The Legal Aid and Advocacy Working Group of Asia-Pacific Refugee Rights Network

The Legal Aid and Advocacy Working Group of Asia-Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) proposes to hold a Legal Aid Training for the South Asia region from May 26 - 28, 2012 in Kathmandu, Nepal.

In the past APRRN has collaborated with the FAHAMU Trust on the ARLAN project (with thanks to the US Institute for Peace for their support) which was launched in June 2010 to enhance the provision of legal aid with respect to refugee status determination and the protection of various human and refugee rights in East, South and Southeast Asia. APRRN was closely engaged with the project with APRRN members actively participating in the previous meetings in Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta. The ARLAN project ended in March 2012 and APRRN will continue building on the momentum begun by ARLAN and carry the achievements forward.

As a first step APRRN organized the Southeast Asia Legal Aid Training in Bangkok in February 2012. The training was attended by 20 participants and resulted in the drafting of a regional and country level action plans.

In an effort to strengthen the capacity on legal aid in the South Asia, the tentative agenda of this meeting will include:

- In-depth discussion on the refugee Law/definition and its application in non-signatory countries with emphasis on South Asian countries
- Understanding legal frameworks for refugee protection in South Asia
- Case studies: Breaking down refugee convention and analysing different stages in the RSD process
- Nairobi code and ethics in the refugee context
- Challenges to RSD and refugee protection in the South Asia region
- Procedural Due Process: Minimum standards for a fair RSD Process, importance of legal aid and what a complete legal aid project could like (COI, testimony writing and legal submissions)
- Mapping exercise to identify existing services, gaps and challenges
- Discussion on best practices and future action plans, planned directory and sharing of resources, regional cooperation on litigation

The Legal Aid Training will be followed by a one-day South Asia Working Group Consultation on May 29, 2012. The purpose of the consultation is to discuss pressing issues, review actions plans and plan for joint activities/strategies.

Please feel free to contact the APRRN Secretariat for any queries or
clarifications through julia@aprrn.info or +66 22526654