Migration Malaysia

19 June 2007

JOINT PRESS STATEMENT
by 14 organisations

in conjunction with
World Refugee Day, 20th June 2007

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 90, 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 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 opportunities for secondary and other forms of education.

MALAYSIA’S EXISTING INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS

We maintain that Malaysia is obligated to protect and assist asylum seekers and refugees, despite the fact that it has not acceded to international conventions directly relevant to them.

As a member of the United Nations, and as a member of the Human Rights Council, the Malaysian government in obligated to:

1. Uphold rights of every person as set out in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is international customary law and therefore binding on Malaysia.

2. Take measures necessary to fully respect the international customary law of non-refoulement., including conducting status-determination to identify and document asylum seekers and refugees, in line with international standards and in cooperation with the UNHCR.

3. Act immediately on the recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) to Malaysia as stated in their Concluding Comments of May 2006, which includes:

• Adopting laws and regulations concerning the status of asylum seekers and refugees, in line with international standards to ensure their protection, in particular for women and their children
• Integrating a gender-sensitive approach while granting asylum/refugee status in close cooperation with international agencies such as the UNHCR

4. Act immediately on the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to Malaysia as stated in their Concluding Comments of February 2007, which includes:

• Allocating resources for the protection of asylum-seeking and refugee children as a vulnerable group, evaluating, preventing and combating discriminatory disparities in their enjoyment of rights as children in Malaysia, particularly in terms of access to social and health services and education, and the registration of their births
• Abolishing caning and other forms of corporal punishment for those under 18 years of age, as these constitute cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment
• Taking urgent measures not to detain children for immigration proceedings, unless necessary for their best interests, and then for the shortest time possible
• Establishing a screening process to identify asylum-seeking and refugee children
• Developing legislation for the protection of asylum-seeking and refugee children, particularly of unaccompanied children, in line with international standards
• Using Section 55 of the Immigration Act 1959/63 (Act 155) to exempt asylum seekers and refugees from punishment under this Act, and to amend this Act in order to legalize their status
• Providing asylum-seeking and refugee children with access to free and formal primary, secondary and other forms of education, and access to official exams for those in informal education
• Strengthening collaboration with the UNHCR and other agencies to address humanitarian concerns to asylum-seeking and refugee children, including providing access to persons of concern in detention

We further urge the Malaysian government to fulfill its promises made in October 2004 to issue Iwp3 work permits to the Rohingya population. We are concerned that this process has stalled, which leaves the Rohingyas in great vulnerability.

We urge the Malaysian government to hold dialogues at the regional level to explore durable solutions for asylum seekers and refugees.

Last but not least, we urge the Malaysian government to accede to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, as well as to the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

We, the undersigned

1. Women’s Aid Organisation
2. CARAM Asia
3. Parti Keadilan Rakyat
4. Labour Resource Centre
5. Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA
6. Migrant Care
7. Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
8. Democratic Action Party ( DAP)
9. Sisters in Islam
10. Health Equity Initiative
11. Women’s Centre for Change, Penang
12. Kumpulan A.C.T.S.
13. All Women Action Society (AWAM)
14. National Human Rights Society (HAKAM)

International Coalition on the Detention of Asylum Seekers, Migrants and Refugees

Children not counted just don’t count

Numerous studies have documented the psychological harm - such as depression, disruptive conduct, nightmares, and even impaired cognitive development - caused to children in immigration detention. Last December, the International Coalition on the Detention of Asylum Seekers, Migrants and Refugees (IDC) contacted its member organisations to try to understand the situation of children in immigration detention.

“We have tried to find out how many children are being held in immigration detention, but this information is either withheld or just not collected. Either way the end result is the same. If children are not counted, then they just do not figure in policy discussions. We should not be surprised to find children locked up and denied basic services like education. Until this information is publicly available, children will continue to be forgotten,’ said Melanie Teff, co-coordinator of the IDC.

On World Refugee Day, 20 June, the IDC has drawn up preliminary findings based on information provided by organisations in 23 countries. IDC members in only three countries – Australia, Canada and the UK — reported that their governments provided comprehensive statistics on the number of children held in immigration detention. All but three - Ireland, Hungary and Spain - detain children on the basis of their immigration status.

Particularly worrying, in at least eight countries, there are no statutory limits to the amount of time children can be held in immigration detention. Of the organisations able to secure more detailed information, 10 reported that children are either being denied access to education services or the services provided were inadequate. Moreover, information sent to the IDC from members in Malaysia and Mexico raised worrying issues of mistreatment and extreme lack of basic services such as healthcare.

IDC is also worried by the lack of holistic age determination procedures in at least six countries. Children in Hungary, Ireland, and Austria can be detained if immigration personnel believe they look over 18. According to the UK Refugee Council at least half of the 4,000 children seen by their Children’s Panel were involved in a dispute over their age and this figure has risen each year.

However, the survey does highlight a few positive changes in immigration detention practices around the world. In particular, the IDC welcomes the introduction of legislation in Hungary last year which prohibits the detention of children on the basis of their immigration status. A South African court ruling in 2004 prohibited the detention of unaccompanied children. Steps forward in other countries, such as Australia and Belgium, were unfortunately accompanied by either inaction or backward measures.

After removing children from detention centres in mainland Australia, the government has swiftly moved to re-establish refugee determination procedures on outlying island states, outside the judicial control of national courts. It is unclear how the rights of children held in these circumstances will be upheld. In Belgium, the law was changed to prohibit detention of unaccompanied children. However, some still remain in detention and children with parents continue to be detained.

The IDC urges governments to respect the rights of all children as laid out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It reminds governments that they have a specific duty towards the care of children within their jurisdictions and that they are obliged to seek alternatives to detention, such as child-friendly reception centres and foster family placement.

For further information, contact the coordinators of the IDC:
Melanie Teff, Tel: (+44) 772 192 7098; email: melanie.teff@idcoalition.org; www.idcoalition.org
Anna Gallagher, Tel: (+34) 947 530 128; fax: (+34) 947 530 129; email: anna.gallagher@idcoalition.org; www.idcoalition.org

Notes to editors
The IDC is a coalition is a coalition of over 100 non-governmental groups and individuals working in over 50 countries the world providing legal, social and other services, carrying out research and reporting, and doing advocacy and policy work on behalf of refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers who have come together to share information and to promote greater respect for the human rights of detainees.

The IDC advocates limiting the use of, seeking alternatives to, and using the least restrictive forms of, immigration detention.

The steering committee of the IDC brings together a number of leading international NGOs which share concerns about the treatment of immigration detainees, such as Amnesty International, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, Jesuit Refugee Service, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, World Council of Churches, and a number of national NGOs.

List of countries surveyed
Belgium, Finland, Denmark, Hungary, Germany, Spain, Austria, Ireland, Poland, Netherlands, Malta, UK, South Africa, Egypt, Thailand, Japan, Cambodia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, USA and Mexico.

NST Online
10 May, 2007

PROPOSALS that those involved in the trafficking of women and children should be whipped will not be written into the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Bill. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz said whipping was inconsistent with the United Nations protocol on human trafficking.

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Inter Press Service News Agency
8 May 2007
Anil Netto

KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 (IPS) - The shocking torture and death of an Indian national allegedly at the hands of his employers here has highlighted the lack of protection and support networks for migrant workers in this country.

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New Straits Times

25 April 2007

THE Government yesterday tabled the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Bill to provide the means to fight the traffic in human beings — particularly women and children. The bill will provide protection for women and children and make it easier for the police, immigration and other authorities to pursue, prosecute and convict human traffickers.

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