Chin Refugees In Malaysia

There are more than 27000 Chin refugees and asylum-seekers in Malaysia of which two third of them are not registered by UNHCR office and hiding in jungles and staying separately in urban areas in fear of authority detection and arrest. Since Malaysia is not UN signatory on Refugee Convention, all refugees are arrested as illegal immigrants. To get matter worse, male refugees are caned before they are deported to Thai border. Many women refugees in Malaysia who were arrested and deported to Thai border face serious abuse by human smuggler ring based at the border.

Although UNHCR is the only home refugees can approach for documentation, UNHCR does not register most asylum-seekers which left thousands of Chin asylum-seekers as undocumented aliens in Malaysia. For a person without any kind of document, it is very difficult to approach hospitals and clinics in time of illness.