Refoulement is the act of forcing refugees or asylum seekers to return to a country where they may face persecution or harm. It's a violation of international law and human rights
Article 14 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
- This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
ABIM rightly comes in support of Uyghur refugess, condemning Thailand's violation of principle of non-refoulement by sending these refugees back to China. Unfortunately PM Anwar Ibrahim and the Malaysian government have been silent. ASEAN too...
In ASEAN, one nation state that have so many refugees/asylum seekers have been Myanmar(previously known as BURMA) - and these refugees, not just the Rohingyas, but also people from different ethnic groups like Karen, Shan, Chin and even Burmans who have been fighting for democracy and greater autonomy in the regions they live.
After the military coup OUSTED the democratic government - situation of oppression and rights violations against people in Myanmar has arisen - civilian casualties have risen to over 6,000.
Malaysia too may have been violating the legal principle of non-refoulement in treatment of asylum seekers/refugees - Malaysia may have denied the right of persons to 'seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.' Not only, have they prevented them from arriving in Malaysia - but have also forcibly deported these persons at risk back to Myanmar. It is NO different from returning Palestinian refugees back to Israel???
Refugee
Interceptions and Detentions: A Call for Action and Reform (A Malaysian
Bar Statement) - Time for a Refugee and Asylum-Seeker Act?
Religion or ethnicity should not considered in responding to refugee and/or asylum seekers, and it is a GROSS human rights violation to return these asylum seekers/refugees back to the country to escape persecution/death/etc... When they are returned - they may be tortured or even executed.
ABIM spoke out and acted, and have in the past also been involved in active in creating awareness of the Uyghur plight. Others have also been raising awareness about the plight of other refugees.
ASEAN - should come out with a position on asylum seekers/refugees and make a commitment to adhere to the principle of NON-REFOULEMENT.
ASEAN too must condemn nation states that violate rights... Most member states condemned Myanmar for its 'ethnic cleansing' of the Rohingya people and other attrocities...but ASEAN itself stayed silent.
In the UN, any of the 5 countries[ China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States] with the VETO power can BLOCK UN action but ASEAN is worse because all members of ASEAN have the 'VETO POWER' - so ASEAN cannot take any position when a ASEAN member State commits gross human rights violations. Hopefully, ASEAN under the Chairmanship of Malaysia can change this and require only more than two-third majority vote allowing ASEAN to act when one of its own member states violates human rights - resulting also in the emergence of asylum seekers/refugees that fled said country into other ASEAN member States.
Before PM Anwar Ibrahim's PH-led government came into power - Malaysia protected and respected asylum seekers/refugees and seldom them back to the country they fled - a commitment to the principle of non-refoulement, and in compliance with Article 14 of the UDHR.
Malaysia need to speak up - what is your position on Thailand deporting Uyghur refugees - MUSLIM refugees?
A priority is for Malaysia to enact a REFUGEE ACT, and renew its commitment to the principle of NON-REFOULEMENT.
Summary
The Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (Abim) today expresses regret over Thailand’s decision to deport at least 40 Uyghur refugees to China.
They raise concern over the safety of the refugees given China’s poor human rights record.
Abim president Ahmad Fahmi Mohd Samsudin urges the international community to support Uyghurs seeking protection abroad.
The Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (Abim) has condemned the Thai government for deporting dozens of Uyghur refugees to China.
Citing China’s poor human rights record, Abim president Ahmad Fahmi Mohd Samsudin said they regretted the decision and expressed serious concerns about the refugees’ safety.
“Although the Thai government has stated that they have received assurances from China that the refugees will not be harmed, Abim reminds that, based on past records, Uyghur refugees repatriated to China often disappear without a trace and become completely uncontactable.
“This raises serious questions about their safety and fundamental rights upon their return to their country of origin.
“Abim fears that this action by the Thai government could serve as justification for China to continue similar measures against any Uyghur refugees seeking protection abroad,” Fahmi said in a statement.
According to news reports, the Thai government confirmed that at least 40 Uyghur refugees have been deported to China.
BBC reported that the refugees were believed to have been flown to China’s Xinjiang region on Thursday, after 10 years of being detained at a detention facility in Bangkok.
Adding further, Fahmi (above) said Thailand’s action could have detrimental effects on the fundamental rights of the refugees, who have been facing oppression in China.
“In this regard, Abim firmly emphasises that given China’s alarming human rights record, the Uyghur community deserves proper protection in accordance with the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits any country from deporting refugees to places where they face risks of torture, persecution, and human rights violations.
