Bar Council: Improve protection for asylum-seekers

Hemananthani Sivanandam

PETALING JAYA  The Australian High Court’s rejection on Wednesday of Canberra’s refugee swap deal with Kuala Lumpur has put the spotlight on Malaysia’s lack of protection for asylum-seekers.

The Bar Council has urged the government to improve on its human rights standing internationally before it can play a serious role in fighting human trafficking.

For a start, it suggests that the government enact laws that recognise the status of refugees in the country, and ultimately ratify and accede to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol.

“The government should accord refugees and asylum-seekers internationally-accepted, minimum standards of protection,” said Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee, when commenting on the Australian High Court ruling blocking the transfer of asylum-seekers to Malaysia for processing.

Under the agreement signed on July 25, Australia will accept 4,000 asylum-seekers registered with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in Kuala Lumpur and in return send 800 asylum-seekers to Malaysia.

The court had declared that under Australian law, the government cannot send asylum-seekers to be processed in another nation unless the host country is compelled to adequately protect them.

Reacting to the ruling, the Home Ministry said that Malaysia believed the asylum-seekers swap agreement was still the best way to tackle human traffickers.

“We continue to believe that the agreement between our governments is the best way to tackle the menace of people traffickers in a way that protects the interests of Australia, Malaysia and, above all, the immigrants involved,” the ministry said. It said that the government will work closely with the Australian government to determine the best course of action.

Lim said in a statement: “Ultimately Malaysia has to cease being a laggard when it comes to respect of human rights of both its citizens and non-citizens. If not, other attempts at international cooperation may well suffer the same embarrassing fate.

“It would be a great birthday present to ourselves if by this time next year we were to have passed the necessary implementing domestic legislation to accede to the numerous international human rights conventions to which we are yet a party.

“Then we would indeed be able to stand tall, with our heads held high, in the community of sovereign nations.”

Referring to the deal, he noted that the arrangement signed by both governments stated it was not to be legally binding.

“This non-law-based approach to protection of refugees and asylum-seekers is immature, if not disturbing, he said, adding it was high time for Malaysia to “grow up”, where respect for the rule of law and the right treatment of people, whether citizens or not, were concerned.

NGO Tenaganita director Irene Fernandez said the court decision underscored the fundamental terms of giving strong recognition to human rights standards as well as the protection of the rights of refugees.

“The Australian government should also recognise its responsibility and accountability as they have ratified the UN convention on refugees as well as their own migration clauses. It states that if they want to go in partnership with other countries, that country must have its own framework for the protection of the refugees. Malaysia does not have that framework or internal laws,” she said.

DAP international bureau secretary and Bukit Bendera MP Liew Chin Tong, who described the deal as being akin to “two sovereign governments engaging in trading humans for money”, said Malaysia should not pursue the deal and ratify the UN convention immediately.

The Australian government is desperately working to salvage its asylum-seeker policy as it braced for a spike in boat people out to capitalise on its devastating court defeat.

“We are going to study this High Court decision, but nothing in it is going to diminish our resolve to break the people smugglers’ business model,” Prime Minister Julia Gillard said in brief comments.

People-smugglers, meanwhile, appeared ready to exploit the court setback with several local reports suggesting boats bound for Australia were preparing to depart Indonesia in the next few days.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen admitted there could be a rush heading to Australian shores. “I think you can expect people smugglers to be capitalising on this arrangement.”

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KUALA LUMPUR: Lal Ceu and his family fled horrendous hardship in Burma -- a life of forced servitude and punishment.

He was seized by the Burmese military and forced to act as a porter.

From Chin state, in Burma's west, he fled to Malaysia with his wife and children five years ago. Yesterday, with his wife Hlawn Bor Tluai and baby daughter Sarah Sung Cer Chin, he arrived at the Australian high commission in Kuala Lumpur to pick up the visas that entitle them to settle in Australia. Besides Sarah, they have four older children, ranging up to 16.

"My hope for my children is they will have an education and a better life," he said, smiling.

Hlawn summed up her emotional state in two words. "I'm happy," she said, grinning.

They owned a patch of land in Burma, where they grew vegetables. But the army's demands had become unbearable, so Lal Ceu ran from the soldiers. If he hadn't left Burma, he said, he would have been arrested for this. "I could no longer bear the hardship, so I ran away."

Under the ill-fated asylum-seeker and refugee agreement with Malaysia, 4000 approved refugees from Malaysia are to be resettled in Australia over the next four years.

The agreement originally specified Malaysia would accept 800 asylum-seekers in return, but the High Court has struck down the plan.

However, advocates hope Australia will still accept the 4000 refugees, which will help to relieve the ocean of misery for those waiting in Malaysia.

The sad saga of Chin refugees in Malaysia

A leaked 2006 US diplomatic cable tells about how the police extorted money from Burmese Chin refugees in exchange for their freedom.

KUALA LUMPUR: A leaked US diplomatic cable from 2006 has revealed the plight of the Burmese Chin refugees stranded in Malaysia and the urgency sought by the US diplomats for Washington to “settle large numbers of these refugees as quickly and smoothly as possible”.

The KL-based US diplomats also urged their government, in particular the Bureau of Population, Refugee and Migration (PRM), to grant additional funding to help out the Chin refugees.

“Institutional funding is needed to provide basic medical treatment and English language training for both children and working adults.

“Given our pending resettlement of thousands of Chin refugees from Malaysia, modest investments in immunizations, medical care and English language training in Malaysia’s relatively low cost environment would yield substantial benefits for both the Chin refugees and the United States,” said the US embassy cable dated Nov 20, 2006, to the State Department in Washington DC.

The cable was leaked by whistleblower site WikiLeaks and handed over to Raja Petra Kamarudin’s Malaysia Today website which published it today.

The US diplomats also stated that they would work with the relevant US government agencies and the UN’s refugee agency – the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) – to resettle the Chin refugees away from Malaysia quickly.

The additional funding sought by the US diplomats were also to be used for basic medical and education needs of the Chins and other refugee communities in Malaysia, stated the cable.

Camps close to Putrajaya

The cable was a result of a visit by the US embassy’s political officer to two jungle camps housing about 200 Chin refugees near the Malaysian administrative capital in Putrajaya on Nov 15, 2006.

The cable noted the physical characteristics of the camps, which were made out of shelters using wooden poles, plywood for elevated sleeping platforms, and fluttering sheets of plastic for roofing and walls.

The cable also pointed out that “a sense of devotion to Christianity pervaded each camp”.

“Each camp contained a church structure (the largest and most well-maintained structure in each camp) and all of the approximately 100 square foot dwellings viewed by political officer prominently displayed crosses or pictures of Jesus.”

The refugees at the two camps have not been visited by UNHCR representatives during at least the past two years, said the cable quoting the refugees, and as many as seven camps containing up to 1,000 Chin refugees were erected within five miles of the Prime Minister’s office in Putrajaya in 2006.

The interests of the Chin refugees in Malaysia were taken care by the Alliance of Chin Refugees (ACR) and the Chin Refugee Committee (CRC). The cable stated that CRC claimed to have about 17,400 members in Malaysia.

Police extortion

The Chin refugees had also informed the visiting US diplomat of their fear of police extortions and raids.

The diplomat stated that the police were aware of the presence of the camps.

“The refugees said local police visited the camp regularly in search of refugees who have not yet been registered with the UNHCR.

“In exchange for the refugee’s freedom, the police take all money possessed by such individuals.

