Asean lacks coordination on refugees

Kota Kinabalu: There is lack of coordination among Asean member states as well as lack of political will among leaders to bring about a permanent solution on the problem of refugees.

This is also compounded by marriages and liaisons between locals and refugees.

"There is also the problem of Asean countries which have not ratified the Refugee Convention.

"There are issues of governance in the countries from where refugees flee. UN perspective on Advocacy on Refugees is not working in Asean – it only works with countries providing ODA or Official Development Assistance such as the European Union, United States of America, Japan and Australia.

"There are also problems in the enforcement of refugee rights," said MJ Paluga if the University of Philippines Mindanao with AM Raqragio.

"He said the Asean Human Rights Declaration (AHRD) 2013 and Refugees, Article 2 stipulates: "Every person is entitled to the rights and freedoms set forth herein, without distinction of any kind, such as race, gender, age, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, economic status, birth, disability or other status."

Malaysia does not even accord to some of its citizens that are not of Malay ethnicity, Muslim creed, as many permanent residents holding red ICs, as well as Article 22: the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

There is no freedom of religion for Muslims other than Islam of the Sunni Shafie School in Malaysia or risk being labelled as deviant or unbelievers," he said.

"Under Article 35 on the right to development, even Malaysians in constituencies won by opposition do not get to enjoy public funding for development in some cases.

"What can we learn from ground realities? Institutional and international humanitarian-concern framings regarding the so-called 'refugee problem' should periodically calibrate itself to emerging phenomena from the ground so that our Asean Community response is more inclusive," said Paluga.

In 2015, Malaysia was estimated to have a labour work force of 14 million out of a population of 31 million citizens.

A reason for not adopting the UN Refugees charter was that it would be too expensive to accord them the treatment they deserve by law.

However, Paluga said there is also an Asean Human Rights Declaration (AHRD) 2013 and Malaysia is a member.

He was speaking at a session at the 10th International Malaysian Studies Conference at UMS.

"According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) roundtable on Nov 6, 2015, the Malaysia Trade Union Congress (MTUC) cited the Ministry of Human Resource estimate of undocumented migrants at around two million to the Ministry of Home Affairs estimate of undocumented migrants at around four million.

"The Ministry of Human Resource as of June 2015, estimated that there were 2,245,513 documented foreign workers.

"Unpublished figures from the Enforcement Division of the Immigration Department on the 2011 amnesty exercise registered 1,303,126 undocumented migrants.

"Hence, there are no definite authoritative figures to show the facts. In Sabah, the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on illegal migrants is still pending for action.

Paluga noted that Myanmar does not want to have any discussion on refugees. The country once told former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir to take all the Muslims if he was so concerned about them.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, as the Asean Chair in 2015, stated that the long term solution would be for Myanmar to resolve the Rohingya crisis domestically," said Dagmar Oberlies in a presentation 'Human Rights Based Approaches – A Critical Review'.

http://www.dailyexpress.com.my

Myanmar's Rakhine State denies persecution at root of migrant crisis

SITTWE, MYANMAR/YANGON | BY ANTONI SLODKOWSKI AND TIM MCLAUGHLIN

The head of the Myanmar state from which thousands of Rohingya Muslims are fleeing denied that persecution had prompted the exodus after the United States called on the country to deal with its root causes.

Many Rohingya have become prey to human traffickers on the journey south to Thailand, Malaysia and beyond as they flee what U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday were "the desperate conditions they face in Rakhine State".

Rakhine Chief Minister Maung Maung Ohn told Reuters after meeting United Nations officials on Friday: "I am disappointed by, and completely disagree and reject such unfounded allegations by the United States."

"This (migration) is human trafficking, not (due to) political or religious discrimination at all."

Blinken, who was visiting Myanmar on Thursday and Friday, told Myanmar's leaders they needed to address discrimination and violence against the minority Rohingya.

The majority of the more than 3,000 migrants who have landed on Malaysian and Indonesian shores this month were Rohingya Muslims, Blinken had told reporters.

The crisis flared in Southeast Asia after a Thai crackdown on human trafficking led criminals to abandon overloaded boats in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea rather than risk trying to smuggle or traffic them through preferred routes in Thailand.

The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR estimated on Friday that some 3,500 migrants are still stranded on boats with dwindling supplies, and repeated its appeal for the region's governments to rescue them.

Myanmar's navy discovered two Thai trafficking boats off the coast of Rakhine on Thursday, one carrying migrants and the other empty, the state government said in a statement on Friday.

"One is loaded with around 200 Bengali people," it said, using the government term for illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

"The people on the boat were all from Bangladesh," said Rakhine State government executive secretary Tin Maung Swe. "We will deport them."

Maung Maung Ohn said he would take a U.N. group to meet the migrants to show they were victims of trafficking, not persecution.

Myanmar has faced international criticism for not doing enough to help those at sea or stem the flow of migrants.

Migrant boats are often a mix of people from Bangladesh seeking to escape poverty at home as well as Rohingya.



