Key facts
- Malaysia began repatriating approximately 1,500 Myanmar nationals on Tuesday.
- The group is the first of 5,000 Myanmar citizens Malaysia plans to repatriate.
- Rights groups and the UN expressed concern that the returnees may face persecution in Myanmar.
- Two-thirds of Myanmar refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia are Rohingya, according to the UN.
- Malaysia's interior ministry stated the repatriation aims to resolve the issue of foreign asylum-seekers.
- UN rights chief Volker Turk urged Malaysia to stop the process, citing human rights violations in Myanmar.
Malaysia commenced the repatriation of approximately 1,500 Myanmar nationals on Tuesday, a move that has drawn criticism from the UN and human rights organizations concerned about the safety of migrants and asylum seekers. The Malaysian government confirmed the repatriations were underway, stating it was part of a plan to resolve the "legacy issue" of foreign asylum-seekers, which it claims imposes a significant financial burden and creates security threats.
The group is the first of an estimated 5,000 Myanmar citizens that Kuala Lumpur intends to send back from detention centers, amid a rise in anti-migrant sentiment in the country. Both the UN and advocacy groups have voiced concerns that the returnees could face persecution in Myanmar, which has been embroiled in a civil war since 2021. The specific number of Rohingya people in the initial group has not been clarified, raising fears they could be returned to a country where they face persecution that rights groups describe as genocide.
According to the UN, Rohingya, a Muslim minority group, constitute two-thirds of the 190,000 Myanmar refugees and asylum seekers currently in Malaysia, many of whom fled a brutal military crackdown in 2017. On Tuesday afternoon, AFP reporters observed three Myanmar navy ships, previously used for repatriations, departing from Malaysia's Lumut naval base. The Myanmar nationals were processed at the base before boarding buses under police escort.
In Geneva, UN rights chief Volker Turk urged Malaysia to immediately halt the deportations, emphasizing that no one should be forcibly returned to Myanmar due to the severe human rights violations and the risk of violence. He questioned the voluntariness of any return under such circumstances and stressed the need to protect those fleeing Myanmar.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had announced in July that Myanmar had agreed to take back 5,000 Rohingya. This plan followed the detention of over 100 Rohingya seeking assistance after facing eviction threats. Earlier this month, Myanmar pledged "safe and dignified" returns for its displaced citizens. However, over 160 civil society groups have called on Malaysia to halt the deportations pending discussions about the situation in Myanmar. Malaysia, which hosts a large refugee population, is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and does not formally recognize refugee status.