Networks and norm entrepreneurship amongst local civil society actors: advancing refugee protection in the Asia Pacific region

Research on transnational advocacy networks has tended to focus on how non-state actors from developed countries interact with those from developing countries to pressure states, often by drawing in liberal Western states. This article adds a different perspective, focusing on how local civil society actors in different locales interact with each other to persuade their own governments ‘from below’. It examines how these actors facilitate norm emergence amongst Asian states on issues with little domestic traction and for which there are well-developed international norms, standards and procedures. In studying the way local civil society actors conduct norm entrepreneurship, it is important to recognise the political, material and ideational conditions that constrain their work; their positionality and fragility in their own societies; and the way they relate to other actors working on the same issues. Focusing on the case of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network, it is argued that working through a formalised network has changed the ways and the conditions under which local civil society actors engage in norm entrepreneurship on refugee protection. It has changed the attributes of actors, helping them develop visibility, capacity and connectedness through the formation of a ‘community of practice’; it has changed power relations between them and other actors – in particular, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; it has facilitated the development of ‘regional imagination’ and the practice of ‘scale shifting’, helping local actors move beyond domestic contexts to engage with state and non-state actors through regional and international fora. It has also introduced shifts in the dynamics of norm entrepreneurship by introducing a new actor – the network itself, which exercises agency through a Secretariat – and intra-network sensitivities, which need careful attention to prevent member disengagement

The Ambiguous Authority of a “Surrogate State”: UNHCR’s Negotiation of Asylum in the Complexities of Migration in Southeast Asia

In complex migration contexts, protection actors have had to invest tremendous effort into signifying “refugees” as a legitimate type of non-citizen deserving of international protection. This article examines how the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reinforces the distinction between “refugees” and “migrants” through resource-intensive practices of identification, intervention, and advocacy in Malaysia, which have resulted in the partial, impermanent protection of some refugees. In such situations, UNHCR takes on properties of a “surrogate state” but does so without sovereignty, negotiating the protection of refugees in urban and rural areas with ambiguous authority. In recent years, Rohingyas have become the archetypal refugee in Southeast Asia. Troublingly, UNHCR has argued that other refugees from Myanmar in protracted situations are no longer in need of international protection. Contemporary constructions of “refugees” fail to address the complexities of migration but have become a necessary protection measure. Alternative ways are needed to address the precarity of diverse mobile subjects in Southeast Asia.Dans des contextes migratoires complexes, les acteurs soucieux de la protection des migrants ont dû déployer des efforts considérables pour que les « réfugiés » soient reconnus comme des non-citoyens ayant besoin d’une protection internationale. Cet article examine comment le Haut Commissariat des Nations Unies pour les réfugiés (HCR) renforce la distinction entre « réfugiés » et « migrants » par le biais de pratiques d’identification, d’intervention et de plaidoyer qui nécessitent des ressources considérables en Malaisie et qui ont abouti à la protection partielle et non permanente de certains réfugiés. Dans de telles situations, le HCR se pose comme un « État de substitution », mais sans souveraineté, négociant la protection des réfugiés dans les zones urbaines et rurales avec une autorité ambiguë. Ces dernières années, les Rohingyas sont devenus l’archétype des réfugiés en Asie du Sud-Est. Il est inquiétant de constater que le HCR a fait valoir que d’autres réfugiés du Myanmar se trouvant dans des situations prolongées n’ont plus besoin d’une protection internationale. Les constructions contemporaines de « réfugiés » ne tiennent pas compte de la complexité de la migration, mais sont devenues une mesure de protection nécessaire. Il faut trouver d’autres moyens de reconnaître et de traiter la précarité des diverses catégories de personnes mobiles vivant dans la région de l’Asie du Sud-Est.En contextos complejos de migración, los actores de la protección han tenido que invertir un esfuerzo tremendo en significar a los «refugiados» como un tipo legítimo de no-ciudadanos que merecen protección internacional. Este artículo examina cómo el Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los Refugiados (ACNUR) refuerza la distinción entre «refugiados» y «migrantes» a través de prácticas de identificación, intervención y defensa en Malasia que requieren muchos recursos y que han dado lugar a la protección parcial e impermanente de algunos refugiados. En tales situaciones, el ACNUR asume las propiedades de un «Estado sustituto», pero lo hace sin soberanía, negociando la protección de los refugiados en las zonas urbanas y rurales con una autoridad ambigua. En los últimos años, los rohingyas se han convertido en los refugiados arquetípicos del sudeste asiático. Es preocupante que el ACNUR haya argumentado que otros refugiados de Myanmar que se encuentran en situaciones prolongadas ya no necesitan protección internacional. Las construcciones contemporáneas de «refugiados» no abordan las complejidades de la migración, pero se han convertido en una medida de protección necesaria. Se necesitan formas alternativas para abordar la precariedad de diversos temas móviles en el sudeste asiático