STATELESS MINORITY

Most of Myanmar's 1.1 million Rohingya are stateless and live in apartheid-like conditions in the state. Almost 140,000 were displaced in deadly clashes with majority Buddhists in Rakhine in 2012. They are denied citizenship and have long complained of state-sanctioned discrimination.

Myanmar denies discriminating against the group and has said it is not the source of the problem. It does not recognize the Rohingya as an ethnic minority, and instead classifies the group as Bengalis. Most Rohingya reject the term and many have lived in Rakhine for generations.

Myanmar military chief General Min Aung Hlaing cast doubt on the origin of many of the refugees in comments carried in Myanmar's state media on Friday.

He "hinted that most victims are expected to assume themselves to be Rohingya from Myanmar in the hope of receiving assistance from UNHCR" at a meeting with Blinken on Thursday, the state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported.

"He stressed the need to investigate their country of origin rather than to accuse a country," the newspaper said.

Scores of Rohingya are paying off people smugglers and returning to the squalid camps they used to live in after being held for months on overcrowded ships off the coast of Myanmar.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Thursday pledged assistance and ordered the navy to rescue thousands adrift at sea, and a Thai official said Myanmar had agreed to attend an emergency conference on the crisis on May 29.

Malaysia and Indonesia have said they would allow the thousands still at sea to come ashore temporarily, but Thailand has said it would not follow suit.


(Additional reporting by Aung Hla Tun and Hnin Yadana Zaw in YANGON and Stephanie Ulmer-Nebehay in GENEVA; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Simon Webb; Editing byLouise Ireland)

A Rohingya migrant child, who recently arrived in Indonesia by boat, cries as a volunteer cuts his hair inside a temporary compound for refugees in Aceh Timur regency, Indonesia's Aceh Province May 22, 2015.

REUTERS/BEAWIHARTA

New Role for Americans to Promote Human Rights in Burma

On Wednesday, President Obama lifted the ban on U.S. investment in Burma without putting any safeguards in place. President Obama ignored the advice of the human rights community, who implored his Administration to ensure only responsible investment was permitted and human rights were respected. For the first time since 1997, U.S companies will now be allowed to do business in Burma, including with Burmese government owned businesses, an actual requirement all foreign companies are subjected to by the Burmese government.

What this means for human rights in Burma and your role in promoting human rights and democracy for the people of Burma.

A) Sanctions against the Burmese regime and its cronies are leverage to push for democracy and human rights. By lifting the investment ban, the United States loses leverage to bring about more reform, while the people of Burma are still suffering human rights abuses and mass atrocities at the hands of the Burmese regime. There is now only one sanction left–the import ban–which must be renewed by Congress before the end of July. Call your Senators to support the renewal of the import ban.

Burma’s military still commits heinous human rights abuses against Burma’s ethnic civilians, particularly in Kachin State, where their military won't allow international humanitarian aid into the region. The Burmese regime refuses to admit there are still hundreds of political prisoners behind bars. In an extremely worrying move, President Thein Sein told the UN on Wednesday, he wants the Rohingya put in camps or deported, a request the UN immediately refused. Something must be done to end these abuses!

We must send a strong signal that real reform respects human rights, not profits. The Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act is the ONLY influence the United States has left to pressure the Burmese regime to move forward with genuine democratic change.

B) Investment without safeguards will contribute to human rights abuses and profits for the Burmese military.  More and more farms have been confiscated and some farmers have been arrested for refusing to leave their land. In addition to the most egregious human rights abuses in conflict zones, throughout the country the regime carries out forced labor, forced relocation, extortion, land confiscation and burning of civilians’ crops and farms, some of it in the name of making way for foreign investment. American Oil and Gas companies are now allowed to partner with the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), a Burmese government company who generates billions of dollars in profits for the Burmese military. The money our corporations will invest can fuel this murderous machine. For a more detailed explanation of the dangers of investment without safeguards, check out our blog, the LA Times and IPS. 

In the months ahead, as American companies enter Burma, we will need our supporters, like you, to help ensure their activities and investments do not involve land confiscation, human rights abuses and money to those who obstruct political reform and commit human rights abuses.

The people of Burma will need our help—will you speak out to for the people of Burma? Right now, you have the power to keep the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act (S.J.RES 43) in place by calling your Senators to cosponsor the bill, but time is running out. The bill expires in less than 3 weeks, you have to call your Senators now!

Click here for calling instruction, congressional scorecards to check where your Senators stand and the background of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act.

Thank you for speaking out for the people of Burma.

Myra and USCB team

Giving refugees opportunities

IN CONJUNCTION with World Refugees Day 2012, the Malaysian Red Crescent Society (MRCS) Seremban chapter volunteers paid a visit to 22 Myanmar refugees living at a low- cost flat in Seremban town.

They were there to distribute donations collected from the public.

Prior to the visit, MRCS Seremban pledged to donate foodstuff, clothing, exercise books and stationery.

“The public has been generous. We have received toiletries like shampoo, soap, toothpaste and toothbrush, which are essential for the refugees. Many have donated exercise books, stationery and tidbits for the children,” said MRCS Seremban youth officer Albert Ling Chuan Kai, 23.

Helping them out: The Myanmar refugees with Ling (squatting front left).

