THE UNITED Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has expressed shock and sadness at news of two detainees who tragically died after fleeing from the Bidor temporary immigration depot in Perak.
Conveying its condolences to the families of the victims, the UN agency said it is concerned over the incident on February 1 where 131 detainees – many of them reported to be from Myanmar, including ethnic Rohingyas – escaped following reported riots in the depot.
“We are aware and concerned that in immigration detention facilities around Malaysia, there remain detained persons – including vulnerable individuals – requiring our attention and who may be asylum-seekers or refugees,” the agency said in a recent statement.
“As we have not received approval from Immigration authorities to access immigration detention centres since August 2019, this has unfortunately prevented UNHCR from seeing those detained in order to determine if there are individuals in need of international protection and to advocate for their release.”
It said that UNHCR continue to advocate with the Immigration Department and relevant government agencies and ministries, including at the highest level, for immediate access to those who may be in need of our protection.
The agency stressed that it stands ready, together with civil society partners, to support the government to develop alternatives to immigration detention, in particular for vulnerable refugees and asylum-seekers including children and the elderly.
“Seeking asylum is not an unlawful act,” it said.
“In all cases, detention should be a measure of last resort, should be authorised by the law and only undertaken if necessary and reasonable in all the circumstances, and proportionate to a legitimate aim.”
UNCHR emphasised that alternatives to detention need to be considered prior to resorting to detention.
The appropriate steps include, firstly, a “comprehensive, effective, and humane” framework to manage the situation of refugees and asylum-seekers in the country, it said.
“We are fully committed in our ongoing cooperation with the government to find predictable ways to better manage the refugee situation that address any legitimate national concerns and provide access to asylum for those in need of international protection.”
On Wednesday, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, had stressed to the authorities that the dignity and rights of those seeking refuge from conflict and persecution need to be upheld.
Its head of mission, Froukje Pelsma, said that the conditions inside such centres have had a detrimental effect on the physical and mental health of the detainees.
The incident, similar to the mass escape from the Sg Bakap detention centre in April 2022, highlights once more the need to approach the plight of Rohingya people with compassion and understanding, he added.
A total of 131 undocumented immigrants had fled from the male block of the Bidor Immigration Depot in the incident last week.
Two of them were reported to have later died in road accidents.
Of those who fled, 115 were Rohingya detainees, 15 were Myanmar nationals and one from Bangladesh. – The Vibes, February 9, 2024
