Let UNHCR meet Myanmar detainees, say international groups

 

Of the 1,200 originally scheduled to be sent home, the government says 114 were not handed over to Myanmar authorities. The UNHCR wants to meet the 114. (AP pic)

PETALING JAYA: Several international human rights organisations have demanded that the government grant access for UNHCR into immigration detention centres to meet Myanmar detainees.

The groups, consisting of Asia Pacific Refugees Rights Network, Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights, Asia Forum For Human Rights and Development as well as International Detention Coalition, said this would enable UNHCR to verify the status of the detainees.

Of the original 1,200 refugees scheduled to be deported, 114 were not handed over to the Myanmar authorities as the extended stay order was issued before they could be handed over.

“The Malaysian government has yet to provide information on the 114 individuals and their whereabouts.

“The Immigration officials asserted that 1,086 detainees who were deported on Monday, did not include Rohingya refugees or asylum seekers, including unaccompanied children,” the groups said in a joint statement today. However, other groups have claimed that this was not true and children had indeed been separated from their families and sent home.

They also said the government needed to investigate the Immigration’s action in disobeying a court order to stop the deportation of 1,086 detainees back to Yangon.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court had granted an interim restraining order on Wednesday against the government, from deporting any more Myanmar nationals back to their homeland.

The order will take effect until March 9, pending the court’s ruling on whether to allow two human rights’ groups, Asylum Access Global and Amnesty International Malaysia in challenging the government’s decision to deport over 1,000 Myanmar nationals.

Both groups claimed the decision to deport UNHCR card holders back to Myanmar would endanger their lives.

During the court proceeding, the Immigration said they had already deported the Myanmar nationals on the morning of Tuesday before the interim order was issued in the afternoon. - FMT