Amnesty: None should be forced back into ‘brutal’ Myanmar

 

Human rights group Amnesty International has urged Malaysia to stop forcibly deporting Myanmar nationals, who risk facing persecution and violence upon reaching their home country.

This came following a recent news report stating that 150 Myanmar nationals were deported on Oct 6, including former navy officers and their family members who were seeking protection from the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

“Amnesty International calls on the government to respect human rights and international law and halt any plans to forcibly send people from Myanmar back to a violent and dangerous situation.

“People who are unable or unwilling to return to Myanmar should be allowed to remain safely in Malaysia without risk of refoulment, and be able to regularise their stay either through extension of their work permits and other visas or access to asylum proceedings, and should be able to enjoy their rights.

A group of women hold torches as they protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar July 14, 2021

“No one should be forcibly returned to Myanmar for any reason due to the current brutal conditions in the country,” it said in a statement last night.

The group also expressed concern over Myanmar nationals who are being held indefinitely by immigration authorities in Malaysia, and urged the government to work with the UNHCR to end such detentions.

Serious human rights violations

Amnesty International said it has documented serious human rights violations and war crimes in Myanmar since the military coup last year, including torture in prisons and interrogation centres, and against people expressing dissent.

Forcing people fleeing the violence to go back is a contradiction to Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah’s pronouncements against Myanmar’s military junta, it said.

Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah

Such actions also amount to refoulment – a contravention of customary international law where a government deports people to a country in which they would likely face human rights violations.

“Malaysia, as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, should refrain from actions violating international human rights law, including the right to seek asylum.

“The government must stop forcibly deporting asylum seekers – including dissidents or any other opponents of the Myanmar military, and others facing persecution if they were to be returned,” it said. - Mkini