Pay attention to the plight of refugees, Govt told
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Bar urged the Government to pay serious attention to the dire circumstances that refugees and asylum-seekers face in Malaysia.
It said Malaysia’s treatment of such people should reflect the highest norms of international human rights since the country joins the United Nations Human Rights Council from Monday.
The Bar Council’s Law Reform and Special Areas Committee chair Datuk M. Ramachelvam made the call in conjunction with World Refugee Day today.
While Malaysia is not a state party to the United Nations convention on refugees, he said the Govern-ment continued to co-operate with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on humanitarian grounds.
In order for the Government and the UNHCR to put in place an appropriate legal and administrative framework for dealing with refugees and asylum-seekers in a more humane and less arbitrary manner, he said the Government should:
> State its adherence to the principle of non-refoulement (the protection of refugees from being repatriated to places where their lives or freedom are threatened);
> Stop arresting those already here for not having the documentation required by the Immigration Act or, alternatively, invoke the exemption provided under the same Act;
> Allow the registration of birth;
> Allow refugees to register their marriages with the Civil Registry using their UNHCR identity cards;
> Allow Muslim refugees and asylum-seekers access to the Syariah court system for family disputes;
> Give access to vocational schools for those under 18 years, and to tertiary education and public colleges/universities for qualified youth; and
> Ensure better access to health care services at and to apply rates paid by Malaysians.
Source:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/6/20/nation/6509141&sec=nation
Sunday June 20, 2010