“According to the refugees, the police have not alerted immigration officials to the presence of the camp, as they do not want immigration officers to destroy the camp and thereby impede the police’s extortion activities,” stated the cable.

The Chins also told the US diplomat that the police had asked them to dismantle their church structure following complaints from local Muslim villagers about the “unregistered” church’s existence in the jungle near their homes.

Funding for medical needs

The cable further stated that the refugees had also complained about the UNHCR’s perceived unwillingness to register “non-emergency” refugee cases such as theirs. The UNHCR documentation was the refugee’s only form of protection from deportation.

The refugees have informed the US diplomat that they hoped for a quick resettlement into a third country and were firm in their stand not to return to Burma. They were also unaware that the United States planned to resettle thousands of Chin refugees from Malaysia.

The political officer also mentioned of a visit to a refugee medical clinic organized by the ACR. The clinic, located in a non-descript two-storey walkup in Kuala Lumpur, was manned by two French doctors, one French nurse and a Burmese doctor. They were all volunteers.

The cable stated that the clinic treated 30-40 persons during its once weekly operating hours for a charge of RM10 per patient. The clinic was funded solely by donations from Chin and other refugees and has only limited medical instruments and medicine supplies.

A volunteer doctor informed the US diplomat that funding was necessary to establish a medical outreach program to treat sick individuals in the refugee camps, and to treat psychological trauma, as well as pre-natal care among the refugees.

Source : FreeMalaysia

Enduring the miseries of refugees’ life in Malaysia

By Rose-M

Burmese refugees in Malaysia. @chinland

 The 10,000 des­per­ate refugees in Malaysia can only hope to return to their coun­try of ori­gin if nobody wants them. What the UN can do is give a dead­line to the mil­i­tary gov­ern­ment of Myan­mar and con­duct the Com­mis­sion on Inquiry if Myan­mar can­not meet the deadline.
The mil­i­tary gov­ern­ment can­not be buy­ing time while thou­sands of peo­ple are suf­fer­ing because they were dis­placed by the vio­lent acts and abuse of a few who want to con­trol not only Burma but also the out­ly­ing regions belong­ing to the eth­nic groups.
The eth­nic groups should con­sol­i­date their efforts to get back their land if the freedom-loving peo­ple can­not be accom­mo­dated in the other coun­tries. The demands of the mil­i­tary gov­ern­ment do not offer any solu­tion for the rebels, they only want submission.
It is heart­en­ing that some free coun­tries have accom­mo­dated refugees but per­haps the num­ber of the refugees is so big and not all can be given space wherein to survive.
The mil­i­tary gov­ern­ment who com­mit­ted atroc­i­ties to stay in power have to be made to pay for their errors. The kind of repres­sive rule they have exhib­ited can only mean that there are other motives they want to achieve by stay­ing in power and obtain­ing their suc­cess through the vio­lent means, step­ping on the rights of oth­ers, can­not be justifiable.

Source : betweenonline.com

Decision day for Malaysian hopefuls

 Malaysian refugees are nervously awaiting tomorrow's High Court decision, to determine whether or not they'll be relocating to Australia. If the court rules in favour of the Federal Government's controversial swap deal, up to 4000 humanitarian refugees could soon be making their way to Australia. Should the decision go the other way, many say they'll come anyway, not via government transfer but boat.

CHRIS UHLMANN, PRESENTER: Tomorrow, the High Court will rule on the Government's plan to swap asylum seekers in Australia for Malaysian-based refugees. The deal has been condemned by activists, but the refugees are hoping it goes ahead because it holds the hope that they might get to Australia by legitimate means. If it doesn't, many say they will go back to dealing with people smugglers. South East Asia correspondent Zoe Daniel reports from Kuala Lumpur.

ZOE DANIEL, REPORTER: If Chan Hmung has a spring in his step, it's because life is finally about to change for the better. Now a refugee in Malaysia, Chan was a soldier in the Chin Rebel Army in Burma and became a target of the military government, facing forced labour or death. Seven years ago he escaped, smuggled out of Burma by a human trafficker, but it was years before he could get his family out, too.

CHAN HMUNG, BURMESE REFUGEE (translated): I felt very depressed whilst separated from my family. I was so worried about how they would survive.

ZOE DANIEL: Chan and his wife and their four boys are among the 90,000 odd refugees in Malaysia, mostly from Burma. Over the years here they've had no legal access to work, healthcare or government-run schools because refugees have no rights under Malaysian law. But in just a few days, Chan Hmung and Mang Doi and their boys will begin a new life in Brisbane. They've been accepted for permanent residency in Australia.

MANG DOI, BURMESE REFUGEE (translated): I am very glad and cried. We live in hard conditions in Malaysia. I cry at night from difficulties. The Australian people wish to call us, and when we received this letter, I feel so glad and have happiness which I cannot express.

ZOE DANIEL: She describes evading arrest and extortion by immigration police in Malaysia, as well as mistreatment by others in positions of power, like employers and landlords. A life in Australia is a life of hope for people who have had little.

MANG DOI (translated): I have huge expectations and hopes about going to Australia.

ZOE DANIEL: The boys also have big plans.

SON OF CHAN HMUNG AND MANG DOI (translated): I want to go study and learn English as well. I also love to swim and I'm very excited.

SON OF CHAN HMUNG AND MANG DOI II (translated): I plan to play football in Australia and join an Australian football club.

ZOE DANIEL: But 18 people live in this tiny flat, and those who haven't been chosen this time hope they will be next. Under the swap, 4,000 extra refugees from Malaysia will be given permanent places in Australia. That number should still stand, even if Australia can't send 800 back.

The aim of the swap is to stop people smugglers, yet since it was announced, boatloads of people have arrived at Christmas Island - mostly from Afghanistan, but also Iran, Iraq and stateless people from Pakistan. It's unclear whether they knew about the deal and were trying to reach Australia before it was finalised, but it seems that they didn't come from existing refugee communities in Malaysia. Refugee activist Irene Fernandez says demand from conflict zones will keep driving the boat trade.

IRENE FERNANDEZ, REFUGEE ACTIVIST, TENAGANITA NGO: People are fleeing because their lives are threatened, and therefore people who get onto any boat are fleeing for the safety and to ensure safety of their lives. Now, this deal is not going to stop that fleeing of people from their countries.

ZOE DANIEL: Khalid Altimimi is an Iraqi who first learnt about the refugee swap from us when we met a few weeks ago. He has since started an informal support group for Iraqis, and is trying to convince them that they're better off waiting for a legitimate place than taking a boat.

KHALID ALTIMIMI: I think people can be patient to the new deal, but we cannot control all of them. I do not guarantee that many people will not go trying by boat.

ZOE DANIEL: Emad has been here for more than two years. He says he will wait for the High Court's decision tomorrow. If the deal falls over, he will take a boat.

Are you still thinking of going?

EMAD FADHEL NASER, IRAQI REFUGEE (translated): Yes, I am. If there is an agreement, I will stay here. If not, I will leave.

ZOE DANIEL: Arranging transport to Australia seems surprisingly easy. To demonstrate, Khalid calls a broker in our presence - an Iraqi in Thailand who can help coordinate contact with a people smuggler in Indonesia. The contact is nervous, but Khalid persists.

BROKER (translated): So like I told you, this is of no concern to me, I scared about this subject.

KHALID ALTIMIMI (translated): So brother, don't be scared, we are all Iraqis. We just want to discuss how to help our people.

