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Indonesia + 4 more

ECHO Factsheet – Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia – January 2018

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FACTS & FIGURES

Over 174 000 asylum seekers and refugees currently living in:
Thailand (over 7 600)
Malaysia (150 000)
Indonesia (18 000)
EU humanitarian aid: €2.1 million (in 2016 & 2017)

Introduction

Considered safe havens for many, Southeast Asian countries, in particular Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, have long hosted considerable numbers of asylum seekers and refugees from various nationalities who seek protection and assistance outside of their home countries. However, the lack of national frameworks to protect asylum seekers and refugees leaves many in highly vulnerable situations as they are considered illegal and are therefore often denied the fundamental right to protection.

What are the needs?

Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia are the largest host countries for refugees in Southeast Asia. Nonetheless, they are not signatories to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. Although these countries may be willing to increase protection space, which will result in a more formalised legal recognition of asylum seekers and refugees, with no national legal protection mechanisms currently in place, they are considered ‘illegal migrants’ and are in need of assistance.

Over the past few years, an unprecedented surge in mixed migratory flows has resulted in growing backlogs of asylum seekers and urban refugees in Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Individuals seeking refugee status inevitably face extended waiting times of up to two or three years for the refugee status determination (RSD) process. During this long waiting period, they are exposed to a wide range of risks, including detention, exploitation, persecution, and economic hardships as they do not have the right to work. Currently, there are more than 170 000 asylum seekers and refugees living in the three Southeast Asian countries, the vast majority of whom live in capital cities and urban areas. Due to their locations, the three countries are also exposed to a wide array of natural disasters, ranging from floods, tropical storms, landslides, droughts and tsunamis to earthquakes. Home to more than a hundred active volcanoes, Indonesia, in particular, is no stranger to volcanic eruptions.

How are we helping?

In response to the rapidly growing numbers of asylum seekers and refugees in Southeast Asia, in 2017 the European Union allocated €1.8 million to enhance humanitarian protection to vulnerable individuals in Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. In 2016, the EU provided €300 000 to support asylum seekers and refugees in Thailand through a pilot initiative on the refugee status determination (RSD).

Implemented by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the intervention focuses on the acceleration of the refugee status determination (RSD) process for asylum seekers and refugees in the three countries, with the aim to reduce the massive backlogs of pending RSD cases. The action will result in shorter waiting times, thereby contributing to the improved protection of asylum seekers and refugees, who, devoid of a proper legal status, are exposed to detention and associated protection risks, unequipped to sustain their livelihoods, and face limited access to basic social services. A faster RSD process will also help minimise the psychological impact on asylum seekers who are likely to remain in limbo as long as their statuses stay unclear. Special attention is being paid to the most vulnerable men, women, and children, particularly those currently in detention. The initiative will directly benefit 13 350 people by the end of the project.

Thanks to EU funding, UNHCR has increased its refugee status determination capacity allowing it to adjudicate refugee status determination decisions of nearly 6 000 individuals from July 2016 to June 2017.

EU humanitarian aid has been present in the three countries for more than two decades, providing funding to assist people affected by conflict and natural disasters. Most recently in December 2017, the European Union provided €100 000 to support the delivery of relief assistance to families affected by a series of volcanic eruptions from Mount Agung in Indonesia’s island of Bali. Since 2013, more than €1.1 million has been allocated to provide emergency humanitarian support to Rohingya and Bangladesh migrants detained in immigration detention centres and shelters in Thailand and Indonesia. Furthermore, the EU also provided humanitarian aid to refugees from Myanmar/Burma residing in camps along the border in Thailand from 1995 to 2016, prioritising mainly food assistance and primary health care. The total funding amounted to almost €120 million.