the sub-region.
 
While only three countries in the sub-region are signatories to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the principle of non-refoulement is largely respected. UNHCR continues to build on this positive practice by formalizing temporary stay arrangements in countries in the region, including, as a first step, joint registration of refugees and asylum-seekers with relevant governments. This is coupled with efforts to decrease detention rates and improve access to education, health care and employment opportunities. 
 
Despite the crisis in Rakhine State, progress towards solutions for refugees from other parts of Myanmar continues to be made. For non-Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, several hundred voluntarily returned from Thailand in 2018, and voluntary repatriation options are now being explored for those in Malaysia and other host countries. Long-standing resettlement patterns have changed, with UNHCR’s regional policy emphasizing individual, rather than group, referrals based on specific needs and vulnerability. Significant efforts are also being made to enhance refugee access to legal employment, both for refugee populations with an ongoing need for protection and to provide a “soft landing” for those who may soon have access to durable solutions.
 
In 2019, UNHCR will advocate for regional support for the Rohingya crisis through a Solidarity Approach for the People of Rakhine State to which countries in the region and beyond could make contributions in a variety of areas. Regional mechanisms such as Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Bali Process will also be encouraged to facilitate contributions, and to prepare for any continued or onward movement of refugees to other countries in the region.
 
Addressing statelessness remains a key strategic priority for UNHCR in the region, in close collaboration and cooperation with ASEAN member states. UNHCR’s statistics indicate that over 40 per cent of the world’s stateless persons currently reside in ASEAN Member States, including two of the world’s third largest stateless populations.
 
Building on past success, the Philippines and Thailand continue to take steps to reduce statelessness. The Philippines has a National Action Plan (NAP) to end statelessness in the country by 2024. Cambodia and Viet Nam are in the process of reforming civil registration and nationality laws, efforts that will contribute to the identification, reduction and prevention of statelessness.
 
UNHCR will continue to support the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children in increasing civil registration coverage and realizing the right to a nationality of women and children in ASEAN. UNHCR and the Regional Support Office of the Bali Process have supported the development of a Civil Registration Assessment Toolkit, which aims to help states in assessing and improving their national civil registration systems in order to incorporate and provide basic protection for hard-to-reach and marginalized population groups such as refugees, asylum-seekers, stateless persons, persons of undetermined nationality and undocumented persons. The Toolkit is planning to be piloted in Malaysia and Thailand.
 
Birth registration will be promoted across the region to prevent statelessness, particularly with governments and development partners working towards the goals set out in the ‘Asian and Pacific civil registration and vital statistics decade 2015-2024’ and the sustainable development goal on providing legal identity for all by 2030. UNHCR will further strengthen links with academic and research institutions to improve baseline data and to identify possible solutions, and further develop partnerships with civil society organizations committed to resolving statelessness in the region. UNHCR will support civil society advocacy and interventions, and is collaborating with the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness in Melbourne University and the Statelessness Network for Asia and Pacific (SNAP) to promote capacity building and enhance collaboration among civil society organizations engaged in statelessness work. 

Response and implementation

 
UNHCR’s operations in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar are presented in separate country pages.
 
 In the three 1951 Convention signatory countries—Cambodia, the Philippines and Timor Leste—UNHCR will continue to provide training and other support for government officials.  Additionally, in the Philippines, UNHCR will continue to support the emergency transit mechanism for the temporary relocation of individuals being permanently resettled to other countries, and continue building the protection capacity of local actors for IDPs in Mindanao.
 
In the Philippines, UNHCR is also providing technical and material support to strengthen the government inter-agency initiative to identify, reduce, and prevent statelessness through the NAP. Discussions are underway to enact comprehensive legislation for the protection of refugees and stateless persons, and the government of the Philippines has pledged to work towards acceding to the 1961 Convention with UNHCR technical support.
 
In Cambodia, UNHCR is providing technical support to the Ministry of Interior’s General Department of Identification in reforming its law on Civil Registration, Identification and Vital Statistics to allow better access to civil registration for refugees, asylum-seekers, stateless persons, and persons of undetermined nationality.
 
