But first in Sri Lanka, where hundreds of refugees and asylum workers are facing fear and uncertainty about their future, following news of the UNHCR shutting down operations in the country this year. For years, Sri Lanka has been home to hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers; according to the UNHCR, there are about 567 refugees and 224 asylum seekers who are mostly Pakistanis. However, Sri Lanka isn’t a member country of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and the 1967 protocol, so it has no domestic laws to help guide its actions towards refugees or asylum seekers. As a result, this has made it a way station for refugees while the UNHCR processes applications for their resettlement to other countries. Refugees and asylum seekers are legally barred from working in Sri Lanka, so they’ve had to depend on allowances from the UNHCR to cover their rent, food, and other basic needs. Scholarships are also provided to fund the education of many children. However, these allowances and scholarships were scrapped in December due to the UNHCR’s plans to close its office in Columbo and maintain only a liaison presence from 2025. The rationale behind this move is that most displaced people from the Sri Lanka civil war have returned to their native places. Still, many refugees and asylum seekers worry that this opens them up to deportation amidst the already dwindling hopes of survival without the UNHCR’s financial support. To address these concerns, the UNHCR has promised to collaborate with Sri Lankan authorities to safeguard the rights and interests of refugees. Nonetheless, many human rights activists advocate for establishing domestic laws guaranteeing refugees and asylum seekers access to basic rights like shelter and education. ‘Stop killing us!’: Thousands march to protest against femicide in Kenya