ZOE DANIEL: Khalid tells the broker he wants to take his three children with him on the boat and asks about safety.

KHALID ALTIMIMI (translated): Is it a ship or a boat?

BROKER (translated): It's a small boat.

KHALID ALTIMIMI (translated): Is it a small boat... a fishing boat that is used for catching the fish?

BROKER (translated): Yes it's a fishing boat.

KHALID ALTIMIMI (translated): I want to know if there is no danger?

BROKER (translated): Yes there is danger, but what else to do for this situation?

ZOE DANIEL: The broker tells Khalid he can take a boat any time, and to pay the smuggler directly. The main incentive not to take a boat for this group is the chance of a legitimate place in Australia. But with only 4,000 extra places over four years, few Iraqis will be that lucky. It's likely Burmese refugees will get the bulk of the places. So, if the High Court rules the deal to send those who take boats back to Malaysia invalid, there will be renewed incentive here to make a deal with a smuggler. After four years waiting, Wissam is one of those who has almost lost patience.

WISSAM HUSSEIN, IRAQI REFUGEE: Not have choice. Have two choice: go to Iraq, we will die. Go to boat, 100 per cent: 50 per cent you will die, 50 per cent you will go to new life. So the better: boat. This is my choice.

ZOE DANIEL: And he is not the only one losing his life to waiting.

MARIAM, IRAQI ASYLUM SEEKER: For two years I don't go to school and now I want to go to school.

ZOE DANIEL: Tomorrow, they will be waiting on the High Court. 

Source : ABC.au

Refugee unrest in Malaysia after deportation bungle

"They feared they would be deported to Burma" ... Andika Wahab, Malaysian human rights group member, speaks on behalf of refugees in Malaysia. Photo: AP

Kirsty Needham

THE United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Malaysia has admitted thousands of refugees have been incorrectly issued letters by the Malaysian government marked ''return to home country'', raising widespread fears of deportation.

The Refugee Convention principle of ''non-refoulement'', and Malaysia's commitment that 800 refugees from Australia would not be returned to the country from which they fled, underpin the federal government's defence to a High Court challenge to the Malaysia deal.

Up to 10,000 refugees descended on an immigration office in Putrajaya, a suburb of the capital, Kuala Lumpur, on Tuesday after the UNHCR was told, at late notice by the Malaysian government, that refugees must immediately register under a new biometric system designed to record illegal and legal migrant workers. Witnesses who spoke to the Herald said RELA - the vigilante force that was banished from Malaysian streets this year because of human rights concerns - was then called in by the immigration department as chaos erupted.

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A co-ordinator of the Malaysian human rights group Suaram, Andika Wahab, told the Herald that the situation was shocking and he saw RELA members carrying sticks. ''I didn't see RELA beat individuals, but I saw RELA hit the wall and push people. The situation was very overcrowded,'' he said.

The refugees became alarmed at about 4pm when it was realised that, after having their fingerprints taken, some were being issued letters stamped: ''Return to home country''.

''They feared they would be deported to Burma,'' he said.

A spokeswoman for the UNHCR in Malaysia, Yante Ismail, said the document should have been given only to migrant workers, and not refugees.

''When the UNHCR learnt about this yesterday, we immediately raised this matter with the government, who will now rectify the document for all UNHCR-registered refugees and asylum seekers,'' she said.

''Understandably this has created confusion among refugees and asylum seekers, and this has created great anxiety among this population,'' Ms Ismail said.

She said the force used by Malaysian police was proportionate. She said the police had taken women, children and the elderly to the front of the line to avoid physical danger.

Because ''overwhelming numbers'' turned up on Tuesday, refugees would now be processed in batches instead, she said.

Refugee groups said yesterday they still had not received an explanation for the letters.

Dr Irene Fernandez, the executive director of the refugee group, Tenaganita, said it was ''problematic'' that refugees were given the wrong letters.

Dr Fernandez said RELA ''became quite abusive, started pushing them and not treating them well''.

The opposition immigration spokesman, Scott Morrison, was kicked out of Federal Parliament yesterday after questioning the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, over a Malaysian website report that RELA had beaten ''children, mothers and the elderly'' in the queue. He later said, ''the beatings that have been reported and the fact that refugees have gone to be registered and received papers that say: 'Return to home country','' were serious issues for the Malaysia swap.

The Greens Senator, Sarah Hanson-Young, said: ''there is no guarantee people who are found by the UNHCR to be refugees in need of protection will not be returned to their home country at the whim of the Malaysian government.''

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/

Amnesty programme comes under fire

UNHCR-registered refugees and asylum seekers are now fearful that Malaysia's 6P amnesty programme will see them deported to their home country.

PETALING JAYA: The government’s 6P amnesty programme has drawn more flak following Tuesday’s fiasco where thousands of refugees and asylum seekers were turned away from registering by an ill-prepared Immigration Department at Putrajaya.

The refugee cardholders under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) amnesty programme were asked to register themselves alongside the illegal workers at the 11th hour by the home ministry.

About 10,000 UNHCR cardholders had turned up in Putrajaya but were turned away as the Immigration Department said that it could only process 2,500 applications a day.

Tenaganita, an NGO concerned with migrant worker, women and refugee issues yesterday criticised the “inefficient and unplanned process of the amnesty programme”.

Its executive director, Irene Fernandez, chastised the home ministry for its “uncertainties” concerning the 6P programme.

The six Ps refer to the Malay words for “registration, legalisation, amnesty, supervision, enforcement, and deportation”.

Fernandez claimed the whole amnesty programme was “riddled with questions”.

“The programme was originally intended for undocumented workers. The home ministry then suddenly decided that it would also be for documented workers without any clear explanation.

“Now, overnight refugees are told that they had to get registered without a clear deadline,” she said in a statement.

Fernandez also said that the ministry’s demand that refugees and asylum seekers must register themselves under the programme had created “a host of uncertainties and fears” among this group who are categorically different from migrant workers.

Violation of convention

She also said that those who managed to register themselves on Tuesday had received slips called “Illegal Immigrants Registration Slip” which had a statement “Tujuan: Pulang Ke Negara Asal” (Purpose: Return to Home Country).

She said this slip had sparked fear among the UNHCR-registered refugees that many of them would be deported to their home countries despite being UNHCR cardholders.

She added that this “return slip” was clearly violated the 1951 Refugee Convention which states that no contracting states “shall expel or return a refugee” to where his life or freedom is threatened.

Malaysia, however, is not a signatory to the convention.

She said that it was also worrying that UNHCR Malaysia itself seemed unware of this “return slip”.

When Tenaganita sought clarification yesterday, UNHCR said it was still trying to verify.

Fernandez said deportation should not be applied to refugees under the 6P programme.

She also cast doubt over the 20,000 to 30,000 people who are awaiting registration from UNHCR.

“Will this 6P exercise exacerbate their vulnerabilities and increase their risk to deportation and consequent persecution?” she asked.

She said the home ministry’s responses to the amnesty programme reflected “arrogance of power and not good governance”.

She called for the registration exercise to be discontinued.

Source : Free Malaysia

6P Registration to be Handled via Refugee Communities in Malaysia .

The UNHCR has announced today that the biometric registration of refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia will be conducted in collaboration with refugee community-based organization (CBOS).

The announcement said the processes of the 6P Programme will include the taking of bio-data and biometric information of all individuals concerned including refugees and asylum seekers registered with UNHCR.

