Associate Doctoral Candidate Fiza Lee Winter
Institute of Development Research and Development Policy
Rohingya Crisis and its Regional Response
With more than 727,000 Rohingya refugees being forcibly driven out of their homes in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, due to the continuing violence and persecution, into neighboring Bangladesh since 25 August 2017 (ISCG, 2018), the discourse on refugee protection becomes increasingly critical. However, in a region where human rights protection is inconsistent and where human rights itself has been argued to be a "Western" concept, human rights violations, done in the name of national security, are prone to fester. Compared to Europe, Asia, as a region collectively, lacks the necessary legal framework in the refugee protection regime. At the national state level, existing framework is geared towards the protection of the state and national security interests. In fact, many Asian states are void of refugee protection laws all together.
In the absence of a workable legal framework for refugee protection, the Bali Process, a non-binding international forum for policy dialogue, established to combat issues of people smuggling, trafficking, and related irregular migration and transnational crime, has become well-placed to discuss possible solutions for the region, despite not having refugee protection issues as part of its core mandate (Kneebone, 2014).
This research focusses on how Asia is responding regionally to the Rohingya refugee crisis and whether it is compatible with protecting human rights and achieving human dignity. Through a comparative analysis of the Bali Process and other similar processes geared towards irregular migration which have been adopted worldwide (Budapest Process, ASEM, GFMD, etc) and involving the participation and cooperation of both state and non-state actors, this research aims to unravel the complex intersections between the protection of state interests and matters of internal security, against the protection of human rights and principles thereof in order to gain a better understanding and contribute to the discourse on refugee protection in the region.
With regional cooperation being highlighted as a key component to address the crisis, the relevance of this study’s findings takes on a much larger role in the discourse, especially, given the severity of the ongoing humanitarian crisis as well as the regional complexities. Viable long-term "human rights friendly" solutions could only be achieved through a thorough examination and understanding of the region’s capacity, steering away from a western-centric view on the issue.
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim Heintze, Prof. Dr. Pierre Thielbörger
About Fiza Lee Winter
- refugee studies
- international law
- human rights law
- democratization
- governance & democracy
- public policy
- formal institutions
- comparative, qualitative analysis
Fiza Lee is currently a PhD student at the Institut für Entwicklungsforschung & Entwicklungspolitik (IEE) and also associated at the Institut für Friedenssicherungsrecht & Humanitäres Völkerrecht (IFHV) at the Ruhr Universität Bochum in Germany. Her current project focuses on the viability of political response approaches to the refugee crisis in the Asian region, taking the Rohingyas as a case
study. Fiza holds a MA in Human Rights & Democratisation from EIUC (Venice) & Ruhr Universität Bochum, and a BA in Criminal Justice with Dual Minors in Philosophy & Media Studies from the University of Northern Colorado. She also has more than 5 years of professional experiences in the banking sector, media & marketing relations, editorial, as well as project management in various industry
settings.
| 2018 | Present Institute of Development Research and Development Policy (IEE), Ruhr Universität Bochum, Germany, PhD International Development Studies |
| 2017 – 2018 | European Inter-University Center for Human Rights and Democratisation (EIUC), Venice, Italy, Ruhr Universität-Bochum, Germany, European Masters of Arts in Human Rights and Democratisation |
| 2007 – 2010 | University of Northern Colorado, USA Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice with dual minors in Media Studies and Philosophy |
| 2015 – 2016 | Major Shareholder & Commercial Strategist Xcellen P/L, Singapore |
| 2013 – 2015 | Senior Producer – Capital Markets Marcus Evans, Singapore |
| 2010 – 2012 | Staff Writer, Office of Media Relations, University of Northern Colorado, USA |
| 2009 – 2010 | Journalist (Student Employee), UNC Mirror, University of Northern Colorado, USA |
| 2009 – 2010 | Peer Educator Intern Assault Survivor Advocacy Program University of Northern Colorado, USA |
Associate PhD Student at the Institut für Friedenssicherungsrecht & Humanitäres
Völkerrecht (IFHV)
International Student Scholarship (Fall 2010), University of Northern Colorado, USA