UN refugee agency concerned by Malaysia returns to Myanmar

By Olivia Le Poidevin

GENEVA, Sept 30 (Reuters) – The United Nations Refugee Agency on Wednesday said it was concerned by Malaysia’s return of more than 1,000 people to Myanmar because of the dire humanitarian conditions there.

Malaysia deported around 1,500 Myanmar nationals, including children, on Tuesday as part of a refugee repatriation programme, despite objections from the United Nations and dozens ‌of human rights groups.

Myanmar has been ​in turmoil since a 2021 coup triggered a civil war, with the military fighting armed groups across several fronts. 

“We are concerned by these returns at a time when people sent back to Myanmar may face serious risks, and some within the group may be in need of international protection,” said UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Edem Wosornu.

The people returning were taken from immigration detention, which raises concerns about whether they were free to choose to return, Wosornu said, adding that UNHCR did not have access to the detention centres to make such assessments. 

No one should be returned to a country where they may face persecution, torture or other serious threats to their life or freedom under the principle of non-refoulement, UNHCR said, adding that until conditions in Myanmar allowed for safe returns, states must continue to provide asylum. 

Tuesday’s deportation was the first phase of a broader plan agreed between Malaysia and Myanmar that could see as many as 5,000 people returned. 

Malaysia has stepped up immigration enforcement in recent years amid rising local hostility against refugees, particularly ethnic Rohingya Muslims, many of whom fled after a 2017 Myanmar military crackdown that is the subject of ​a genocide case at the International Court of Justice.

Malaysia has said returns are strictly voluntary. 

Myanmar’s foreign ministry said this ​month it was working with countries to facilitate the voluntary return of verified displaced persons in a safe and dignified manner, according to a state media report. 

(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin in Geneva; additional reporting by Hasnoor Hussain, Rozanna Latiff, Jeremy Seng in Lumut, Malaysia, and Devjyot Ghoshal in Bangkok; Editing by Kate Mayberry)