In the first phase of the 'long running' processes beginning yesterday, the UNHCR having agreed with the Malaysian Government will assist in registering those individuals residing in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor until 26 August.

"UNHCR is in contact with the CBOS and had worked out a scheduling system to have selected population to be registered this week. The schedule will be conducted in different batches and in accordance with the communities that have been identified to send their members," added the announcement.

Refugee communities from Burma including Alliance of Chin Refugees, Chin Refugee Committee, Falam Refugee Organization, Dai Community and other ethnic groups are asked to send their members to the Putrajaya Immigration Office for the first phase.

A member of the Chin Refugees in Kuala Lumpur told Chinland Guardian: "Now that a proper announcement is made, it makes our confusion clear. Before, we were not sure if we should go to get registered."

Each refugee community is expected to bring a limit of 600 individuals for the next three days to meet a total quota of 2,500 a day within the processing capacity of the Malaysian Immigration in Kuala Lumpur.

The UNHCR also announced that no payment is being charged for the ongoing registration by the Malaysian Government.

Any individuals who are not a member of the refugee communities are advised to wait for further instructions from the UNHCR, according to today's announcement.

It is claimed that the second phase of the 6P exercise will start next month with its details of schedules including venues and dates yet to be confirmed.

Source : ChinLand

Refugees’ right to work in Malaysia…to be discussed in special Cabinet meeting on foreign labour next month

PETALING JAYA: The government will decide next month whether refugees will be allowed to work in the country.

Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Mahmood Adam told The Malay Mail yesterday that a special Cabinet meeting to discuss issues on foreign workers would be held in mid-December and chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

“It was scheduled for last week but had to be postponed as Muhyiddin was away on a working visit to Japan,” he said.

“So, we’ll only know what the Cabinet decides on refugees next month.”

Earlier this year, the Home Ministry had set up a laboratory, comprising representatives from various ministries and agencies, to study foreign workers issues.

“The laboratory came up with about 55 proposals, including the refugee matter, which will all be forwarded to the special Cabinet meeting,” said Mahmood.

“These are merely initiatives and proposals, and whether each will be approved or not is the prerogative of the Cabinet."

According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, Malaysia has 90,000 registered refugees as of September.

Refugees are currently permitted to do only odd-jobs in this country.

Malaysia does not have special laws for refugees and they are considered illegal immigrants. Issues involving them come under the Immigration Act.

Mahmood said the Home Ministry was mulling suggestions by various quarters, particularly the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC), that refugees be allowed to work here while waiting to be resettled to third countries.

The MTUC had hoped they would be permitted to work in labour-strapped sectors to help overcome labour shortages and reduce the need to bring in foreign workers, and believed their proposal would enhance Malaysia’s image as a humane nation.

Over 90,000 refugees in Malaysia

Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: There were 90,301 refugees in Malaysia registered with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) up to September this year.

Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk A. Kohilan Pillay said Malaysia cooperated with the UNCHR and International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in repatriating refugees to their countries of origin or relocating them to a third country willing to accept them.

"Until now, 49,082 refugees have been sent to third countries, 68 per cent of them through the UNHCR and 32 per cent through IOM," he said in his reply to a question from Hamim Samuri (BN-Ledang) in the Dewan Rakyat, here, today.

Kohilan said issues related to refugees had not been raised by the source countries like Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand during their bilateral talks with Malaysia.

"However, their embassies here would always assist in the documentation process for refugees to be relocated to third countries," he said.

To a supplementary question from M. Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat) on claims that the Malaysian government allowed the exploitatiion of refugees, Kohilan said the UNHCR and IOM were responsible for looking after the registered refugees.

However, he said, Malaysia also assisted in terms of medical aid and educational programmes for them.

He said as there were no special laws for refugees in this country, issues involving them came under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and that refugees were considered as illegal immigrants.

 

Biometric Registration for Refugees Commenced in Malaysia

MALAYSIA :: Malaysia has started registering thousands of refugees, who hold the UNHCR registration card, at the Putrajaya Immigration Office in Kuala Lumpur today.

About 5,000 refugees turned up to have their fingers scanned under the new biometric system believed to be introduced for monitoring foreigners entering the country.

David Nun Tho, Coordinator of Falam Refugee Organisation (FRO), said: "We went to the Immigration Office at 7am in the morning but it was full of people already. Only about 2,500 were registered due to inadequate equipment and facilities."

Only 200 people from each of the Chin refugee communities will be allowed to go to the office a day and it is important that the refugees give their names to their respective communities, according to David Nun Tho.

David Nun Tho also stressed the registration will not be carried out on an individual basis but via their representing communities for Chin refugees in liaison with the UNHCR.

One of the Chin refugees said: "We didn't even have a place to stand as it was too crowded. But it was good that women and children were given priority during the registration process."

There was an unconfirmed report that a 10-month-old baby died while waiting in the queue at the Immigration Office.

Malaysian government announced earlier this year that foreigners entering the country would have to go through the new procedures under a biometric system starting from 1 June 2011.

Under the new system, all foreigners at the age of 12 and above are required to undergo the biometric registration when entering Malaysia and the database will be used for verification process upon leaving.

There are more than an estimated 45,000 Chin refugees currently stranded in Malaysia after fleeing repression in Chin State, Burma by the ruling military-turned-civilian regime.

Source: Chinland Guardian

Hisham defends decision to deport Uighurs

PUTRAJAYA  The decision to send back 11 Chinese Uighur Muslim refugees to China last week was justified as they were involved in criminal activities, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein (pix).

Commenting on international human rights groups criticising Malaysia for repatriating the Uighurs to China on Aug 18, he told a press conference today that there were still five others detained on suspicion of human trafficking.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' office in Kuala Lumpur has reportedly voiced regret that the deportation was done without allowing them access to UN officials.

"We get condemnations all around in anything we do. But, these people were wanted by the China government. We have to be on the side of justice and, at the end of the day, what is most important to me is the safety and stability of our people and our country," he told reporters after the ministry's monthly
assembly, here.

Speaking after attending the ministry's monthly assembly, Hishammuddin said it is best to leave the matter to the authorities as they were still under investigation.

"We can argue and debate the whole day. Those with views can come and engage us, we can discuss. The rights of the press to report must not come in the way of investigations that are on-going," he said.

In another development, Hishammuddin denied reports that the ministry has ordered for UNHCR cardholders to register under the 6P Programme on Monday.

"It was not ordered by the ministry. That's not true. From what I've discovered, it was the decision of all those refugees to register at that particular time.

It was reported that about 10,000 refugees and asylum seekers flooded the Immigration Department in Putrajaya when they were given an 11th hour notice to register themselves under the programme.

Overwhelmed and ill prepared, immigration officials reportedly had little choice but to turn back a large number of the refugees and asked them to return the next day.

Hishammuddin said the ministry officers have been instructed to engage UNHCR to come up with proper planning for the refugees so that there will not be any bottlenecks.

"If they tell us in advance they want to come in big numbers, we can make the necessary arrangement," he said adding the original decision was for the registration to be in staggered.

Forced return of Uighurs another embarrassment

From Suaram, via e-mail

We, the undersigned civil society organisations strongly condemn the deportation of 11 Chinese citizens of Uighur ethnicity by the Malaysian government on Aug 18. It is a blatant violation of international law and/or international customary law against refoulement.

It is also an international embarrassment for Malaysian government to deport vulnerable individuals to a country where they may face dangers and risks.

We also urge the Malaysian government to publicly account for why it had not given access for United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to determine and verify the status of these 11 Uighurs.