Risk entrepreneurship and the construction of healthcare deservingness for ‘desirable’, ‘acceptable’ and ‘disposable’ migrants in Malaysia

In recent years, scholars have focused on the concept of healthcare deservingness, observing that healthcare professionals, state authorities and the broader public make moral judgements about which migrants are deserving of health care and which are not. This literature tends to focus on migrants with irregular status. This article examines how state calculations of healthcare deservingness have also been applied to authorised migrants. Focusing on Malaysia, we examine the ways in which state authorities construct migrants as ‘desirable’, ‘acceptable’ and ‘disposable’, differentiated through calculations of their biological and economic risks and potential contribution to ‘the nation’. To do this, we analyse recent government and commercial policies, plans and practices to reflect on how such biopolitical orderings create the conditions for risk entrepreneurship – where public and private actors capitalise on profit-making opportunities that emerge from the construction of risky subjects and risky scenarios – while reinforcing hierarchies of healthcare deservingness that exacerbate health inequalities by privileging migrants with greater economic capital and legitimising the exclusion of poor migrants

Critical perspectives on the security and protection of human rights defenders

Since the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders in 1998, there has been considerable effort to recognise and protect the right of individuals, groups and communities to promote and protect their own rights and the rights of others. Over time, a multi-level, multi-actor international protection regime for the rights of human rights defenders has emerged, derived from the international human rights regime. Actors in this goal-driven regime adopt a human security approach, emphasising the importance of having a holistic, multidimensional understanding of ‘security’. In this article, we note positive developments in state commitment to the protection of defenders, as well as the debates, tensions and contestation that continue to exist. We emphasise the need for critical appraisal of the construction, function and evolution of this protection regime as well as its multi-scalar social and political effects, both intended and unintended. We highlight three specific areas where critical scholarship is needed to understand the nature of this protection regime, discussing the contributions of authors in this special issue: the definition and use of the term ‘human rights defender’; the effectiveness of protection mechanisms; and the complex relationship between repression, activism and risk. In conclusion, we identify key areas for further research related to human rights defenders, stressing the need for the development of theory and practice related to their ‘risk’, ‘security’ and ‘protection’

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Refugees and space in urban areas in Malaysia

Refugees know that their safety and wellbeing dependon their accurate reading and careful negotiation ofdifferent spaces and landscapes in urban areas

Refugiados y espacio en las zonas urbanas de Malasia

Los refugiados saben que su seguridad y bienestar dependen de la lectura minuciosa y los delicados acuerdos que lleven a cabo respecto a los diferentes espacios y entornos de las zonas urbanas

Navigating mental and emotional wellbeing in risky forms of human rights activism

How do people engaged in risky forms of activism understand and manage their mental and emotional wellbeing? What factors shape these responses? How is this significant for the sustainability of activism and human rights movements around the world? Drawing on a study with 407 participants who experienced high risks in human rights practice in Colombia, Mexico, Egypt, Kenya, and Indonesia, this article argues that cultures of human rights practice shape the way that mental and emotional wellbeing is understood and practiced. Gendered ‘feeling rules’ that valorize bravery, commitment, sacrifice, and selflessness complicate conversations about mental and emotional wellbeing, triggering feelings of guilt and self-indulgence in relation to self-care. Discussions about mental and emotional wellbeing are sensitive, culturally mediated, and laden with social and political implications. Some leaders are concerned that revealing their fears and vulnerabilities will lead to movement demobilisation. Mental health issues are thus made invisible. Participants in this study tended to rely on private rather than collective coping strategies; relatively few human rights groups and organisations adopted wellbeing practices. Crucially, however, activists affirm that their human rights practice enables them to experience and attain individual and collective wellbeing. This article discusses the maintenance of practices for self- and collective care that can sustain people engaged in activism in the face of high risks