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Malaysia

Field Reports  In-Depth Reports  

Overview
Refugees International is concerned about protection and assistance for ethnic Burmese refugees in Malaysia.

Current Humanitarian Situation
Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol and does not recognize the ethnic Burmese in the country as refugees.  There are more than 40,000 persons of concerns registered with the UN refugee agency in Malaysia, the majority of whom are refugees from Burma.  There are also a large number of unregistered refugees in Malaysia, estimated in the tens of thousands.

The number of unregistered refugees in the country is increasing as ethnic Burmese continue to flee persecution and violence in Burma.  Particularly concerning is the growing number of Burmese Rohingya refugees.  Rohingya crowd onto unseaworthy boats departing from the Burmese - Bangladesh border and can be at sea for weeks before landing in Thailand.  Every year, countless people lose their lives during this dangerous crossing. Refugees who arrive safely make their way south to Malaysia, where livelihood opportunities are much better than in Bangladesh or Thailand.

Burmese refugees in Malaysia, including women and children, are targeted by the government as illegal migrants.  Refugees are regularly arrested, held in detention centers in deplorable conditions, and deported to Thailand, where they fall prey to traffickers and are vulnerable to being sold into forced labor.  Even those refugees who hold UN refugee cards are subject to arrest and deportation, and the UN refugee agency continues to face difficulties in accessing refugees and asylum seekers held in detention centers.

In addition to the protection concerns facing Burmese refugees in Malaysia, access to basic services remains difficult.  The cost of medical care is higher for refugees, and unregistered refugees risk arrest if they visit local hospitals.  Burmese refugee children are not allowed to attend public schools.  There are some community-based education and health programs focused on helping Burmese refugees, however more funding is needed to support this work.

Action Needed
The international community must pressure the Government of Malaysia to recognize Burmese refugees in its country and to stop the targeting and arrest of both registered and unregistered refugees.

Field Reports
  • Rohingya: Burma’s Forgotten Minority
    12/18/2008
    Among Burma’s ethnic minorities, the Rohingya, a stateless population, stand out for their particularly harsh treatment by Burmese authorities and their invisibility as a persecuted minority.  Despite decades of severe repression, there has been minimal international response to the needs of this extremely vulnerable population compared to other Burmese refugees.
  • Malaysia: Undocumented Children in Sabah Vulnerable to Statelessness
    06/13/2007

    Decades of irregular migration to Sabah in eastern Malaysia have resulted in large numbers of undocumented children of migrants from the Philippines and Indonesia who are potentially at risk of statelessness.  Undocumented migrants in Malaysia are targets for arrest and deportation, which in some cases has left their children alone on the street.

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In Depth Reports
  • Futures Denied: Statelessness Among Infants, Children, and Youth
    10/22/2008
    Statelessness, or the lack of effective nationality, impacts the daily lives of some 11-12 million people around the world. Perhaps those who suffer most are stateless infants, children and youth. Though born and raised in their parents’ country of habitual residence, they lack formal recognition of their existence.