ABOUT
The Strategic Litigation Network is a workstream of the Regional United Nations Network on Migration for Asia and the Pacific. Co-led by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN), the network fosters and support strategic litigation in the Asia-Pacific region related to the human rights of migrants and people on the move.
The Network provides a platform for cross-jurisdictional knowledge sharing, runs workshops and webinars, and identifies opportunities for engagement and collaboration between leading legal practitioners in the region.
MEMBERSHIP
The workstream is open to members of the Regional UN Network on Migration and legal practitioners actively engaged in strategic litigation related to the human rights of migrants and people on the move and the Global Compact for Migration in the Asia Pacific region.
The network now boasts over 70 members from across Asia and the Pacific. Members thematic focus encompasses human trafficking, migrant workers’ rights, climate mobility, the principle of non-refoulement, issues related to immigration detention, pathways to protection, discrimination and the protection of migrant children.
TO BECOME A MEMBER
HISTORY AND TIMELINE OF THE NETWORK
February 2023: Maldives Meeting
In February 2023, OHCHR convened a Regional Strategic Litigation Workshop in the Maldives, supported by IOM and UNHCR, which brought into dialogue legal practitioners, CSOs, judges and UN entities. Expert participants discussed how strategic litigation can be used to protect migrants in vulnerable situations in Asia and the Pacific. The Maldives workshop highlighted a strong demand from practitioners for the creation of a network aimed at fostering continuous cross-regional dialogue and peer-to-peer learning on strategic litigation for migrants and people on the move in APAC.
In response to this call, OHCHR and APRRN committed to establishing the Strategic Litigation Network on Migrants and People on the Move in Asia and the Pacific, under the auspice of the Regional UN Network on Migration.
September 2023: Consultation
An in-person consultation was held in Bangkok in September 2023, bringing together 30 prospective members from around the region. Feedback provided in this consultation has been critical in shaping the development of the network.
2024 Webinars & Inaugural In-Person Meeting
In 2024, members engaged in quarterly online meetings and an Inaugural In-Person meeting hosted in Bangkok in August 2024.
The Inaugural in-person meeting occurred over a two-day period, bringing into dialogue lawyers, Civil Society Organizations and representative of UN agencies, to discuss former and emerging strategic litigation cases for migrants in vulnerable situations in the Asia-Pacific region. Members heard from expert panelists across the region and engaged in a series of peer-to-peer workshops and cross-jurisdictional knowledge sharing sessions.
