Burmese woman refugees to be resettled in third country next month

comments     Yap Mun Ching     Published     Updated

Two Burmese women with refugee status sent to an illegal immigrants' detention camp in Malaysia could be resettled in another country by next month.

United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) protection officer Shinji Kubo said today the duo will be interviewed shortly by officials representing an undisclosed third country willing to accept them.

"They were supposed to interview the women last month but because of some problems, it was postponed. We expect them to come by the end of this month," said Kubo in Kuala Lumpur today.

The two women from the Burmese Chin community — Tha Sui Chin and Tha Hniang Sung — were arrested in February despite possessing letters to prove their status as refugees recognised by the UNHCR.

According to UNHCR, the Malaysian government has agreed not to deport them but was unable to release them as regulations did not allow the release of individuals who do not possess valid immigration passes.

Asked why the resettlement process had taken more than three months, Kubo said a certain time frame is required before arrangements can be made for resettlement.

"For emergency cases, we normally submit the individual's files to UNHCR head office in Geneva where they can arrange for quick resettlement.

"However, we were informed by another country that it is willing to consider the cases quickly. Unfortunately, this has been delayed," he said.

Meanwhile, Kubo told malaysiakini that the refugee agency had successfully arranged to resettle 41 Afghan refugees in New Zealand on May 5.

"The letter [of recognition by the UNHCR] is only the beginning of the process for resettlement. The UNHCR cannot offer an immediate solution to all refugees," he said, explaining that some of the Afghan refugees had stayed in Malaysia for more than five years.

Limitations

Kubo said the agency faces limitations in its work since it has to resettle all recognised refugees in third countries because of the Malaysian government's non-recognition of their status.

"We need a temporary solution acceptable to the Malaysian government. The government has to regularise their stay here and they should not punish these people," Kubo said in reference to the recent proposal by Malaysian policy-makers for illegal immigrants to be whipped as punishment.

On the mass arrests of undocumented immigrants, including those with valid refugee status, by the Malaysian police, Kubo said the UNHCR is trying to work out some acceptable solution with the authorities.

"We have held conferences and workshops with Malaysian police, immigration and national security officials. We are also trying to meet with officials from the home and foreign affairs ministries," he said, lamenting that attempts to meet with ministry officials have been unsuccessful so far.

"The government could perhaps allow temporary protection for the refugees based on annual work visas endorsed by the UNHCR," added Kubo.

He said such a programme has been launched by a special task force in the Sabah chief minister's department for the Filipino refugee community there.

However, no such programme is available for other refugee groups.

Since 1992, the UNHCR has conferred refugee status on 75,000 individuals in Malaysia seeking asylum from persecution in their home country. Out of this, 60,000 are Muslim Filipinos residing in Sabah.

To date, some 300 of the refugees had been resettled in third countries.



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