The government has the responsibility for ensuring the safety of these people before returning them back to their country or at least to give access to UNHCR to verify their asylum claim.

Apart from that, we surge the Malaysian government to immediately ensure that another five ethnic Uighurs among 16 arrested in raids on Aug 6 are not forcibly returned to China.

Arbitrary detention, repression and torture against Muslim ethnic minorities including the Uighurs by the Chinese government are well-documented. Returning this vulnerable ethnic minority group may lead to grave risks of torture and repression for them in China.

As a member for United Nations for Human Rights Council (UNHRC), once again, we remind the Malaysia government to show a good example of treatment of asylum seekers and refugees to other countries in the region, and to immediately halt any plans or actions that violate international law and/or international customary law.

The latest forced return of the 11 Uighurs by the Malaysian government has clearly exposed the appalling human rights treatments by the government and demonstrated lack of willingness and its commitment to improve the treatment and protection for these vulnerable individuals, refugees and asylum seekers.

We urge the Malaysian government to ratify the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol in order to protect and promote the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers in Malaysia

Malaysia UNHCR Accused of Betraying Refugees

The Malaysia United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is accused of betraying refugees by conspiring with Putrajaya Immigration Office to take their fingerprints and send them back to their own countries, it has been claimed.

On Tuesday, several UNHCR-affiliated organizations in Malaysia instructed refugees to provide fingerprints at Putrajaya Immigration Office, claims Shwe Zin, a Burmese refugee living in Malaysia।

“I arrived at the immigration office in the morning and was made to queue up. Then when my turn came, I had my fingerprints and a photo taken. And then I was given a printed document written in Malay that said to go back to our own country,” said Shwe Zin.

Many registered refugees came to the immigration office to give their fingerprints but did not know the details of what was going on, she added.

Many refugees received a document entitled “Pulang Ke Negara Asal” which translates as “Returning Home,” “Leaving” or “Going back to native country.” However, others were registered and given an alternative document which allows them to stay in Malaysia.

“I think I made a mistake by giving my fingerprints. It is impossible for me to go back [to Burma],” said Shwe Zin, adding that UNHCR staff were present in the immigration office.

“The UNHCR is tricking us because they want to settle corruption dealings with refugee processes. I don't know why some refugee receive different documents,” said Kyaw Htoo Aung from Malaysia, who works for worker affairs.

An official from Putrajaya Immigration Office in Malaysia refused to give further details when contacted by The Irrawaddy, but just said that it was an “enforcement event.”

Malaysia is currently running the 6P Program to tackle illegal migrant numbers in a bid to settle social problems and crime related to illegal foreigners. Although the Malaysia UNHCR was officially against the scheme, after Aug. 23 the organization is legally obliged to assist with the 6P registration.

UNHCR refugee card holder Myat Ko Ko sent a letter to UNHCR officials asking why the organization was not upfront about its involvement in the fingerprint campaign, and questioning its commitment to protecting international human rights and refugees affairs.

“As a result of the UNHCR and Malaysia [government] fingerprint program addressed to all the ethnic Burmese refugees in Malaysia, all of them are in trouble and the UNHCR should surely have given an announcement about it,” he wrote.

The Irrawaddy repeatedly tried to contact the UNHCR office in Malaysia but there was no reply.

Yan Naing Tun, the editor of weekly Kuala Lumpur journal Thuriya, said the action is taking place because of UNHCR corruption when dealing with processing refugee claims.

The Malaysia UNHCR has been accused of discriminating between refugees and corruptly selling resettlement registrations for profit, according to refugees in Malaysia.

“While I met with the Malaysian authorities, my friend told me not to give a thumbprint on the document when the [UNHCR] called us. It is an act of cheating. They made the plan in secret but the problem is now widely known,” said Yan Naing Tun.

Australia and Malaysia’s recent agreement to swap 800 asylum seekers who came to Australia for 4,000 refugees living in Malaysia was widely criticized by human rights groups, as Malaysia is not a signatory of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.

The Malaysian government has cooperated with the UNHCR on humanitarian grounds since 1975 even though Malaysia has not signed the UN Convention Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. Burmese refugees have since been sent to third countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, France, New Zealand, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway.

According to the Malaysia UNHCR website, at the end of May 2011 there are some 94,400 refugees and asylum-seekers registered with their office. Of these, around 86,500, or 90 percent, are from Burma. That figure is split up into 35,600 Chins, 21,400 Rohingyas, 10,100 Burmese Muslims, 3,800 Mon and 3,400 Kachins or from other smaller ethnic minorities.

UNHCR allays deportation fears

Its spokesperson says that the Home Ministry confirmed that it had no intention of deporting UNHCR card holders who register under the 6P programme.


PETALING JAYA: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today brushed aside fears that the Home Ministry intended to deport UNHCR card holders who register under the 6P amnesty programme.

“UNHCR has received confirmation that the government has no intention of deporting UNHCR document holders who register under the 6P programme,” its Kuala Lumpur spokesperson Yante Ismail told FMT.

“Malaysia has allowed refugees and asylum-seekers registered with UNHCR to remain in Malaysia for as long as they are in need of international protection and this will continue,” she added.

She was responding to the fiasco that happened on Tuesday where about 10,000 refugees and asylum seekers had turned up at the Immigration Department following an alleged eleventh hour order by the Home Ministry for them to register under the 6P amnesty programme.

A bulk of these UNHCR card holders were turned away as the Immigration Department was ill-prepared and said that they could only process 2,500 applications daily.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein yesterday said that no such order was issued.

Yante said the registration of UNHCR card holders under the 6P programme commenced on Tuesday by the Immigration Department with UNHCR’s cooperation.

She said due to the overwhelming number of refugees and asylum seekers who turned up for the exercise, a new system would be put in place immediately to enable a more systematic registration.

UNHCR card holders also expressed fear over possible deportation after registration.

The fear was sparked off by the “illegal immigrants registration slip” which contained a statement which read “Tujuan: Pulang Ke Negara Asal” (Purpose: Return to Home Country).

Responding to this, Yante reassured that this did not apply to refugees and asylum-seekers as they could have been issued the same documents meant for migrants workers.

She said when UNHCR learnt of the “return slips” on Wednesday, it contacted the government and the latter would now rectify the documents for UNHCR card holders.

Good for refugees


The 6P registration process was initially meant to register illegal migrant workers. However, the ministry later announced that legal foreign workers would have to register as well.

The move to register refugees and asylum seekers under the programme was criticised by those who argued that refugees were categorically different from migrant workers.

Yante defended the registration arguing that it was a “significant opportunity” to improve the status of this group as they would be documented within a national database.

“We see this as leading to greater protection for refugees, particularly against arrest and detention when their identities can be easily verified by law enforcement officials,” she said.

Yante added that there was a principle agreement with the government authorities that refugees would be allowed to work legally. However, the details would still need to be worked out.

‘What is UNHCR doing?’

By Stephanie Sta Maria ( Free Malaysia )

Is UNHCR in cohorts with the Malaysian government to deport asylum seekers, asks a refugee.

PETALING JAYA: A United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cardholder has sent a letter to the UN Refugee Agency begging them to provide clear and timely information to the refugees regarding the Malaysian government’s 6P amnesty programme.

The confused Burmese refugee was among the 10,000 who turned up in Putrajaya on Tuesday after the Home Ministry issued a 11th hour order that they had to register themselves under the 6P amnesty programme.

