Forced Migration in the OIC Member Countries:
Policy Framework Adopted by Host Countries
57
Figure 8: Forced migrant populations in OIC countries in Southeast Asia
Source: UNHCR, “Population Statistics”
Note: The international forced migrant population is calculated to be the number of refugees, people in refugee-like situations,
and asylum seekers residing in a country.
2.7.1. Migration dynamics in Southeast Asia
As a region of porous borders and islands, Southeast Asia has long been marked by irregular
migration over both land and maritime routes. This has been exacerbated by income
disparities and poverty within the region. Levels of intra-regional labor migration exploded in
the 1990s due to rapid economic growth that fueled a high demand for low-skilled workers in
countries such as Malaysia.235 Forced migration, often driven by conflict, ethnic persecution,
and political oppression, has become intermingled with these more traditional economic
migration flows along the same routes.236
The largest source of forced migrants in the region is Myanmar, where six decades of armed
conflict and ethnic oppression continues to displace many communities.237 While
displacement across international boundaries has slowed since the negotiation of ceasefires
with the major armed ethnic groups since 2011, conflict, especially in northern Myanmar, and
displacement continues. Most of these refugees are groups persecuted by the government,
such as the Karen, Chin, and Rohingya peoples.238 Many fled to neighboring Thailand, where
about 100,000 Myanmar nationals remain in camps with many others unregistered in urban
235 Benjamin Harkins, “Review of labour migration policy in Malaysia,” (Bangkok: International Labour Organization, 2016),
1, Stephen
Castles and Mark J. Miller, “Migration in the Asia-Pacific Region,” Migration Information Source, July 10, 2009,
236 Kathleen Newland, Irregular Maritime Migration in the Bay of Bengal: The Challenges of Protection, Management and
Cooperation, (Bangkok: International Organization for Migration and Migration Policy Institute, July 2015), 3
237 Ashley South and Kim Jolliffe, Forced Migration and the Myanmar Peace Process, (Geneva: UNHCR, 2015), 4
238 Ibid.