“Abim calls on the international community, particularly regional countries, to strengthen their stance in providing protection for Uyghur refugees and to reject any actions that threaten their safety and fundamental rights.” - Malaysiakini, 28/2/2025
Myanmar’s Civil War: A Nation in Crisis
Crimes against humanity, a deepening hunger crisis and more than 2,600 rebel groups: Myanmar’s civil war is both brutal and bewildering. Here's a closer look.
Andreas Babst
February 7, 2025
Summary
The military coup in Myanmar on Feb. 1, 2021, has sparked an ongoing civil war between the military junta and over 2,600 rebel groups.
While civilian casualties have risen to over 6,000 and the country is threatened by famine, neighboring states like China are mostly pursuing their own interests in the region.
Elections announced for 2025 could lead to further escalations of violence, and an overthrow of the junta could create a dangerous power vacuum.
Perhaps the most surreal video of a coup ever recorded dates back to Feb. 1, 2021 – the day Myanmar’s military seized power. A young influencer filmed herself performing aerobic exercises at a street intersection in the capital Naypyidaw. In the background, armored military vehicles can be seen rolling toward parliament; the young woman said later that she had thought nothing of it. The video went viral, bringing global attention to Myanmar’s latest military takeover – even among those with little interest in Southeast Asian politics.
Four years ago, the military overthrew the elected government of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who had pledged to usher in a new democratic era in 2015. The coup was followed by mass protests, and just a few weeks later, the country spiraled into civil war – a conflict that has continued ever since.
«NZZ Pro» – Geopolitical briefing
The situation: Since the 2021 coup, Myanmar has been mired in a bloody civil war, with the military junta, rebels and ethnic militias locked in a battle for control.
Geopolitical dynamics: China, India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are pursuing their own strategic interests while steering clear of direct intervention – leaving Myanmar a geopolitical tinderbox.
Looking ahead: The election scheduled for 2025 could trigger further violence, while the junta’s collapse risks creating a chaotic power vacuum.
The situation in Myanmar is constantly shifting and remains largely overlooked in the West. The military junta is bombing civilian areas, while rebel forces have pushed their military opponents out of vast swathes of territory. More than 6,000 civilians have been killed, and over three million have been displaced. What is happening in Myanmar right now? And what lies ahead?
The historical backdrop
Understanding Myanmar’s civil war requires a look at its modern history. The country is one of Southeast Asia’s most ethnically diverse, home to roughly 135 distinct groups. Since gaining independence from the British in 1948, there have been repeated armed clashes between the various groups. This is partly due to promises made to various ethnic groups for a degree of autonomy when Myanmar gained independence. However, the state’s founders established a centralized system instead. Historian Thant Myint-U once described Myanmar as an «unfinished nation» where identity struggles have fueled war, poverty and isolation.
From the start, the country’s ruling elite has relied on military power to hold the fragile state together. After independence, their priority was strengthening the armed forces, leading to a stark imbalance between military dominance and weak civilian institutions, as political scientist Aurel Croissant has noted. In 1962, just two years after the initial establishment of a democratically elected government, the generals staged a coup and seized power.
For decades, Myanmar’s military rulers controlled the country – sometimes overtly, sometimes from behind the scenes. In 1988, they executed those who took to the streets to protest for greater freedom. Beyond securing their political grip, the generals also took control of key industries and cemented their influence through structural reforms. In 2008, they altered the constitution to ensure that 25% of parliamentary seats were filled by the military, effectively giving the generals a right of veto. In 2015, the National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won the elections. Cautious reforms followed, until the military seized power once again five years later, citing unproven allegations of electoral fraud.
The rebels
Tracking Myanmar’s myriad rebel groups is no easy task. According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), an initiative that collects data on various conflicts around the globe, more than 2,600 groups have emerged since the 2021 coup. Many were founded by local politicians, student activists and protesters who fled into the jungle to wage guerrilla warfare against the army. Ethnic armed organizations had been active in the country before 2021, already engaged in fighting the state and seeking autonomy within their territories. The most important of these are located in the regions of Rakhine, Kachin and in the north of Shan, but also in Kayin in the south of the country.
These ethnic armed organizations have inflicted painful losses on the military in recent months. They now not only control larger areas, but also crucial border crossings – to China in the north and to Bangladesh in the west. Today, the military controls a smaller area of Myanmar than at any time since the 1960s.
These ethnic groups have years of experience in financing their guerrilla warfare, whether through drug trafficking (methamphetamines have replaced heroin as Myanmar's top export) or the overexploitation of natural resources. Their cooperation with newly formed rebel groups has created communities of purpose, with the different groups benefiting from each other. These new groups supply the ethnic armies with an ongoing influx of fighters, and they are consistently attacking military bases together. In turn, the new rebel groups receive training from the ethnic armies and benefit from their combat experience.