The 6P program was originally intended to register only migrant workers but the Home Ministry issued an overnight order on Monday for refugee card holders under the UNHCR to register themselves.

The ill-prepared immigration officials were however forced to turn most of the crowd away as they only had the capacity to register 2,500 people a day.

Recounting their harrowing experience at the Immigration office in Putrajaya on Tuesday, the Burmese refugee said: “Yesterday at (the Immigration department) the Malaysian police and Rela beat some of the refugees including children, mothers and the elderly due to the mismanagement of UNHCR Malaysia.

“And when they got their papers from Immigration mostly their papers read “Tujuan: Pulang Ke Negara Asal (Purpose: Return to Home Country)”.”

The puzzled UNHCR refugee cardholder now wants to know the agency’s status in protecting the refugees.

“What is the UNHCR’s role in protecting refugees against the wicked tool of the Immigration Department?

“Does UNHCR itself put Burmese refugees in Malaysia into Malaysian jail?”

He also questioned if the whole registration under 6P amnesty programme was in fact a plot between UNHCR and the Malaysian Immigration to deport them.

“Are these refugees exiled by plots of UNCHR and the Malaysian Immigration?”

“What is the role of UNHCR in the international human rights and refugees affairs? Does UNHCR also smear itself at the stage of world peace?” he asked.

End 6P registration now

Last night Tenaganita, an NGO working with migrant workers, women and children, issued a media statement condemning this revelation which it said has sparked great uncertainty and fear among the refugees.

The NGO highlighted the fact that Malaysia came under fire just two days ago for deporting 11 Uighurs back to China where they would face ethnic torture and persecution.

“We are deeply concerned that there is no clear direction from UNHCR as to why that “Purpose” is on the slip,” said Tenaganita’s executive director, Irene Fernandez.

“UNHCR when contacted this morning said it was still trying to verify the statement. Even as a lead agency it is unclear and unable to provide proper information to the refugee community.”

Fernandez called for the registration of refugees under the 6P program to be immediately halted as their status required that they be treated under a different framework.

“One dimension of the 6P program is deportation which cannot be applied to refugees,” she said.

“The lack of information and consultation on the impact of the program on refugees has resulted in increasing the community’s anxiety and stress.”

She then took the Home Ministry to task for its irresponsibility and lack of clear decisions which has resulted in a program “riddled with questions and uncertainties”.

“The ministry has only given responses that reflect arrogance of power and not good governance,” she stated. “The same sporadic decisions are now reflected in the registration of refugees with no consultation, planning and processes set in place.”

Fernandez also pushed the ministry to explain and clarify the objectives, procedures and policy for the registration of refugees and its impact on their continued stay in Malaysia.

“If there is any form of registration by the government, it must be to increase the protection of the rights of refugees,” she added.

“Right now this registration exercise has further reinforced how inefficient and unplanned the program has been since it began in July.”

6P Confusion Embraces Refugee Communities in Malaysia

Many Chin as well as other Burmese refugees have raised grave concerns in fear of deportation to Burma over the documents issued by the Malaysian Immigration following the 6P registration beginning on 23 August.

The documents issued after the taking of individual biometric information at the Putrajaya Immigration Office include some indications that translate 'return to origin' or 'returning to your country of origin', according to sources.

Some refugees who have had their fingerprints taken in Kuala Lumpur are alarmed after finding out they have been issued documents with different writings on them.

The UNHCR in Malaysia have been criticised for not being able to give clear messages regarding the 6P exercise and accused of 'betraying' the refugees to undertake the biometric processes without its details being properly explained.

A Burmese refugee, Kyaw Htoo Aung, was quoted as saying that the UNHCR tricked them [refugees] in a bid to clear corruption dealings with refugee processes.

Yante Ismail, External Relations Officer at the UNHCR in Kuala Lumpur, said: "UNHCR has received confirmation that the Government of Malaysia has no intentions of deporting UNHCR document holders who register under the 6P programme."

"UNHCR has learnt that the document issued to refugees and asylum-seekers during the registration was the same as the document issued to migrants. This was a document that carried the words “Return to my home country” for the purpose of providing that option to migrants. But this does not apply to refugees and asylum-seekers," posted Yante Ismail today.

David Nun Tho, Coordinator of Falam Refugee Organisation (FRO), admitted the 'confusion and anxiety' created among Chin refugee communities in Malaysia while stressing that they should go ahead with the biometric registration as the community-based organizations (CBOS) have a constant liaison with UNHCR.

Yante Ismail also acknowledged the 'inadequate communication' that has caused a bewildering atmosphere, adding: "When UNHCR learnt about this yesterday, we immediately raised this matter with the Government who will now rectify the document for all UNHCR-registered refugees and asylum-seekers."

The new biometric system requires all foreign individuals including refugees and asylum seekers registered with UNHCR to undergo the taking of their bio-data and information when entering Malaysia.

It is estimated that there are over 86,000 refugees from Burma registered with UNHCR in Malaysia, of which more than 35,000 are of Chin ethnicity.

Malaysian Immigration creates confusion and fears within the refugees

Press Statement

INCREASE PROTECTION OF REFUGEES NOT IRRELEVANT POORLY PLANNED AMNESTY PROGRAM.

Refugees with UNHCR cards were informed through their organizations, two days ago that they needed to get registered into the biometric system at Putrajaya Immigration office. Thousands of people – elderly, ill, young children, mothers with babies stood for hours in a cramped place, waited only to be told that they had to come the next day as the Immigration department could only register up to 2500 persons a day.

This registration exercise further reinforces how inefficient, and unplanned the process of the amnesty program has been since it began in July. The sporadic decision made without clear information provided to refugee communities has created anxieties with the refugee community on how the 6P amnesty program will be used and implemented for them.

The amnesty program was originally intended for the undocumented workers. The Home Ministry, then suddenly decided that it would also be for documented workers without any clear explanation. Now, overnight refugees are told that they had to get registered without a clear deadline.

According to information received from refugees who had registered, they received a slips called “Slip Pendaftaran PATI” which had another statement: “ Tujuan: Pulang Ke Negara Asal” (Purpose: Return to Home Country). This return slip has created a host of uncertainties and fears among the refugees that they could now be deported to their country of origin despite the fact they are recognized as refugees by UNHCR.

This situation and development comes a day after Malaysia was condemned for refouling 11 Uighurs back to China, who is known to be tortured and persecuted for being members of the ethnic Uighur group. This statement in the return slip is a clear violation of the principle of non-refoulement in Article 33 (1) of the 1951 Refugee Convention which states that: “No Contracting State shall expel or return (‘refouler’) a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.”

We are deeply concerned that there is also no clear direction from UNHCR as to why that “Tujuan:” is on the slip. The UNHCR when contacted this morning said they are still trying to verify this statement.

This whole registration of refugees under the 6P program should immediately be halted. The 6P program does not relate to refugees. They are NOT migrant workers and thus should be treated under a different framework. One dimension of the 6P program is deportation which cannot be applied to refugees. The lack of information and lack of consultation on the process of how the registration will impact on refugees has only resulted in increasing the anxiety and stress on the refugee population. Even UNHCR as the lead agency, is unclear and not able to provide proper information to the refugee community.

The organization is equally concerned with the large number of persons of concern, about 20,000 – 30,000 who are awaiting registration from UNHCR. The absence of a UNHCR card does not mean their lives in their home country are in any less of a threat, nor are they any less of a refugee. They in fact have a heightened level of vulnerability because they’ve not been included in UNHCR’s system yet and neither are they undocumented workers. Will this 6P exercise exacerbate their vulnerabilities and increase their risk to deportation and consequent persecution?

