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UN Refugee Agency Expresses Concerns About Malaysia’s Deportation of Asylum Seekers to Myanmar

The statement came as Kuala Lumpur confirmed plans to deport a further 3,500 people as part of its “voluntary repatriation program” with Myanmar.

Myanmar asylum seekers are escorted to Myanmar Navy vessels at Royal Malaysian Navy base, Sep. 29, 2026.

The United Nations refugee agency yesterday expressed its concerns over Malaysia’s return this week of nearly 1,500 asylum seekers to Myanmar, in spite of the ongoing conflict and dire humanitarian situation inside the country.

The 1,476 people were returned to Myanmar via ship on Tuesday, the first phase in the agreed “voluntary” repatriation of some 5,000 asylum seekers currently held in Malaysian immigration detention centers.

While Malaysia insists that the returns are strictly voluntary, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said yesterday that it was concerned about the fate of the 1,476 people, given the country’s continuing conflict and dire human rights and humanitarian situation.

Since those returned had been held in detention centers, it had “serious questions about whether decisions to return were genuinely free and informed,” UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Edem Wosornu said in a statement. The U.N. agency has been blocked from accessing Malaysian immigration detention centers since 2019.

“We are concerned by these returns at a time when people sent back to Myanmar may face serious risks, and some within the group may be in need of international protection,” Wosornu said.

While recognizing Malaysia’s “sovereign responsibility” to manage asylum and migration issues, UNHCR urged the government “to ensure that all returns are subject to robust safeguards, including individual assessments and access to protection procedures.”

UNHCR’s statement came as Malaysia’s government confirmed that 3,524 refugees had been approved for the second phase of the “voluntary repatriation program.” Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said yesterday that the individuals had been identified by the Myanmar authorities, and that their names were submitted to Malaysia in a diplomatic note dated August 13. He added that Kuala Lumpur was awaiting notification from Myanmar on the date for the repatriation.

The ethnic make-up of the two groups is unclear, but Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has justified the repatriations with reference to the........

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