Malaysia urged to get rid of raids, detention amid COVID-19: Rohingya
Rohingya Women Expansion Network (RWDN) and Fortify Rights on Tuesday said the federal government of Malaysia should end arbitrary arrests and detention of refugees and migrants.
RWDN and Fortify Rights interviewed 13 Rohingya refugees found in Malaysia who described the ongoing threat of arrest and the effects of restrictions on movement and access to livelihoods, reports UNB.
"Malaysia should end arresting and detaining all refugees," stated Sharifah Shakirah, founder and Director of RWDN in Malaysia.
"Instead, the federal government should provide primary protections to refugees and migrants in this global crisis to avoid the pass on of the virus."
On June 14, the Malaysian Health Ministry reported a 67-year-old man from India died on June 12 from COVID-19 at the Bukit Jalil Immigration Detention Centre (IDC), located beyond the administrative centre, Kuala Lumpur. The ministry reviews at least 735 cases of COVID-19 in IDCs across Malaysia.
On June 14, Health Director-Basic Datuk Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah reported the death throughout a press briefing, expressing: "He was discovered unconscious at the guts . . . He was confirmed dead on Friday [June 12] and a COVID-19 test returned positive."
During a youthful press briefing on, may 26, Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah acknowledged the IDCs as "high-risk areas" for the pass on of COVID-19.
Despite the heightened threat of COVID-19 transmissions in detention facilities-both equally to detainees and personnel members-Malaysian authorities continue steadily to arrest and detain refugees and migrants.
The Malaysian authorities have denied the United Nations Great Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)-the U.N. company mandated to safeguard refugees-access to Malaysia's detention centers since August 2019.
Malaysian authorities rounded up and detained thousands of additional refugees and migrants throughout a group of immigration raids starting on May 1 within designated Enhanced Movement Control (EMCO) areas. EMCOs are areas where a high number of COVID-19 cases have been reported.
The authorities barricaded some EMCO areas with barbwire fencing and refused to permit residents in these areas to exit their homes.
On May 21, U.N. Specialized Rapporteur on the Individual Privileges of Migrants Felipe Gonzalez Morales and different United Nations experts referred to as on Malaysian authorities "to avoid raiding locked-down areas to arrest and detain migrants . . . Alternatives to detention should be looked at first."
The UN Performing Group on Alternatives to Immigration Detention and any office of the Great Commissioner for Human Privileges also urged states to get rid of immigration detentions and release detainees amid the COVID-19 pandemic "to protect the rights and health of migrants and staff in immigration detention facilities."
On June 10, the Malaysian federal government replaced the earlier Movement Control Buy (MCO), which the government set up on March 18 to suspend non-essential business businesses and unnecessary travel through the entire country, with a Restoration Movement Control Purchase (RMCO).
Under the RMCO, the federal government continues to limit how big is gatherings and the quantity of people permitted to work and shop inside business establishments.
The RMCO is likely to stay in place until at least August 31.
Despite the easing of COVID-19 related constraints, refugees and migrants continue steadily to have difficulties accessing livelihoods and making rent payments.
Further complicating the situation for refugees, Kuala Lumpur Metropolis Hall banned refugees from entering the Wholesale Market found in Selayang-a large outdoor market relied about by residents in the area to secure fresh, inexpensive food. On June 19, Mayor Datuk Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan explained, "All UNHCR card holders are denied access."
In April and June, RWDN and Fortify Legal rights interviewed 13 Rohingya refugees, including five women, along with members of civil society organizations in Malaysia dealing with refugee and migrant communities about the consequences of COVID-19.
One Rohingya refugee said he has struggled to pay for rent ever since the federal government introduced the motion restrictions: "We don't possess work, so we requested the federal government for support . . . [We] continue steadily to struggle to pay the rent for our house."