The Home Ministry must be more responsible and make clear decisions that are transparent and accountable. However, this whole amnesty program has been riddled with questions and uncertainties. The Ministry has only given responses that reflect arrogance of power and not good governance. The same sporadic decisions are now reflected in the registration of refugees with no consultation, planning and processes set in place.

The registration exercise under the 6P program must be discontinued. The Home Ministry must make public and clarify the objectives, procedures and policy for the registration of refugees and how will it impact on their continued stay in the country; what will be the new opportunities and benefits for the refugee community; and how will it impact on their resettlement process. If there is any form of registration by the government, it must be to increase the protection of the rights of refugees.

END.

Signed:

Dr. Irene Fernandez

Executive Director, Tenaganita.

TENAGANITA Women’s Force�

NO 38, Jalan Gasing, 46000,

Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan

Tel: (603) 7770 3691 / 7770 3671�

Fax: (603) 7770 3681

Email: irene.a@tenaganita.net /general@tenaganita.net �

Website: http://www.facebook.com/#!/tenaganita

UNHCR allays deportation fears

Its spokesperson says that the Home Ministry confirmed that it had no intention of deporting UNHCR card holders who register under the 6P programme.

PETALING JAYA: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today brushed aside fears that the Home Ministry intended to deport UNHCR card holders who register under the 6P amnesty programme.

“UNHCR has received confirmation that the government has no intention of deporting UNHCR document holders who register under the 6P programme,” its Kuala Lumpur spokesperson Yante Ismail told FMT.

“Malaysia has allowed refugees and asylum-seekers registered with UNHCR to remain in Malaysia for as long as they are in need of international protection and this will continue,” she added.

She was responding to the fiasco that happened on Tuesday where about 10,000 refugees and asylum seekers had turned up at the Immigration Department following an alleged eleventh hour order by the Home Ministry for them to register under the 6P amnesty programme.

A bulk of these UNHCR card holders were turned away as the Immigration Department was ill-prepared and said that they could only process 2,500 applications daily.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein yesterday said that no such order was issued.

Yante said the registration of UNHCR card holders under the 6P programme commenced on Tuesday by the Immigration Department with UNHCR’s cooperation.

She said due to the overwhelming number of refugees and asylum seekers who turned up for the exercise, a new system would be put in place immediately to enable a more systematic registration.

UNHCR card holders also expressed fear over possible deportation after registration.

The fear was sparked off by the “illegal immigrants registration slip” which contained a statement which read “Tujuan: Pulang Ke Negara Asal” (Purpose: Return to Home Country).

Responding to this, Yante reassured that this did not apply to refugees and asylum-seekers as they could have been issued the same documents meant for migrants workers.

She said when UNHCR learnt of the “return slips” on Wednesday, it contacted the government and the latter would now rectify the documents for UNHCR card holders.

Good for refugees
The 6P registration process was initially meant to register illegal migrant workers. However, the ministry later announced that legal foreign workers would have to register as well.

The move to register refugees and asylum seekers under the programme was criticised by those who argued that refugees were categorically different from migrant workers.

Yante defended the registration arguing that it was a “significant opportunity” to improve the status of this group as they would be documented within a national database.

“We see this as leading to greater protection for refugees, particularly against arrest and detention when their identities can be easily verified by law enforcement officials,” she said.

Yante added that there was a principle agreement with the government authorities that refugees would be allowed to work legally. However, the details would still need to be worked out.

No rights for stateless Rohingya fleeing Burma

By Melanie Teff, Refugees International

Washington, D.C. - There are around 12 million people worldwide who lack citizenship and basic rights in the country in which they live. This stateless status often keeps children from attending school and condemns families to poverty. And it can be particularly hard on women – a fact that I had reinforced to me on a recent trip to Malaysia.

In February, I and a colleague travelled to Malaysia and Bangladesh to assess the needs of the Rohingya population – a Muslim ethnic minority group from western Burma.
The Rohingya have no rights in Burma, and their lives are made impossible by such practices as forced labor, displacement and systematic physical assault and rape. They are not allowed to marry or travel to other villages unless they pay prohibitively high taxes.
The Burmese authorities stripped the Rohingya of their Burmese citizenship in 1982, arguing that they are Bangladeshi. But the Bangladeshi government also does not accept the Rohingya as their citizens. So the Rohingya community is stateless, with no government that accepts them.
While in Malaysia, I met with Gultaz, who was nine months pregnant and very scared. Her story illustrates the type of problems that many stateless women around the world face, forced to hide themselves away and unable to advance in their lives.

Gultaz, her family and neighbours were displaced from their village near the archaeological ruins in Mrauk-U in Arakan State. The military wanted to develop the site for tourism and forcibly relocated them with no compensation. The Burmese authorities used brutal force to require Gultaz’s husband to work for them for no pay. They beat him in the face, and he has had two eye operations to try to repair the damage he suffered. He fled without being able to inform Gultaz of where he was going, so she was left alone struggling to look after their young son and suffering persecution from the Burmese authorities.

Eventually, Gultaz learned that her husband had made his way to Malaysia. She could no longer ensure the survival of her son in Burma and she decided that she had no option but to travel illegally, with her 12 year-old son, to Bangladesh, where they took a boat to Thailand. Then they made their way to the border between Thailand and Malaysia. Gultaz and her son were arrested there for illegal entry into Thailand, and they were held in a Thai detention centre for more than three months. The conditions in the detention centre were appalling for her and her child. When they finally got out of the detention centre, they managed to cross the border into Malaysia and Gultaz and her son were reunited with her husband.

Gultaz was relieved to get to Malaysia, where the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is permitted to assist the Rohingya. But, despite allowing UNHCR to register refugees there, Malaysia has not signed the international convention on refugees, and it still arrests foreigners who enter the country illegally, even if they are refugees or stateless.

Three years after arriving in Malaysia, when Gultaz was five months pregnant with her second child, she and her husband were both arrested by immigration authorities and were held in detention. Gultaz said that it was terrible being pregnant in the Malaysian detention centre, with inadequate food and unclean water, and she had difficulty getting medical attention. After two months, UNHCR secured the release of Gultaz from the detention centre. Over the past two years Malaysia has reduced arrests of refugees registered with UNHCR, but Gultaz’s experiences make her too scared to leave her house.

Gultaz struggles to survive economically, as her husband is still ill. But her fear of going out prevents her from taking up possible opportunities. She was offered a loan under a micro-credit scheme, but she refused as she was worried she would not be able to repay it. She pointed out that since she does not have the right to work in Malaysia, she fears she could be arrested again while trying to sell any products she would make. And she does not want to default on a loan.

When I asked Gultaz what she hoped for the future, she told me that her life was over (although she is only 37). All she thinks of is her children’s future. Her older child never went to school. But she hopes that her 3-year-old daughter will be allowed to go to government schools so that she will have a future.
Melanie Teff is a senior advocate for women’s rights at Refugees International. Refugees International is a Washington, DC-based organization that advocates to end refugee crises and receives no government or UN funding.

Biometric Registration for Refugees Commenced in Malaysia .

Malaysia has started registering thousands of refugees, who hold the UNHCR registration card, at the Putrajaya Immigration Office in Kuala Lumpur today.

About 5,000 refugees turned up to have their fingers scanned under the new biometric system believed to be introduced for monitoring foreigners entering the country.