In Viet Nam, UNHCR will continue to support the Ministry of Justice in enhancing the identification of stateless persons; reduction of statelessness in the border areas with the Lao People’s Democratic Republic; and protection of stateless persons who reside in the border areas with Cambodia. These efforts would eventually result in a strategic plan on the potential reform of the nationality law and policies in preparation for Viet Nam’s possible accession to the 1954 and 1961 Statelessness Conventions.
 

2019 Budget and Expenditure in South East Asia | USD

Operation Pillar 1
Refugee programme
Pillar 2
Stateless programme
Pillar 3
Reintegration projects
Pillar 4
IDP projects
Total
Bangladesh Budget
Expenditure
307,553,397
175,667,944
0
0
0
0
0
0
307,553,397
175,667,944
Indonesia Budget
Expenditure
7,862,241
4,729,509
367,107
62,874
0
0
0
0
8,229,348
4,792,383
Malaysia Budget
Expenditure
17,088,602
8,536,180
860,594
149,535
0
0
0
0
17,949,196
8,685,716
Myanmar Budget
Expenditure
6,973,421
1,695,663
22,230,162
13,087,970
0
0
9,520,417
5,123,148
38,724,000
19,906,780
Philippines Budget
Expenditure
409,301
346,519
396,338
95,997
0
0
2,874,378
2,558,552
3,680,017
3,001,068
Thailand Budget
Expenditure
18,669,082
10,673,085
920,504
634,419
0
0
0
0
19,589,586
11,307,504
Thailand Regional Office Budget
Expenditure
7,044,664
3,505,922
934,146
510,754
0
0
0
0
7,978,810
4,016,675
Total Budget
Expenditure
365,600,708
205,154,822
25,708,851
14,541,549
0
0
12,394,796
7,681,700
403,704,354
227,378,071