This cooperation is fragile, however, and there have been repeated battles between the various insurgents. The groups’ individual war aims diverge as well. Many of the new rebel groups have united under the National Unity Government (NUG), a Myanmar shadow government that has made it its goal to overthrow the junta. The ethnic armed organizations, however, are primarily concerned with controlling their own territories. This is evident from the only tentative advances into the junta-controlled interior of Myanmar, in which the ethnic armies have little interest – partly because they would be vulnerable to the military's airstrikes.
The civilian population
The U.N. estimates the civilian death toll in Myanmar at over 6,000. According to the U.N., 2,000 people alone were executed while in military custody. At least 365 people were shot in the head; 215 were burned alive. International observers are racing to document widespread atrocities – including torture, beheadings, rapes and other crimes against humanity.
«Increasingly frequent and indiscriminate air strikes, artillery and drone attacks have killed civilians, driven survivors from their homes, and destroyed hospitals, schools and places of worship,» writes Nicholas Koumjian, head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, the U.N.'s investigative office for the region. «While most of the evidence the Mechanism has collected concerns crimes committed by the Myanmar military, we are also investigating disturbing reports of atrocities committed by other armed groups, including rape, killings and torture,» he continues.
As if all this were not enough, the country is also on the verge of a famine. The local economy, including agriculture, has collapsed. Next summer 15 million people in Myanmar could be threatened by hunger, warn analysts from IPC, a platform for mapping global hunger.
The neighbors
China plays an important yet undecided role in Myanmar. «China is supporting the junta, even though without enthusiasm, and continues to sell weapons to it. But it also supports to some extent some of the powerful ethnic groups operating along its borders,» says David Mathieson, a longtime Myanmar expert. In 2024, Beijing brokered a ceasefire, but it unraveled within five months. In January, the junta announced a new ceasefire between the military and one of the ethnic armed organizations, with China acting as mediator once again.
In November, junta leader Min Aung Hlaing traveled to China – not for a state visit, but for a regional summit, a move that could signal Beijing’s view of him as a key figure in efforts to manage the crisis. China has no interest in a civil war on its border, and certainly not one with broader geopolitical consequences.
Yet the ethnic armies along the Chinese border hold significant leverage over their neighbor. They control infrastructure and mines built by China that are located in China's sphere of influence. According to Mathieson, China keeps reminding the leaders of these ethnic armies that they should not seek support from the West. China wants to maintain control over conflict mediation along its border and for now, Western peace initiatives are ineffective, he says.
China recognizes that it has influence over Myanmar, says Mathieson, «but it doesn’t want the burden of having to solve a civil war.» It just wants to influence the trajectory of such a war so that it can prioritize its investments and strategic interests.
Meanwhile, the regional powers – the states forming the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – have struggled for years to find a unified strategy for Myanmar. The only clear consensus appears to be maintaining their economically focused, cooperative union without letting the Myanmar issue cause division. Malaysia has held ASEAN’s annually rotating chairmanship since the start of the year. At an early meeting, the Malaysian foreign minister issued a call for peace, stating somewhat helplessly: «Malaysia wants to know what Myanmar has in mind.»
India, which also shares a border with Myanmar, continues to sell weapons to the junta, despite well-documented human rights violations.
The road ahead
Myanmar’s military junta has announced an election for 2025, but critics argue it is little more than a bid to legitimize its rule. Only parties that have been vetted by the junta are allowed to take part in the election. In addition, only half the country is likely to vote – voter lists could only be drawn up in 145 out of 330 municipalities. But the election is nonetheless set to move forward. Observers warn that violence could escalate in the coming months as the vote approaches. Rebel groups might attack voters and politicians, while the military could seek quick territorial gains to generate success stories ahead of the election.
Beyond domestic control, the junta is also seeking international validation, says Mathieson, particularly from China, the ASEAN states and India. How Western governments will respond remains unclear, in his view. They could view the election as an opportunity to reestablish contact with the junta, which has so far refused any diplomatic mediation. Mathieson calls this a «folly,» pointing to the West’s lack of a clear plan for Myanmar.
The junta is unlikely to collapse anytime soon. It appears to be strong enough to hold off the rebels, at least within its strongholds in the country's interior. Internal divisions are also unlikely to bring it down – outwardly, the junta shows few signs of fracturing, and little is known about its internal dynamics. A prolonged civil war in the heart of Asia appears the more probable outcome.
And even if the junta were to fall, then what? The ethnic armed organizations would likely maintain control over their own territories, Mathieson says, «but violent anarchy would probably break out in Myanmar's interior.»