According to Ling, most of the refugee children did not receive formal education due to legal reasons.

“The fact that these children are barred from attending school is so heartbreaking. They could grow up being the next Aung San Suu Kyi, making positive changes to the world, if given the right opportunities,” he added.

The Myanmar refugees are still in need of footwear, diapers, baby powder and milk.

MRCS Seremban hopes more people will come forward to volunteer to teach or just spend time with the children.

Besides the visit, MRCS Seremban Chapter also organised a quiz on International Humanitarian Law (IHL) for its secondary school members.

The objective of the quiz was to encourage youngsters to learn more about law pertaining to human rights applicable during war.

Around 32 MRCS youth members from eight schools took part and SMK King George V emerged the district champion.

Participant Jegadeshwaran Gandhi, 16, who was part of the winning team, managed to answer all the questions correctly.

Fellow participant, Chiang Hui Xing, 17, from SMK Dato’ Mohd Said Nilai said that in preparation for the quiz, she learnt about the origins of IHL.

She also admires Jean Henry Dunant, the founding father of Red Cross and the first Nobel Peace Prize winner who strived hard to protect human rights. 

Source : TheStarOnline

MALAYSIA : EMPOWER REFUGEES

From The Editor’s Desk

Who are refugees?

“A refugee is a person who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.”

~ 1951 Convention Relating to the
Status of Refugees, Article 1(a) (2)
Dear readers,

We are the Social Protection Fund team of the UNHCR office in Kuala Lumpur and welcome to our inaugural newsletter. Wait, don’t go away. We are just about to tell you that this newsletter, unlike any other is not selling you anything, only seeking your compassion.

In Malaysia, there are some 96,000 refugee men, women and children who struggle every day to rebuild their lives safely and in dignity. They are mostly Mothers with courage!

Being a refugee and single mother in a foreign land with different language and culture can be a nightmare. UNHCR works with many refugee single mothers from Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Somali and Afghanistan living in Malaysia. Most of them live in poverty and it’s extremely difficult to get a decent paid job.

At times they have very young children and it hinders them from any employment. Sometimes, the older children have to sacrifice their education and care for the younger from Myanmar, but there are also refugees from other countries like Sri Lanka, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

They need your help. Refugees work hard every day to support themselves and each other in so many different ways – education, livelihoods, healthcare,
community development and many other areas. What they need is our understanding and support so that they are better able to help themselves.

You can help them to help themselves. Be the one to empower refugees.

siblings while their mother at work.

Some mothers face eviction when they can’t afford to pay their room rent. These mothers often ignore their health until it becomes intolerable!

Throughout the month of March 2012, SPF team met with many such MOMS of various age – despite all these challenges none of them sounded as though they have given up on life!

Instead some of them decided to start Day Care Centers to help other
mothers.

Refugee Community Clean-up activity @ ‘gotong-royong’ in Setapak & Imbi, KL
Peaceful Co-Existence

A smile from a neighbor would make our day, not a grim face or a blank stare!!

Being a refugee, that smile is hard to earn. We found a way….

In October 2011, SPF (UNHCR) team launched a community clean-up competition. Refugee groups from 23 locations in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor took part. The result was gratifying. Smiles from neighbors, policemen, and people on the street. This revealed to us the importance of the co-existence activities for a more harmonious environment.

We took a step forward. Since the year started, we approached:

Refugee communities - to organize such competitions to sustain the good values.

o State assemblymen’s offices in Kota Damansara and Kajang in Selangor,
and Prai in Penang for joint venture projects among refugees and local people – it looks promising.

o Non-profit institutions like VTOC and Soroptimist International for integration projects – they are keen.

o We believe the peaceful co- existence program would enhance the local community’s acceptance of the refugees in Malaysia.

Special Message

In a very real way, the SPF programme places
the decision-making control in the hands of
refugees in determining what works best for
their own communities and what works best in
implementing these ideas. Concrete benefits of
the SPF programme

Capacity building - it enhances skills and
education of the refugee community
regardless of their age, gender and
ethnic. Their quality of life improves.

o Enhance community mobilization and unity through
projects such as community centers, recreational and
support programs.

 

o Peaceful co-existence among the refugee communities and with local communities via various joint activities.

o Be the one to empower refugees….
 

1. Full financial sponsorship of a project 

2. Partial financial sponsorship of a project

3. In kind support for a project

Social Protection Fund, UNHCR

Known as SPF, we started in July 2009. Our aim is to
assist and promote self help and independence among the refugee communities in Malaysia. As of Feb 2012, we have provided grants to 242 community projects that are located in Penang, Perak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Terengganu, Pahang, Negri Sembilan and Johor.

The projects range from income generating projects, skills training (computer, tailoring and handicraft) and community services and development (shelter, youth club and peaceful co-existence). These projects benefit about 35,000 people.

We seek your support to directly sponsor some of the existing projects or new projects either financially or in kind. 

For more information, contact us at:

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Tel: 03-2141 1322 (ext 209 @ 210)
Website: www.unhcr.org.my or
http://spfunhcr.wordpress.com or
www.facebook.com/unhcr.spf