Malaysia cannot shift responsibility for refugees to Bangladesh

On June 8, Malaysian authorities detained 269 Rohingya refugees—a huge number of them women and children—on a suspected smuggling boat, which also held the body of a dead Rohingya woman. Two human rights groups have told Reuters that this boat is believed to have left Bangladesh in February with between 700 and 800 aboard, but the fate of the rest of the passengers remains unclear.

However, the desperation of the rescued Rohingya, on the brink of starvation after being adrift for months, was clear from the start. Even while the boat was at sea, 53 people jumped off and tried to swim to shore. The boat is also said to have been intentionally damaged, possibly so that it could not be pushed out to sea again. Given that Malaysia, earlier in April, turned away a boat carrying some 200 Rohingya refugees, including children, these desperate actions are not unwarranted—they show just how dire the situation is for the world's most persecuted minority.

Malaysia has stated that not only will they not allow these refugees to stay within their borders, they will also ask Bangladesh to relocate them, preferably to Bhashan Char. This apathy towards human rights, and specifically the rights of refugees, is reprehensible. Malaysia must be held to account for not recognising the status of refugees and continuing to call them illegal migrants, thus dismissing the struggles of refugees and their right to not face deportation after surviving genocide. Malaysia's excuse for its poor treatment of refugees and migrants—including migrants from Bangladesh—is that they must tighten border controls to rein in coronavirus. But with only 8,338 reported infections and 118 deaths from Covid-19, it is inconsiderate, to say the least, to even suggest that Bangladesh, with its Covid-19 death toll soaring past 1,000, should be the only country to continue to take in Rohingya refugees.

Last month, the Bangladesh foreign minister called upon European Union countries to share responsibility with Bangladesh and relocate Rohingya refugees. Malaysia also plans to ask UNHCR to resettle refugees in a third country. The concerned nations and agencies must come together and work with Bangladesh, Malaysia and other host countries to come to a diplomatic solution regarding the refugees. But most crucial of all, the global community must hold Myanmar to account for its persecution of the Rohingya.