Malaysia reassures that 1,476 Myanmar nationals scheduled for repatriation on Sept 29 will be safe, despite warnings from the UNHCR.
PUTRAJAYA: The government has assured that 1,476 Myanmar nationals scheduled to be repatriated at the end of this month will be safe upon their return, despite a warning from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that Myanmar remains unsafe for refugees to return.
Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil said the government had been informed by the Foreign Ministry that the first batch of repatriations would proceed as agreed with the Myanmar authorities.
“So far, Wisma Putra, particularly the Foreign Minister, has informed us that what has been agreed and understood with Myanmar is that 1,476 of the 5,000 people agreed for return will be safe in Myanmar,” he said at a press conference here today.
Fahmi was responding to concerns raised by UNHCR, which said on Tuesday that it was not involved in Malaysia’s planned repatriation programme and warned that ongoing armed conflict and violence meant Myanmar remained unsafe for refugees to return.
UNHCR said any return should be voluntary, based on an informed decision and carried out in conditions of safety and dignity.
Fahmi said there were currently about 10,000 Myanmar refugees in Immigration detention depots, with 5,000 individuals screened by the Home Ministry before being referred to the Myanmar embassy.
Of those, Myanmar authorities had agreed to receive 1,476 individuals, he said.
The first batch is scheduled to be repatriated on Sept 29 under the government’s planned programme involving 5,000 Myanmar nationals.
The planned returns have come under international scrutiny, particularly over whether conditions in Myanmar are sufficiently safe for those being repatriated.
UNHCR has maintained that continued armed conflict and violence across Myanmar mean conditions do not currently allow for safe, dignified and sustainable voluntary returns.
