In Bangladesh, UNHCR has been effective through registration and documentation exercises and appears to be taking a high-level and strategic approach, though government reluctance to accept UN standard operating procedures or to use the term “refugees” has been a challenge. Despite such variance across jurisdictions, UNHCR, as the lead protection agency, serves as a significant stakeholder with potential for implementing large-scale programs while maintaining high-level access to host governments. Advocates with entry points to UNHCR should use their access to push the agency to adopt bolder, concerted action—and more consistent policies across the regions. UNHCR will always maintain a unique role given that it is established by UN member states and entrusted with the protection of refugees. How the agency straddles that line is in large part dependent on engagement. STRATEGICALLY UTILIZE COMPLEMENTARY PATHWAYS TO PROTECTION Given the reluctance of many states in the region to legislate a framework for the general recognition of non-nationals fleeing persecution, complementary protection pathways must be identified and leveraged. For example, protections available to victims of human trafficking may afford an opportunity to provide legal protections to non-nationals without invoking the concept of asylum and avoiding the political sensitivities and resistance frequently associated with the term “refugee.” Malaysia’s Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act Amendment (Act A1500) serves as an example of a mechanism that could potentially be used to extend government support to a subset of non-nationals with protection needs, if interpreted and applied in a broad manner.125 Taking the displaced Rohingya community as an example, advocates and stakeholders may consider this population not only as a refugee population in need of international protection, but also as a stateless population at risk of trafficking that should be provided protections within the framework of complementary efforts aimed at those issues. By engaging in advocacy efforts that strategically think beyond the framework of refugee status as the key determiner of the availability of protections, advocates may find more sympathetic ears among decision-makers while also helping to extend protections to other vulnerable non-refugee groups, such as stateless or undocumented populations. EMPLOY CITIZENSHIP LAW AS A POSSIBLE PATHWAY TO PROTECTION A number of states in the region surveyed have demonstrated commitment to reducing and ending statelessness, especially those with significant indigenous stateless populations, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. This political will toward combating statelessness should also be capitalized on in order to push for the equitable application of anti-statelessness measures toward refugee groups also facing statelessness, such as the Rohingya. Advocates may consider, for example, pushing for full application of existing provisions of citizenship law, especially where the proper application of national law is the only means of avoiding de facto statelessness. Particularly in situations of prolonged displacement, which increasingly represent the global norm, marriages between members of host and refugee communities are inevitable and must not result in intergenerational statelessness. 39 UND OING PRECARIT Y: ELE VATING P OSITIVE PR ACTICES FOR REFU GEE PROTECTION IN SO U TH AND SO U THE AST ASIA