April—September 2007

Volume Q2/07

Observe International Obligations for the Protection of Asylum Seekers and Refugees

Today is World Refugee Day, a day in which the international community  remembers those who seek refuge from  persecution and  war.  Malaysia is host to an estimated 950, 000  asylum seekers  and  refugees, who come from Southeast Asia,  South Asia,  the  Middle  East  and Africa.  We,  Malaysian  civil society  groups, are extremely concerned about the way  they are  treated in Malaysia.  For most part, they are  punished as illegal immigrants rather than recognized as a vulnerable population in need of our protection and assistance.

Despite  having awareness of their precarious position,  the Malaysian  government  has  yet to  develop  clear  policies concerning these vulnerable groups

Current  Treatment of Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Stateless Persons

In Malaysia, asylum seekers, refugees and stateless persons:

1. Continue to be arrested, detained, and sentenced for immigration offences – including those who  have  UNHCR documentation. 

An  average  of  700-800 asylum  seekers  and  refugees remain  in detention every month. About 100  of  these are children. 

While   the   Immigration  Department  was   previously amenable  to releasing vulnerable cases on humanitarian grounds (such as pregnant women, babies, as well as the physically  and  the  mentally ill)  this  has  stopped recently.has become increasingly difficult to arrange. 

We maintain that asylum seekers and refugees should not be detained.  Alternatives to detention are possible in Malaysia, and these should be explored immediately. 

2. Are  sometimes  sentenced  to  whipping,  including children. 

Since  amendments to the Immigration Act were  made  in 2002,  whipping  has been introduced for  breaches  for immigration offences.

Children – those below 18 years of age – have also been charged for immigration offences and whipped.   We  are aware  of  the case of a 15 year-old boy, unaccompanied by guardians in Malaysia, who was arrested in September 2006  and  sentenced  to 4 months  imprisonment  and  1 stroke of the cane. While detained, he was also slapped multiple  times  on  several occasions.   He  was  then deported to the Thai-Malaysia border. 

We  maintain  that whipping constitutes cruel,  inhuman and  degrading  punishment,  and  that  it  should   be abolished.    Children,   in  particular,   should   be protected from whipping. 

3. Are forced to opt for voluntary deportation in order to escape prolonged and indefinite detention, making  them vulnerable to either refoulement or to human trafficking

The  refusal of the Immigration Department  to  release them  mean that asylum seekers and refugees either have to wait for prolonged periods (up to two years or more) in detention, or opt for ‘voluntary’ deportation.

‘Voluntary’    deportation    under    such     adverse circumstances, either

Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO)

INROADS

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3. results in them being deported to the  home  countries, which makes  them  vulnerable  to      refoulement  (return to a country where their  life  or liberty  is threatened), or falling into the  hands  of smugglers  and  gangsters at the  border,  making  them      vulnerable to trafficking.

We  maintain that asylum seekers and refugees should be formally  documented and released  in  Malaysia,  while they await durable solutions.

4. Do   not  have  fair  and  full  access  to  status determination procedures to verify that they are in need of international protection.

Immigration Department officers do not conduct  status-determination procedures.  The UNHCR only has access to detainees on a case-by-case basis rather than free  and full access.

5. Asylum seekers and refugees do not have their right to work protected, which make them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse by employers.

Asylum  seekers and refugees, by definition, are unable to  return  home because of threats to their  life  and liberty.  In order to sustain themselves, they have  to work under irregular conditions.  We know of many cases of  exploitation, unpaid wages, accidents and  violence in the workplace.

We  maintain that asylum seekers and refugees should be formally documented and given the rights to work  while they await durable solutions.

6. Asylum-seeking and refugee children do not have access to school.

Asylum-seeking and refugee children, along  with  other children of migrants, are barred from public education.

We  maintain  that all children should  be  given  free access  to  primary   education, with

JOINT PRESS STATEMENT

by 14 organizations in conjunction with World Refugee Day, 20th June 2007