April 10, 2020
Star Online Report
Regional rights body 'Fortify Rights' has called for Malaysia to release detained refugees and prevent arbitrary detention of new arrivals to minimise health risks due to Covid-19.
"Malaysia should take extra precautions now to protect the rights of refugees and refrain from detaining them," said Matthew Smith, chief executive officer of Fortify Rights, in a statement today.
"Detaining refugees after they pass a quarantine and during a pandemic would be irresponsible and inhumane," he said.
Malaysian authorities on April 5 intercepted a boat carrying 202 Rohingya, including 45 women and five children, off the northwestern coast of Langkawi island in Malaysia's Kedah State.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Malaysian Defense Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob recently told media that the authorities are quarantining the 202 Rohingya refugees for a two-week period at a location in Langkawi, saying: "Because they are already in our waters, it becomes our responsibility to take care of their interests."
On April 6, the Langkawi District Department health team reportedly conducted a health screening of the new arrivals and found that none of the refugees had coronavirus symptoms.
Fortify Rights said it is unclear what steps Malaysian authorities will take with regard to the newly arrived refugees following the period of quarantine. Malaysia routinely detains refugees and survivors of trafficking in 14 poorly equipped immigration detention facilities located throughout the country.
On March 23, the Malaysian Ministry of Health said that Covid-19 tests would be free of charge for both foreigners and Malaysians. As of April 9, the Malaysian government confirmed more than 4,200 cases of Covid-19 infections and reported 67 deaths from the virus. The country enforced a shutdown until April 14.
Customary international law as well as Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Malaysia is a state party, protects the right to liberty, which forbids arbitrary, unlawful, or indefinite detention, including of non-nationals.
The rights body said refugees and children should never be detained based on their immigration status alone.
As of February 2020, more than 178,900 refugees, including more than 100,000 Rohingya, are registered with the UN Refugee Agency in Malaysia. The total number of refugees in Malaysia is likely much higher.
Rohingyas continue to face genocide and other international crimes in Myanmar, and migration routes available to them remain deadly. In February 2020, at least 15 Rohingyas from refugee camps in Cox's Bazar district, Bangladesh reportedly drowned in the Bay of Bengal after their boat, carrying more than 100 Rohingyas, capsized en route to Malaysia.
There are more than one million Rohingya refugees in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh and more than 120,000 confined to more than 20 internment camps in Myanmar, and many fear an outbreak of Covid-19.
"It's in everyone's interest for governments in the region, including Malaysia and Bangladesh, to coordinate to improve protections for refugees and prevent the spread of Covid-19," said Matthew Smith.
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