As peace returns to much of Afghanistan, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Kuala Lumpur said it is now offering voluntary repatriation as an option to Afghan refugees currently living in Malaysia.

UNHCR Protection Officer Shinji Kubo (photo) said out of the 350 refugees recognised by the agency in Malaysia, more than 30 persons came originally from Afghanistan.

"We are always trying to promote voluntary repatriation as a permanent solution (to refugee problems). Now, we are offering voluntary repatriation for people from Afghanistan," he said when contacted.

Earlier this year, the UNHCR resettled over 40 Afghan refugees sheltering in Malaysia to New Zealand. The resettled refugees had lived in Malaysia for up to five years since they entered the country.

Resettlement preferred

Kubo said that voluntary resettlement has become a more viable option for most Afghan refugees although it is likely that most would still prefer a third country settlement. Part of the reason, said Kubo, is because of increasingly stringent requirements by accepting countries, one of which is the United States, when taking in refugees.

"In general, countries are seriously working on detecting security risks. There is no reason for them to exclude refugees, just because the UNHCR has been involved," he said.

According to Kubo, under the international agreement for voluntary repatriation, those wishing to return to Afghanistan will be provided with free transportation to Kabul and a resettlement allowance of US$100 each.

"They are given other necessities such as wheat, blankets and kitchen utensils. They are also provided with counselling services and training. There will also be people to assist in re-integration of returnees," he added.

The UN official said the policy to encourage voluntary repatriation is currently only applicable to non-Afghanistan neighbours.

"It does not include refugee populations in countries such as Iran and Iraq (which borders Afghanistan)," he said.

No formal charges

In a related development, Kubo said at least nine recognized-refugees have been arrested by authorities and remain in detention, some since nine months ago.

"Some of them are Indonesian and some of them are Burmese. They are held in different types of detention centres, some are in prisons while others are in immigration camps," he said.

Kubo said, however, that the nine have been accepted for resettlement in third countries. "We are now only waiting for clearance from the accepting governments."

He said although several refugees have been arrested, none have been formally charged with violation of immigration laws. "At the moment, we work for three things : We try to prevent their deportation into a country where their lives and freedom are endangered, we try to secure their release pending a solution, and we try to send them out of Malaysia," he explained.

Since the implementation of new immigration laws, asylum seekers and refugees have also been arrested by the police since Malaysian policy indiscriminately targets any person living without proper documentation in the country.

Among the larger asylum seeking populations in Malaysia are the Acehnese and the Burmese Rohingyas, who claim to flee state persecution by the military in their own countries. Based on estimations by social workers, at least 200 Burmese asylum seekers have been detained on immigration violation charges.