Forced Migration in the OIC Member Countries:
Policy Framework Adopted by Host Countries
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But large-scale voluntary returns of Afghan refugees are complicated by continued insecurity,
the state’s weak absorptive capacity and uneven development.230 While the goal is often to
return refugees to their area of origin, due to security and economic reasons they have
overwhelmingly returned to urban areas such as the Kabul or Nangarhar provinces, straining
resources and services.231 On a national level, corruption and a lack of coordination between
relevant departments and agencies has prevented the creation of a comprehensive and
coherent migration policy, leaving possible solutions, such as formalized circular labor
migration channels, unimplemented.232 In an uncertain security and economic climate, the
difficulty for regional and national actors lies in bringing migration policy to terms with the
complicated nature of mixed migration flows as they exist in reality.233
2.7. Forced Migration in Southeast Asia 234
Most Southeast Asian countries have yet to develop frameworks that meaningfully address the
humanitarian protection needs of forced migrants. While flows of refugees and asylum
seekers continue, particularly along maritime routes, countries such as Malaysia and
Indonesia have been content to pass such responsibility on to the West through resettlement
or other means. Instead, regional initiatives have focused on tackling irregular migration and
promoting labor migration regimes while largely ignoring the dire situation of some forcibly
displaced populations. This approach also fails to address the complex nature of migration
flows in Southeast Asia, in which both voluntary and forced migrants use the same (often
irregular) migration channels, that require countries to develop a nuanced approach to ensure
protection is extended to those in need.
230 Dan Tyler, “Reframing solutions for Afghan refugees” Forced Migration Review, no. 46 (2014), 19,
231 Ahmadi and Lakhani, “The Forced Return of Afghan Refugees and Implications for Stability”; John James, “Life at the end
of the world’s largest refugee repatriation,” IRIN, updated January 31, 2014
232 Majidi, van der Vorst, and Foulkes, “Seeking Safety, Jobs, and More”
233 Majidi, van der Vorst, and Foulkes, “Seeking Safety, Jobs, and More”
234 This report considers the Southeast Asia region to include the following OIC member states: Bangladesh, Brunei
Darussalam, Indonesia, and Malaysia. The region also includes the following countries who are not members of the OIC:
Cambodia, East Timor, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.