Launch of Nationwide Petition Campaign for the Recognition of Refugees in Malaysia

SUARA RAKYAT MALAYSIA

Address:  433 A, 1^st Floor, Jalan 5/46, 46000 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Telephone: +6 03 7784 3525                                Fax: +6 03 7784 3526

Email: suaram@suaram.net Web: www.suaram.net

Press Statement: 15 October 2009

Launch of Nationwide Petition Campaign for the Recognition of Refugees in Malaysia

In conjunction with the exhibition opening of No Refuge: Burmese Refugees in Malaysia, SUARAM is also launching a nationwide campaign to collect signatures for a petition entitled, “Sign the Refugee Convention and Stop the Arrests, Detention and Deportation of Refugees!”

The petition has five demands to the Malaysian Government:

1.      Ensure that all law enforcement agencies (in particular RELA, Police and Immigration) respect UNHCR documents and refrain from arresting holders of these documents.

2.      The UNHCR is given free and full access to asylum seekers, refugees and stateless persons in all Immigration Detention Depots and Prisons so that they can verify if asylum claims are genuine and take measures to assist refugees. Recognized refugees should be released into the official care of the UNHCR while durable solutions are found.

3.      Take measures necessary to fully respect the international customary law of non-refoulement, which prohibits the return of people to places where they may face persecution or threat to their life or freedoms.

4.      Adopt laws and regulations concerning the status of asylum seekers and refugees, as stated in the recommendations by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), of which Malaysia is party to.

5.      Ratify the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol.

Signatures for the petition will be collected in two ways, via collection of written and online signatures. The online petition is hosted at www.petitiononline.com/1951Conv.

SUARAM hopes to collect at least 10,000 signatures from Malaysians by 31 May 2010. The online and written signatures will be compiled and submitted to the Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak on World Refugee Day, 20 June 2010.

Refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons have been an invisible part of the Malaysian social fabric for decades, particularly those from Burma. However, they remain unrecognised by the Malaysian Government and are subject to human rights violations by citizens and law enforcement authorities alike. As the world pays attention to the human rights violations that have occurred in our country, it is time Malaysians recognise that refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons cannot be subject to such an inhumane state of living and we are responsible for their lives while they live here.

For more information, contact Temme Lee at 03-77843525 or visit www.suaram.net.

__._,_.___

In Brief: Migration myths dispelled in UNDP report

BANGKOK, 5 October 2009 (IRIN) – Most migrants do not move from developing to developed countries, and when they do, rather than hurting host economies, they benefit them, according to a new report by the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

The UNDP’s Human Development Report 2009, launched globally on 5 October in Bangkok, dispels several myths about migration, instead underlining the economic and social benefits for countries.

“Mobility can bring large gains in development,” Jeni Klugman, director of the report, told IRIN. “It’s presently very much constrained by a whole range of barriers, and reform [of] these barriers could allow much greater potential to be released.”

The annual report calls for several migration reforms, including for states to ensure basic rights for migrants, and the mainstreaming of migration into national development plans.

ey/mw

Universal Periodic Review – MWG/ JUMP Report

The Migration Working Group (MWG) and Jaringan Utara untuk Migran dan Pelarian (JUMP) are among the NGOs which submitted their respective stakeholder reports on 8 September 2008 to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

This document highlights key issues affecting all migrants.

Download UPR – MWG/ JUMP Report

Formation Meeting Melaka District

WEEKEND FORMATION MEETING
Migrant & Refugee Desk, Melaka-Johor Diocese

Migrant & Refugee Desk, Melaka-Johor Diocese will be organizing a Weekend Formation Meeting on the 18th and 19th of October, 2008 for the Melaka District at the Brothers Bungalow, Pantai Kundor, Melaka. The purpose of this meeting is to provide formation for lay people on matters relating to migrants and refugees as well as to consolidate our ministry of serving migrants and refugees in the parishes of the district.

Highlights
Sharing of experiences of working with migrants and refugees
Spirituality – linking our efforts to help migrants and refugees with faith.
Analysis of Melaka migrant and refugee situation
Reflective integration
Action: Our response
Eucharistic Celebration

In order to serve the migrants better, Migrant & Refugee Desk is planning a survey exercise of migrants and refugees in the Melaka district. This exercise will help us identify migrant and refugee persons, the places where they live and their needs. This survey will be conducted for three weeks beginning 9th October, 2008.

If you are interested to participate in the weekend formation meeting and/or the survey, please contact:

Br Mark Aloysius, SJ
markasj@jesuits.net

Migrant & Refugee Newsletter – Archives

Dear friends,

These are the recent issues of the migrant & refugee newsletter from the Migrant & Refugee Desk, Melaka-Johor Diocese.

The purpose of this newsletter is to raise consciousness regarding issues pertaining to migration. Perhaps you will find some information that is pertinent to your own work or ministry.

Most Recent Issue:

August 2008

Archives

February 2008

October 2007