By The Diplomat | Created at 2026-09-03 09:46:41 | Updated at 2026-09-19 11:51:59
2 weeks ago
ASEAN Beat | Society | Southeast Asia
Rights groups say that the 1,476 Myanmar nationals are at high risk of torture, mistreatment, and forced conscription on their return.
The United Nations refugee agency says that it is not involved in Malaysia’s planned repatriation of Myanmar refugees, telling Reuters news agency that the conditions in the country were not in place for their safe return.
Last week, the country’s Ministry of Home Affairs announced that it would repatriate 1,476 Myanmar nationals on September 29 aboard two Myanmar Navy warships and a hospital ship. The plan is the first phase of a voluntary repatriation program that will involve around 5,000 refugees, around half of the 10,388 Myanmar nationals currently being held at immigration detention depots.
The U.N. High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) told Reuters on Tuesday that it was not involved in the scheduled repatriation, and that ongoing conflict and repression made it difficult to guarantee their safe return.
“Under customary international law – a binding obligation on all states – no one should be sent to a country where their rights or freedoms may be at risk,” UNHCR told the news agency. “Any refugee return must be voluntary, based on an informed decision, and take place in conditions of safety and dignity.”
“UNHCR urges that careful consideration be given to the protection needs of all those concerned before they are returned to Myanmar, and stands ready to engage with relevant authorities on protection safeguards,” it added.
Deputy Foreign Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni announced in July that around 5,000 Myanmar nationals currently in the immigration detention system would be repatriated as soon as Myanmar is ready to accept them – a fact that was later confirmed by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. However, in response to growing concerns, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said last month that Malaysia would not return them “if they would either be persecuted or their lives would be threatened.”
Why it has now decided to go ahead with the repatriation is unclear. Refugee and human rights advocates say that once back in Myanmar, the 1,476 people will likely be vulnerable to persecution, armed conflict, forced recruitment, torture, and other serious human rights violations.
“Malaysia should not forcibly send anyone back to a country where they face persecution, torture, and serious harm,” Yap Lay Sheng of the advocacy group Fortify Rights said yesterday. “The government’s cavalier disregard for refugee lives is unacceptable and a violation of its international obligations.”
The Ministry did not disclose the ethnicities of the group, but there is a good chance that many are Rohingya Muslims from Rakhine State, who have arrived in Malaysia steadily over the past two decades. The numbers have been particularly high since 2017, when an ethnic cleansing campaign by the Myanmar military pushed more than 740,000 from Rakhine State into Bangladesh. Around 126,000 Rohingya asylum seekers are currently registered with UNHCR in Kuala Lumpur, around half of the agency’s total, although Malaysia does not recognize them as refugees.
While they were initially welcomed by their co-religionists, public opinion has soured in recent years as the population has continued to grow. Over the past few months in particular, Rohingya have faced an upsurge of xenophobic rhetoric and public hostility, particularly online.
Prominent public figures have since described them as “criminals” and “intruders” and likened them to a “cancer” on the country, while Rohingya refugee schools across the country have been forced to close due to harassment and threats.
In its statement announcing the repatriation operation, Malaysia’s Home Ministry said that the influx of migrants had become a “major financial burden, caused serious social problems, and created a real security threat to the country.”
