Abstract
UNHCR has indicated that 65.3 million individuals were forcibly displaced in 2015: 40.8 million people around the world were displaced within their own countries. These figures, however, did not include stateless persons, those who may not belong to any state. In fact, Asia has the largest number of stateless persons. Moreover, Asia comprises about one-third of the world’s land in the low evaluation coastal zones. Climate refugees are already growing in the region, while 150 million are estimated by 2050 world-wide. Both the stateless and climate refugees are not satisfactorily covered by international law. Similarly, the protection mandate of UNHCR is limited. More and more people seek nationality and protection. Existing gender inequality contributes to the stateless women and children living with fears and threats of sexual exploitation. Contrarily, many people are still reluctant to welcome them in their countries. As the worst, the stateless might be seen as threats, trouble makers, terrorists or related to transnational organised crime. Fear arises among people when they do not know “who is who”. Sharing responsibilities for the stateless is critical but “how” is uncommitted. International law enforcement has been challenged by national sovereignty, national laws and territorial integrity. Thus, this research investigates the following aspects of the problem of stateless in Asia (1) the crises and fear, (2) who is supposed to protect the stateless beyond national boundaries, and (3) who (and how) can alternatively protect them alternatively.
Author Information
Mayumi Yamada
Paper Information
Conference: APSec2016
Stream: Human & Environmental Security
This paper is part of the APSec2016 Conference Proceedings (View)
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