© 2025 Neue Zürcher Zeitung.- GENOCIDE WATCH
Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim) has launched a campaign to create awareness among Malaysians about what it described as the repression of Uyghur Muslims.
Abim president Muhammad Faisal Abdul Aziz (above) referred to the findings by the UK-based Uyghur Tribunal on "genocidal concerns" to systematically prevent the birth of Uyghur babies in China's Xinjiang province.
"At the same time, the tribunal confirmed the severe repression of ethnic Uyghur Muslims.
"Among the forms of oppression are Uyghurs being detained and separated from their families in the camps as well as killings.
“Islamic symbols are prohibited from being used, including headscarves, beards, prayers and supplications, and the study of religious knowledge is strictly prohibited," he said in a statement.
Faisal said Abim's "Care for Uyghurs" campaign is intended to serve as a platform to raise awareness among Malaysians about the rights denied to the Uyghurs, particularly in relation to the right to practice their religion.
Beijing has denied human rights abuses against its Uyghur population.
Faisal stressed that the campaign was not meant to stir anti-China sentiment.
"It should be emphasised that this campaign does not intend to carry an anti-China message, but aims to carry a message of universal peace based on mutual respect for human rights and freedoms regardless of differences in backgrounds.
"Abim hopes that this campaign will be welcomed by other NGO partners to defend the fate and future of the Uyghur people," he said. - Malaysiakini, 18/4/2022
Myanmar crisis: Civilians killed in airstrikes as Rohingya risk dangerous journeys
The security situation in Myanmar continues to remain highly volatile, with intensified airstrikes across multiple regions leading to dozens of civilian casualties, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Wednesday.
Between 15 and 17 January, airstrikes and clashes in the southeast reportedly resulted in nine deaths and left 31 others injured.
In Rakhine state, three airstrikes in Mrauk-U Township on 18 January reportedly killed 28 people and injured a further 25, while in the northwest, airstrikes last week reportedly claimed the lives of 19 civilians and injured approximately 41 others.
OCHA expressed grave concern for the safety of civilians, highlighting the heightened risks faced by conflict-affected communities amid the violence and limited access to essential services.
It reiterated its call for all parties to the conflict to comply with international humanitarian law and ensure the protection of civilians.
The situation in the southeast Asian nation has been in freefall since Myanmar’s military – known as the Tatmadaw – overthrew the democratically elected government and arrested key political and government leaders in February 2021.
At least 6,000 civilians have been killed since the military takeover, and countless more injured, including many who lost limbs to landmines and unexploded ordinance (UXO).
Deadly journeys for safety
The crisis has disproportionately affected vulnerable populations, including the mostly-Muslim Rohingya minority, with hundreds risking dangerous journeys at sea to flee persecution and violence.
According to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, between 3 and 5 January, some 460 Rohingya arrived in Malaysia and Indonesia after weeks at sea. Ten people reportedly lost their lives during the journeys. Just three weeks earlier, another 115 refugees had arrived in Sri Lanka, having lost six people at sea.
“Saving lives must be the first priority,” said Hai Kyung Jun, Director of UNHCR Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, applauding countries receiving and supporting the vulnerable refugees.
Worrying trend
UNHCR also warned that as the situation in Myanmar continues to deteriorate, more people are expected to flee in the coming months.
In 2024, over 7,800 Rohingya attempted to escape Myanmar by boat – an 80 per cent increase from the previous year. Among those making the journey, children accounted for 44 per cent of passengers, up from 37 per cent in 2023.
UNHCR urged States to focus on protection at sea, meeting humanitarian needs and addressing false narratives and hate speech against refugees and asylum-seekers arriving on their shores.
“We call on all States to continue search and rescue efforts and make sure that survivors receive the assistance and protection they need,” Ms. Jun added.
Severe underfunding
Myanmar’s spiralling crisis is being further exacerbated by severe underfunding of humanitarian operations, leaving millions without critical support.
Humanitarians estimate that nearly 20 million people – more than a third of the total population – will require assistance this year. Among them, 6.3 million children and 7.1 million women.
Despite the urgent need, the humanitarian response remains drastically underfunded.
In 2024, only 34 per cent of the $1 billion required was received, leaving an estimated 1.4 million people without prioritized support. For 2025, humanitarians have appealed for $1.1 billion to provide life-saving aid to 5.5 million of the most vulnerable people.
“The people of Myanmar cannot afford a repeat of this underfunding in 2025 – they need decisive action from the international community, including more resources, and they need it now,” said Marcoluigi Corsi, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim for Myanmar. - UN News, 22/1/2025
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