2019 Voluntary Contributions to South East Asia | USD

Earmarking / Donor Pillar 1
Refugee programme
Pillar 2
Stateless programme
Pillar 4
IDP projects
All
pillars
Total
South East Asia overall
Private donors in Germany 000454,545 454,545
United States of America 0007,300,000 7,300,000
South East Asia overall subtotal 0007,754,545 7,754,545
Bangladesh
Australia 00010,989,011 10,989,011
Austria 557,414000 557,414
Canada 2,813,750000 2,813,750
Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) 890,875000 890,875
Denmark 0005,155,398 5,155,398
Education Cannot Wait 1,639,226000 1,639,226
Estonia 55,006000 55,006
European Union 4,654,783000 4,654,783
Finland 1,112,347000 1,112,347
France 568,182000 568,182
Germany 3,355,705000 3,355,705
Ireland 1,122,334000 1,122,334
Japan 5,667,211000 5,667,211
Lithuania 55,556000 55,556
Netherlands 2,352,941000 2,352,941
Norway 804,968000 804,968
Private donors in Australia 87,10500271,179 358,284
Private donors in China 183,0640099,955 283,020
Private donors in Denmark 1,221000 1,221
Private donors in Egypt 19,96100258 20,219
Private donors in France 16,392000 16,392
Private donors in Germany 363,846000 363,846
Private donors in India 2,048000 2,048
Private donors in Italy 6,400000 6,400
Private donors in Japan 90,381000 90,381
Private donors in Kenya 31000 31
Private donors in Kuwait 216,820006,579 223,399
Private donors in Lebanon 267,525000 267,525
Private donors in Oman 21,814000 21,814
Private donors in Philippines 18,908000 18,908
Private donors in Qatar 3,000,0000022,215,000 25,215,000
Private donors in Saudi Arabia 502,298000 502,298
Private donors in Singapore 10,026000 10,026
Private donors in South Africa 234000 234
Private donors in Spain 32,823000 32,823
Private donors in Sweden 17,277000 17,277
Private donors in Switzerland 30,313000 30,313
Private donors in Thailand 108,347000 108,347
Private donors in the United Arab Emirates 297,707004,484 302,191
Private donors in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 24,777000 24,777
Private donors in the United States of America 2,310,588000 2,310,588
Republic of Korea 1,700,000000 1,700,000
Saudi Arabia 1,155,671000 1,155,671
Spain 6,132000 6,132
Sweden 2,563,05100879,991 3,443,042
Switzerland 3,020,816000 3,020,816
UNOPS 516,206000 516,206
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 18,292,683000 18,292,683
United States of America 81,916,050000 81,916,050
Bangladesh subtotal 142,450,8110039,621,856 182,072,667
Indonesia
European Union 17,261000 17,261
Private donors in Australia 00014,380 14,380
Private donors in Canada 000527 527
Private donors in China 0009,495 9,495
Private donors in France 0005,151 5,151
Private donors in Italy 0001,487 1,487
Private donors in Japan 0001,229 1,229
Private donors in Kuwait 00048 48
Private donors in Lebanon 000275 275
Private donors in Saudi Arabia 000460 460
Private donors in Singapore 000292 292
Private donors in Spain 0007,162 7,162
Private donors in Sweden 0001,080 1,080
Private donors in Switzerland 000587 587
Private donors in Thailand 0003,437 3,437
Private donors in the Netherlands 000283 283
Private donors in the Republic of Korea 00022,300 22,300
Private donors in the United Arab Emirates 0006,509 6,509
Private donors in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 0003,925 3,925
Spain 35,655000 35,655
United States of America 1,500,000001,400,000 2,900,000
Indonesia subtotal 1,552,916001,478,627 3,031,543
Malaysia
European Union 19,795000 19,795
Private donors in Malaysia 119,451000 119,451
UNAIDS 50,000000 50,000
United States of America 2,160,500001,500,000 3,660,500
Malaysia subtotal 2,349,746001,500,000 3,849,746
Myanmar
Australia 000713,267 713,267
Canada 000379,939 379,939
Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) 040,840816,624129,134 986,598
Denmark 0002,945,942 2,945,942
European Union 0935,270565,5560 1,500,826
France 0568,18200 568,182
Germany 0001,114,827 1,114,827
Italy 01,201,92300 1,201,923
Japan 05,474,45300 5,474,453
Switzerland 000502,008 502,008
United States of America 00010,900,000 10,900,000
Myanmar subtotal 08,220,6681,382,18016,685,117 26,287,965
Philippines
Germany 021,40000 21,400
Private donors in Philippines 00404,8070 404,807
United States of America 000800,000 800,000
Philippines subtotal 021,400404,807800,000 1,226,207
Thailand
Private donors in Thailand 4,919,641000 4,919,641
United States of America 1,522,149002,500,000 4,022,149
Thailand subtotal 6,441,790002,500,000 8,941,790
Thailand Regional Office
Australia 00083,004 83,004
Germany 085,60000 85,600
Thailand Regional Office subtotal 085,600083,004 168,604
Total 152,795,2628,327,6681,786,98770,423,149 233,333,067
Note:
Latest contributions
  • 10-NOV-2020
    United States of America

    private donors

    $93,700
  • 03-NOV-2020
    Croatia
    $233,918
  • 02-NOV-2020
    United Arab Emirates

    private donors

    $53,770
  • 31-OCT-2020
    China

    private donors

    $67,084
  • Switzerland

    private donors

    $110,086
  • United Arab Emirates

    private donors

    $65,483
  • Spain

    private donors

    $8,812,859
  • 30-OCT-2020
    Czech Republic
    $1,081,315
  • Denmark
    $2,473,610
  • Republic of Korea

    private donors

    $7,702,922
  • Philippines

    private donors

    $172,623
  • Thailand

    private donors

    $480,942
  • France

    private donors

    $158,332
  • Malaysia

    private donors

    $291,864
  • Italy

    private donors

    $1,790,333
  • Canada

    private donors

    $617,154
  • Greece

    private donors

    $118,304
  • Netherlands
    $8,305,881
  • United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

    private donors

    $701,243
  • Brazil

    private donors

    $176,432