Malaysia 'among 10 worst places for refugees'

Malaysia has been plonked among the 10th worst places for refugees, according to an annual report released to mark World Refugee Day today.

The World Refugee Survey puts Malaysia alongside nine other countries as 10 of “the worst places for refugees” in 2007.

The survey, commissioned by the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), has Malaysia standing shoulder-to-shoulder with poverty-stricken Bangladesh, war-torn Iraq and authoritarian China for their violation of refugee rights.

“Bangladesh, China, India, Iraq, Kenya, Malaysia, Russia, Sudan, Thailand, and the countries of Europe collectively were all among the worst places for refugees last year,” said USCRI in its press release.

“Malaysia gave (protection) to some groups of Muslim refugees, but detained, caned, and deported others,” said the 47th edition of the World Refugee Survey .

“In some cases, Malaysian officials turned deportees directly over to human smugglers who extorted fees for smuggling the refugees back into Malaysia or sold them into slavery in Thai fishing boats or brothels if they could not pay.”

The survey - which rates 60 countries that host the largest number of refugees - grades the countries based on a number of categories. This include:

• Their track record on refoulement (deportation to their countries of origin where conflict or persecution may still occur)

• Physical protection of refugees and asylum seekers

• The extent of refugees’ detentions and access to the courts

• Their freedom of movement and residence

• Their right to earn a livelihood

The survey also lists “aggravating and extenuating factors” such as the severity of violations, the number of people affected, and the population and resources of the host countries.

It covered countries that host 99 percent of the world’s 14 million refugees. The report said last year saw the largest number of refugees since 2001.

In 2007, Malaysia hosted about 155,700 refugees and asylum-seekers - 70,000 from Burma (including 25,000 ethnic Chin, 20,000 Mon, and 12,000 Rohingya, and other minorities), and 70,000 Filipinos who fled the Moro insurgency in the 1970s. There are also an estimated 27,000 Acehnese.

Despite the large number of refugees in the country, Malaysia has not signed the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1961 Convention Relating to Stateless Persons.

Refugees sold to traffickers at the border

The report said that in 2007, nearly 2,300 refugees in Malaysia were deported to Thailand, of whom at least 14 were re-deported to Burma.

In the deportation of refugees to Thailand, officials are said to often give advance notice to human traffickers who buy the deportees directly from immigration officials for as much as RM900 per person.

If the deportees cannot come up with the money to buy their freedom from the traffickers - one deportee reported having to pay RM1,800 - they are either sold to Thai fishing boats, in the case of men, or brothels, in the case of women - said USCRI.

The group also cited the constant raids and detentions to which refugees and asylum-seekers are subjected along with other undocumented migrants.

“At any given time, an average of 730 refugees and asylum seekers were in immigration detention,” it said.

Also highlighted was the powerful volunteer security corps Rela, which USCRI described as “infamous for its violent raids, and refugees were frequently injured or killed fleeing them.”

Rela conducted as many as 40 raids a night during 2007, and through November, it had detained more than 30,000 undocumented migrants, an increase from 25,000 in all during 2006, it said.

USCRI also cited a June 25 raid which resulted in the detention of 230 refugees.

“Among the detainees were 30 children, 10 refugees slated for resettlement to the United States the next day, 5 pregnant women, and a Chin refugee leader.

“Malaysia released the Chin leader and the 10 refugees slated for resettlement, but transferred the rest to the Semenyih (Selangor) detention centre,” it said.

Poor conditions in detention camps

USCRI also cited the announcement in November that Rela members would staff the immigration detention centres temporarily after the decision to transfer management of these facilities from the Prisons Department to the Immigration Department.

It added that these immigration detention centres still face problems of overcrowding, poor sanitation, insufficient food and health services, and abusive guards.

Commenting on the plight of refugees in general, USCRI president Lavinia Limón said the group had tried to call attention to these countries because they have been particularly egregious in their treatment of refugees.

“Some of them have forced refugees back into dangerous situations, some of them have warehoused refugees in camps for decades, and some of them have done their best to make sure refugees never enter their territory. Some of them have done all of the above," she said.