Malaysia says Myanmar to take back 5,000 Rohingya refugees

Myanmar has agreed to repatriate 5,000 Rohingya refugees from Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur announced Wednesday, marking a rare push for return amid ongoing detentions of refugees in Malaysia. The agreement follows days after Malaysian authorities detained more than 100 Rohingya refugees outside a UN refugee agency facility in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia is currently home to over 215,000 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the UN refugee agency, with the Rohingya community forming the largest group at more than 126,000. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim stated that Myanmar's agreement to accept refugees was facilitated by "good relations" between the two countries. He noted that Myanmar had previously refused to accept them.

The announcement came shortly after the detention of refugees who, according to a Rohingya rights group, sought shelter after facing eviction threats from an informal settlement. Officials confirmed the detained individuals held valid documentation from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. A senior police official reported on Wednesday that the group had since been released and relocated within Malaysia after final verification.

Despite hosting a significant refugee population, Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and does not officially recognize refugee status. Rohingya refugees in Malaysia have reportedly been targeted by online disinformation campaigns, which rights advocates claim fuel xenophobia and intimidation. Many Rohingya fled Myanmar in 2017 during a military crackdown, an event that is the subject of a genocide case at the International Court of Justice.

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People ask why we do not simply send them back. Send them where? Myanmar had refused to accept them before. Now, because of our good relations with Myanmar, they have agreed to take back 5,000 from Malaysia.