Refugee Protection in Southeast Asia: Between Humanitarianism and Sovereignty

Despite being long-term hosts to refugee populations, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia are not yet part of the 1951 Refugee Convention. In all three states, refugees are regulated as discretionary humanitarian exceptions to immigration legislation. With contributions from scholars within and outside the region, this book promotes new thinking on protection of refugees and on resolving tensions between states, actors and institutions in the region. It evaluates the key concepts of sovereignty, security and humanitarianism in this context, the different bases of protection by state and non-state actors and the meaning of responsibility and regionalism in Southeast Asia.