David Nun Tho, Coordinator of Falam Refugee Organisation (FRO), said: "We went to the Immigration Office at 7am in the morning but it was full of people already. Only about 2,500 were registered due to inadequate equipment and facilities."

Only 200 people from each of the Chin refugee communities will be allowed to go to the office a day and it is important that the refugees give their names to their respective communities, according to David Nun Tho.

David Nun Tho also stressed the registration will not be carried out on an individual basis but via their representing communities for Chin refugees in liaison with the UNHCR.

One of the Chin refugees said: "We didn't even have a place to stand as it was too crowded. But it was good that women and children were given priority during the registration process."

There was an unconfirmed report that a 10-month-old baby died while waiting in the queue at the Immigration Office.

Malaysian government announced earlier this year that foreigners entering the country would have to go through the new procedures under a biometric system starting from 1 June 2011.

Under the new system, all foreigners at the age of 12 and above are required to undergo the biometric registration when entering Malaysia and the database will be used for verification process upon leaving.

There are more than an estimated 45,000 Chin refugees currently stranded in Malaysia after fleeing repression in Chin State, Burma by the ruling military-turned-civilian regime.

90,000 undocumented migrants now in Malaysia are classified as "illegal immigrants"

By Jacob Zenn

JAKARTA - A proposed refugee exchange agreement between Australia and Malaysia has foundered on legal controversy and ethical questions that have put an uncomfortable spotlight on Canberra's refugee policies.

Agreed to on July 25, the bilateral deal stipulated that Australia would send 800 asylum-seekers in its custody to Malaysia for refugee processing in exchange for receiving over the next five years 4,000 refugees now registered in Malaysia.

The deal, challenged by a group of refugees and awaiting a ruling by an Australian high court, aims to curb the growing number of boat people arriving on Australia's shores. From 2002 to 2008, a total of 25 boats with asylum-seekers washed into Australian waters. That number has risen dramatically in recent years, with
134 arriving last year, more than double the 61 boats recorded in 2009.

The rising number of boat people arriving in Australia is consistent with a global spike in asylum-seekers. Since 2009, political unrest and conflict in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Myanmar, Somalia and Sri Lanka has driven a growing number of refugees to seek the safety of second countries.

Despite concerns a rising tide of refugees could cause a domestic backlash, Australia received 8,250 asylum applicants in 2010. Compared with other Asian countries, Australia has a liberal reputation for offering permanent resettlement and providing opportunities for newcomers to find jobs and assimilate.

These factors, including Australia's relative wealth, have attracted refugees Down Under even though other nations in Southeast Asia are often closer to the war-torn nations from where the refugees have fled. Even though arriving by air is costly and by sea treacherous, enough refugees now seek asylum each year that Australian politicians are keen to temper the country's "safe-haven" reputation.

The agreement between Australia and Malaysia is an outgrowth of the so-called Bali Framework on Human Trafficking, which was initiated by Australia and Indonesia and formally endorsed by 41 Asia-Pacific countries in March this year. One of the options for action outlined in the framework is the development of bilateral arrangements to undermine the incentives for human smuggling.

While Australia's proposed arrangement with Malaysia does deal with issues of human smuggling, it's critics say it fails to address the rights of the boat people who will be sent to Malaysia. That's in large part because Kuala Lumpur does not recognize the 1951 Refugee Convention, thus officially there are no "refugees" or "asylum-seekers" in Malaysia.

Instead, all 90,000 undocumented migrants now in Malaysia are classified as "illegal immigrants" and are subject to deportation even if the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) determines they are refugees under international law - namely a person who flees his or her home country "owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion."

Malaysia claims that the 800 asylum-seekers it would take from Australia will receive "special treatment", though without any legal commitments in the deal itself there are no guarantees. The "special treatment" envisioned by Malaysia is reminiscent of the vow it made to Acehnese refugees that came to Malaysia in the wake of the 2004 tsunami that devastated Indonesia's nearby Sumatra island.

In 2004, Malaysia provided Acehnese refugees with a special work permit, known as a "tsunami card", but immigration officers and volunteer civilian police forces rarely recognized the validity of the card. As a result, Acehnese with the permit were regularly arrested, detained and deported. While the refugees arriving from Australia may receive special documentation at their port of entry in Malaysia, they may not be treated any differently than other migrants once inside the country.

Casting off the castaways
If the terms of Australia's deal with Malaysia seem shortsighted and potentially misguided, it may be because Malaysia was Australia's plan B partner for a refugee deal. Australia initially pressured neighboring East Timor for over a year to host a regional refugee processing center, but Dili rejected the offer in July 2010. According to Dili's vice foreign minister, Alberto Xavier Pereira Carlos, East Timor would have been burdened by a refugee facility that it lacked the capacity to manage.

History shows East Timor's caution was justified. In 2001, Australia and Nauru agreed to terms in which refugees arriving in Australia by boat would be transferred to detention camps in Nauru to await processing. A portion of the boat arrivals whose asylum applications could be quickly verified by Australian authorities were resettled swiftly in New Zealand or Australia. For the others, life in Nauru amounted to a form of imprisonment considering the island's harsh climate.

The Nauru deal - part of what was then referred to as the "Pacific Solution" to Australia's perceived refugee crisis - initially succeeded in reducing the number of illegal arrivals in Australian waters and was seemingly favored by the Australian population. However, in 2008, Australia closed the Nauru center because of criticism from human-rights groups about the poor living conditions of the refugees-in-waiting.

Still, Australia clearly has not given up on the idea of outsourcing its refugee processing to a second country. On August 15, Australia concluded a deal with Papua New Guinea to use its island of Manus as an alternative site to sending asylum-seekers to Malaysia. Like Nauru, East Timor and Malaysia, Australia apparently believes future potential refugees will be less attracted to being parked at Papua New Guinea than Australia and thus fewer will set sail for Australian waters.

Those who have made the voyage, however, are increasingly demanding their rights. Nearly one month after the deal with Malaysia was signed, 42 of the asylum-seekers in Australia challenged the legality of the agreement, arguing that they should not be sent to Malaysia where international refugee law does not apply. The Australian opposition, meanwhile, has also argued that processing the refugees at home would be cheaper, more humane, and more efficient than paying for the flights to send asylum seekers to Malaysia.

Despite clear flaws in the deal, Australian prime minister Julia Gillard and her Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak maintain that the benefits of the exchange deal outweigh the costs. In particular, they have argued that the exchange would undermine the business model of human smuggling syndicates, which often peddle their services with the allure of final residence in Australia.

Thus boat people who in future arrive in Australian waters have no guarantee of final resettlement there. Instead, they face the prospect of paying their life savings to a smuggler and risking their lives on the high seas to get to Australia only to be rewarded with a plane ticket to Malaysia or further sea voyage to Papua New Guinea.

Australian immigration minister Christopher Bowen says the Australia-Malaysia refugee exchange deal sends a ''very strong message that if you come to Australia by boat, you will be returned to Malaysia and you will have no preferential treatment in your processing ... That is a tough message.''

But while Australian politicians remain averse to their country being seen as a regional refugee "safe-haven", the desperation of asylum-seekers and the hope of eventually being resettled in Australia via a circuitous route may be enough to keep the boats coming.

Jacob Zenn graduated from Georgetown Law's Global Law Scholar's Program in 2011 and earned a Certificate in Refugee Law and Humanitarian Emergencies. He worked at UNHCR Malaysia in 2009.