【Report】Summary of the seminar delivered by Polina Ivanova

23 February 2024

Abstract
This talk focused on refugee regimes in two East Asian countries, Japan and Taiwan. Taiwan does not have a refugee law, is not a signatory to the major international treaties, the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees and deals with refugees and asylum seekers on an ad-hoc basis with rather inconsistent outcomes. Japan signed both Convention and Protocol and has been a major contributor to the UNHCR for decades; however, the country has often been accused of a “chequebook diplomacy” and criticised for its extremely low refugee recognition rate and detention of asylum seekers. The talk examined how these refugee regimes relate to the ideas of national security that tend to shape refugee policies in the region and discussed their implications for human security of refugees and asylum seekers.

The presentation is based on a forthcoming book titled “Refugees and asylum seekers in East Asia: Perspectives from Japan and Taiwan” by L. Momesso & P. Ivanova (Eds.) consisting of 15 chapters and comprising three parts: 1) legal and policy frameworks, 2) media representation and public opinion, and 3) lived experiences of refugees and asylum seekers.

I owe great thanks to Dr Ra Mason and Dr Sherzod Muminov for welcoming me at the UEA and helping me to organize my talk.