Asia Pacific Summit of Refugees 2021 brought together 220 refugees and forcibly displaced people from refugee-led initiatives, networks and communities residing in 10 host countries in the Asia Pacific region to discuss and plan for the future work of refugee-led initiatives in which area these RLIs need support to reduce the hardship of refugee and displaced people lives, also to discuss the involvement of more refugees in high level official meetings, policy – and decision-making. This was the second summit for refugees and forcibly displaced people across the Asia Pacific region to come together for sharing their experiences, building networks and discuss on how to strengthen the work of refugee-led initiatives at local, regional, and international levels.

The Asia Pacific Summit of Refugees followed on from discussions that took place in Geneva in June 2018 at the inaugural Global Summit of Refugees (GSOR). One of the key recommendations coming out of this Global Summit was for an “inclusive international platform for refugee participation and self-representation” to be established, “made up of a representative network of refugee community organizations, initiatives and change-makers from around the world”. In working towards the establishment of a representative international refugee-led advocacy network, a proposal was developed to hold regional level discussions. The Asia Pacific region, through APSOR, was the first of these regional -level discussions. Both Summits recognize that the inclusion of refugees in policy – and decision-making is important in acknowledging and facilitating refugee agency and self-determination. With personal experience in situations of displacement, refugees are well placed to offer practical and sustainable solutions. Refugees can be powerful agents of change, evidenced through their capacity to take charge of building local communities and filling gaps in services and assistance. These Summits also recognize that a major challenge in enabling refugee self-representation at an international level is the lack of opportunities for refugee representatives to come together and work collaboratively on areas of shared concern. This is particularly so in the Asia Pacific region, where many refugees reside in host countries where they have uncertain legal status, limited access to resources, and restrictions placed on mobility that mean travelling to international gatherings is not possible. For these reasons, the Summit trilled connecting people through video hubs to enable groups to connect from different host countries.