The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) 2011 statistics
on refugee populations residing by region are a stark reminder of the challenge
facing states and civil society in the Asia Pacific. In 2011, Africa hosted 2,149,000
refugees; the Americas, Europe, and Middle East and North Africa hosted
513,500, 1,605,500 and 1,889,900 respectively, while the Asia Pacific hosted a
staggering 3,793,900.1 The fact that 35 per cent of the world’s refugees reside in
the Asia Pacific, coupled with the fact that 84 per cent of refugees displaced in
Asia remain in the region,2 raises the questions why so few countries in the region
are signatories to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (‘Refugee
Convention’) or cognate rights instruments3 and why no formally binding regional
agreement exists for the equitable sharing of responsibilities for refugees.
Building on earlier works,4 the contributors to this collection take stock
of regional and global developments and explore the historical and political
environment for the reception of protection norms in the Asia Pacific. They
assess the challenges confronting the implementation of international refugee law
in the region, as well as the new opportunities for extending protection norms
into national and regional dialogues. Lessons are sought from other regional
responsibility sharing arrangements.