Malaysia continues mass refugee deportations despite warnings from the UN about unsafe conditions in an active war zone.
Published On ۵ Oct ۲۰۲۶
Nearly ۱,۵۰۰ Myanmar refugees and migrants deported from Malaysia have arrived in their war-ravaged country under an opaque repatriation scheme heavily criticised by human rights groups and the United Nations refugee agency.
The ۱,۴۷۹ returnees, transported from Malaysia on board two navy warships and a hospital ship on Tuesday, arrived in southern Yangon early Sunday, Nay Lin Tun, a regional government minister, said.
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They are among ۵,۰۰۰ Myanmar nationals who will be repatriated in stages from Malaysia, where more than ۱۰,۳۰۰ others are being held in immigration detention centres, according to the country’s Home Ministry.
Malaysia insists all returnees agreed to voluntary repatriation, but rights monitors have raised concerns that Myanmar refugees had little choice and warned that conditions for return remain unsafe.
The UN refugee agency said this past week that its staff were not allowed to meet the Myanmar nationals to confirm whether their decisions to return “were genuinely free and informed”.
Rohingya make up the majority of Myanmar refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, but it remains unclear how many members of the persecuted Rohingya are among the returned group.
The deportation was carried out during escalating raids on refugee communities in Malaysia by immigration officials, which led to the detention of more than ۵۰,۰۰۰ refugees in ۲۰۲۶.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the repatriations in July against a backdrop of rising xenophobia towards refugees, particularly the Rohingya.
Kuala Lumpur is moving ahead with plans to return a second group of more than ۳,۵۰۰ refugees and migrants, saying they have caused financial, social and security burdens.
While Malaysia is not a party to the UN Refugee Convention and treats refugees as undocumented migrants, it is home to about ۲۱۵,۶۰۰ refugees and asylum seekers registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
This includes more than ۱۲۶,۰۰۰ mainly Muslim Rohingya refugees.
Myanmar pledged last month that returns will be “safe and dignified”.
But Yap Lay Sheng, a senior human rights specialist with Fortify Rights, told the AFP news agency: “There’s no telling how the regime would treat returnees.”
Myanmar has been accused of committing genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority. Earlier this year, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) opened its first genocide case it has heard in full in more than a decade.
The UNHCR and rights groups said returnees could face persecution and forced military conscription in an active war zone. Myanmar has been embroiled in a civil war since the military seized power from the elected government in ۲۰۲۱.
The war has killed more than ۱۰۰,۰۰۰ people since the coup, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) project.
Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing, the military coup leader who was installed as civilian president in April, is expected to visit Malaysia soon to discuss the repatriation scheme.
