HUMAN rights group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) has slammed caretaker home minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin for telling the UN High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) and human rights groups not to “meddle” in Putrajaya’s deportation of Myanmar nationals.
Last week, international human rights group Human Rights Watch called on the Government to stop deporting Myanmar asylum-seekers back to their home country, saying this will put them in the “crosshairs” of the military.
The New York-based group claimed Malaysian authorities had sent home more than 2,000 Myanmar nationals in recent months, including military defectors, without assessing their asylum claims or other protection needs.
In response, Hamzah on Thursday (Aug 27) said “anyone from anywhere in the world who comes here and breaks our laws, we will send them back”, adding: “No need for outsiders to interfere.”
In a statement today, LFL director Zaid Malek said Hamzah’s remark “entirely ignores” the real concerns raised by the UNHCR regarding the deportation of Myanmar nationals.
The issues that the UN agency raised, he explained, were specific to the deportation of asylum seekers from Myanmar; an act that puts their lives in jeopardy.
“It is shocking that the home minister does not grasp the basic concept that asylum seekers and refugees are people who escaped their home country for fear of persecution, human rights violation or genocide by their own Government,” he said.
“They do not do so willingly but rather from desperation based on a very real threat of harm to their wellbeing.”
Zaid said this is why the UNHCR, an international body tasked with the protection of asylum seekers and refugees, would intervene when there are any actions taken by any Government that would cause serious harm to them.
“Not intervening with local affairs”
“It is not an act of intervening with the local affairs or to limit the powers of the Government to protect its borders, as the home minister has claimed,” he clarified.
He also rubbished Hamzah’s assurance that the Government would not send back anyone who would “disappear” in their origin country, saying there is “no evidence” that there was any checking process conducted to ensure that asylum seekers and genuine refugees are not deported back to their home countries.
“In fact, past conduct would indicate that there is no such system in place, as evidenced by the debacle of the mass deportation of over 1,000 Myanmar nationals back to their country despite the ongoing coup at the time which put them in extreme danger,” he said.
He was referring to the February deportation of 1,086 Myanmarese (out of 1,200), which went ahead despite a temporary stay order issued by the High Court.
Following the deportation, the court disallowed the Government from deporting the remaining 114 detainees until disposal of the judicial review.
Zaid reminded the Government that it is bound by the international law principle of non-refoulement, which states that asylum seekers and refugees should not be deported if there is a risk of persecution, torture, cruel and inhumane treatment if they are returned to their home countries.
“The Government should take heed when bodies such as the UNHCR raise such concerns as it is, in fact, in the interest of our country to not violate international laws, which may bring about adverse consequences to us,” he added.
“Furthermore, as Malaysia is part of the UN Human Rights Council, there is an obligation for it to uphold international human rights principles in its own country; they cannot hide behind supposed violation of local laws to deport asylum seekers and refugees in total disregard of international laws and human rights concerns.”
Zaid also called on Putrajaya to allow UNHCR – whose local office the Government has since started the process of closing down – “free access” to migrants so they can assess their status and ensure that Malaysia does not breach the principle of non-refoulement. – Oct 29, 2022
Main photo credit: Reuters
