Post date: Sep 01, 2011 10:17:18 AM
Malaysian human rights activists welcome decision by the High Court of Australia to throw out asylum seekers swap deal.
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (SEPTEMBER 1, 2011) REUTERS - Human rights advocates in Malaysia said Thursday (September 1) the country needs to rectify U.N. conventions on refugee swaps before hastily agreeing to future deals.
They made the comments a day after a decision by the Australian High Court to halt a previously signed agreement between Australia and Malaysia to swap refugees."Malaysia should actually sign the convention and accommodate these refugees with proper standards so that they can have an employment, their health and family life can be taken care of, the educational needs can be met and they can find a home within Malaysia until a proper system can be established for them to send back to the home country or elsewhere in the world. So Malaysia is actually have to live up its standards, which have been advocating in international forums that it talks the human rights language, and that is not exactly what Malaysia is doing," said Kalimuthu Arumugan, the chairman of Malaysian right groups SUARAM, or Suara Rakyat Malaysia, which means Voice of the Malaysian People.
Similar critics have been saying Malaysia's refusal to abide by U.N. conventions has led to mistreatment, including caning, and denial of basic human rights for the refugees in the country.
On Wednesday, lawyers for two asylum seekers asked the Australian High Court to declare the people swap illegal, because Malaysia had no legal guarantee to protect the rights of asylum seekers.
The court agreed and ruled that Canberra could not ensure protection for asylum seekers sent to Malaysia.
Malaysian human rights activists praised the Australian court's decision, but remain worried over the fate of those refugees still under detention on Christmas Island.
"They have to come up with an accepted solution. So Australia has to act now, act now in the larger interest not making it as a political issue. We are concern about that even though we… the international community got what they want but we are concern about the inability of Australia to find an amicable solution," said Malaysian senator, Soppiah Ramakrishnan.
Malaysia and Australia signed a refugee swap deal in July of this year aimed at deterring Asian asylum-seekers from sailing to Australia.
Under the deal, Australia would send up to 800 newly arrived asylum seekers to Malaysia in Southeast Asia where their refugee claims would be assessed.
In return, Australia would accept more refugees from Malaysia.
Malaysia currently has about 93,600 refugees residing across the country, who come from Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Analysts have said Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's decision to sign the refugee swap was politically motivated to fight perceptions that her minority Labor government is soft on asylum seeking issues.