Let all refugees get work and education, says Suhakam

PETALING JAYA: Malaysians have been urged to show support for refugees around the world by signing a petition to be presented to the United Nations.

The government was also urged to sign the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, and to allow all refugees to get jobs, and the right to seek shelter and education.

Suhakam, the human rights commission, said the government had proposed to allow Rohingya refugees to obtain jobs in some sectors, and that 3,000 Syrian refugees would be accepted over three years with shelter, employment and education for the children.

Such privileges should not be granted exclusively to a certain group of refugees only, but extended to other refugees as well, Suhakam said.

The petition, called With The Refugees, would be opened tomorrow, and requests governments to ensure that every refugee child gets an education; every refugee family has somewhere safe to live; and every refugee can work or learn new skills to make a positive contribution to their community.

It is being launched to mark World Refugee Day and in support of the UN human rights agency’s campaign Stand With Refugees.

Suhakam paid tribute to refugees and asylum seekers who had endured “unspeakable” trials and tribulations to escape persecution and life-threatening circumstances in their home countries.

“Their strength and perseverance in overcoming such difficult situations deserve recognition. However, recognition alone will do very little to improve the plight of refugees,” Suhakam said, calling for concrete action to improve their plight, safeguard their rights and to deal with the causes that lead to their flight.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has registerd 154,140 refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, up to April 2016, of whom 139,780 are from Myanmar comprising mainly Rohingyas and Chins; and 14,370 from other countries including Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine.

“Refugees and asylum seekers are among the most vulnerable to human rights abuses in the country,” Suhakam said. “They also face discrimination and ill-treatment on a regular basis.”

Suhakam said the refugees and asylum-seekers lacked legal or immigration status in Malaysia as the government had not signed the UN convention on the status of refugees.

Refugees and asylum seekers, especially those not registered with UNHCR, remained vulnerable to Immigration arrest and
may be subject to repeated detention and charges with sentences of imprisonment and whipping.

“Even more alarming is the detention of refugee children including unaccompanied minors in immigration detention centres,” Suhakam said.

They had limited access to education, healthcare and employment “leaving many of them destitute and trapped in the cycle of poverty,” Suhakam said.