Amnesty: Malaysia insincere if UNHCR deemed 'foreign interference'

Malaysia takes pride in sitting on the UN Human Rights Council, therefore it is at best bizarre and at worst disingenuous and harmful for the government to then frame the UN agency as “foreign interference”, said Amnesty International Malaysia.

Its executive director, Katrina Maliamauv, pointed out that the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has worked in the country for decades, supporting the government to ensure refugees were afforded some level of protection.

This is despite a complete failure by the government to implement a comprehensive policy to protect refugees, she said.

The human rights organisation was responding to National Security Council (NSC) director-general Rodzi Md Saad’s proposal for the UNHCR office in Malaysia to be shut down.

Rodzi said local authorities can better manage the refugee situation without foreign interference.

“Threats to shut down the UNHCR to score political points benefit no one,” Maliamauv said.

In comparing two ministries, Maliamauv pointed out that while the Foreign Ministry raises alarm bells over the dire situation in Myanmar, the Home Ministry has denied UNHCR access to immigration detention centres since August 2019.

“We reiterate our call for the government to urgently reverse this policy.

“Everyone in Malaysia benefits when we address refugee protection from a rights-based approach and with a genuine openness for collaboration and cooperation,” she added.

Stop deportation to Myanmar

Migrant rights NGO Tenaganita’s executive director, Glorene A Das, said the NSC needed to understand the difference between migrants and asylum seekers.

She explained that the UNHCR only processed applications for UNHCR cards by asylum seekers with strong evidence of data and information, not for migrants.

“The UNHCR's mandate is to provide protection to asylum seekers and refugees.

“If it is about undocumented migrants in the country, then UNHCR is not responsible,” she clarified, adding that as a member of the UN, Malaysia had to respect the mandate of a UN agency.

Meanwhile, Beyond Borders founder and president Mahi Ramakrishnan raised the alarm on the Immigration Department’s plan to deport 135 Myanmar nationals who could be members of the Civil Disobedience Movement.

She said they faced possible torture, incarceration, or even murder by the ruling junta in Myanmar.

Mahi, too, pointed out that the government needed to understand its obligations to protect asylum seekers and refugees under international law despite not ratifying the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.

Meanwhile, a leader of the Somali refugee community in Malaysia, Mohamed Abdi, said the UNHCR should be viewed as a “temporary home” for refugees where they could feel safe until they were resettled.

He said among the services provided by the UNHCR was putting together activities for community development.

“We as refugees hope to get fundamental rights until we are resettled, but I am not sure the mechanism mentioned by Rodzi will impact the refugee population positively,” he said, adding that Malaysians favoured seeing fewer refugees in the country.

Govt agencies not on same page

Mahi pointed out that the government’s flip-flop in decision-making suggested that the various government agencies that engaged with UNHCR were not on the same page.

In a joint statement with Alliance of Chin Refugees representative James Bawi Thang Bik, Mahi explained that the Joint Task Force and representatives from various ministries and government agencies had met UNHCR chief Thomas Albrecht on Sept 1.

“Five days later, Rodzi suggests shutting down the UNHCR office in the country.

“Are stakeholders like the Joint Task Force, the NSC and the Human Resources Ministry not on the same page? Is this some kind of joke?” she asked. - Mkini