KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 — The children’s commissioner (CC) Prof Datuk Noor Aziah Mohd Awal today urged the government to consider allowing United Nations High Commission For Refugees (UNHCR) cards to be issued to all Rohingya refugees, particularly those who were involved in the riot at the Sungai Bakap temporary detention camp recently.  

In a statement this morning, Noor Aziah said the UNHCR’s resettlement programme is proposed to also prioritise Rohingyas in an aspiration towards a durable solution in the form of resettlement to a third country. 

"The government must establish an independent body consisting of representatives from other than the Home Ministry to investigate the incident; not reprimand those re-arrested or to instill fears or hatred amongst the local in Relau towards the Rohingyas who are still at large; to include Rohingya children in the alternative to detention pilot project as these children need to be given the opportunity to live in a more secure and conducive environment; and to add more staff to understaffed immigration depots,” she said.

Noor Aziah’s recommendations come after the death of six Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, including two children, as they attempted to cross the North-South Expressway as hundreds fled the Sungai Bakap temporary detention centre on April 20.

The children’s commission is a division under the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam). 

Noor Aziah said during her monitoring visits to immigration detention centres in Lenggeng, she saw that the depot was overcrowded, and in Lenggeng, Langkawi and Belantik, the depots were understaffed. 

"While most immigrant detainees are deported back to their countries of origin through the intervention of the embassy of their respective countries, the Rohingya refugees in Malaysia are unable to return to Myanmar based on international customary law-principle of non-refoulment that guarantees that no one should be returned to their country where they are subjected to persecution.

"Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention. Malaysia is, however a party to the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). 

"Article 22 of the CRC states that the State must ensure that a child who is seeking refugee status or who has been determined to be a refugee shall receive appropriate protection and humanitarian assistance,” she said. 

In addition, Noor Azizah said children who are seeking asylum or who have been granted refugee status are entitled to the full enjoyment of their rights under the four basic principles of the CRC which state that children should not be discriminated against, be treated with humanity and respect, have their voices heard and to prioritise the best interests of the child.

The Malaysian government has since said that Rohingya refugees in this country are treated well, although Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. 

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin reportedly said that based on humanitarian grounds, Malaysia has been providing basic necessities to the refugees for a long time, even though neighbouring countries have declined to do so and no third country was willing to accept them.