The UN human rights chief urged Malaysia on Wednesday to stop forcing refugees to return to Myanmar, expressing concern over the continued deportation of more than a hundred Myanmar nationals despite some being at risk of persecution in their home country.
"With rising levels of violence and instability, and the collapse of the Myanmar economy and social protection systems, this is simply not the time to be returning anyone to Myanmar," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement.
He expressed particular concern for those at "grave risk upon return," such as political activists and military defectors.
His remarks echo a similar call made by the UN refugee agency the previous day and follow news that more than 100 Myanmar nationals were deported on Oct 6 "without any adequate assessment of their situation as required by international law."
The Malaysian government has not confirmed the latest deportations and has been tight-lipped over the issue.
Myanmar has been mired in a political crisis since a military coup in February 2021 toppled the democratically elected national government led by civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Turk said that in line with the principle of non-refoulment -- or not returning asylum seekers to the country they have fled from -- it is prohibited under international law to send people back to a country where their human rights could be violated.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said Tuesday that since April, it has received reports of Myanmar nationals being returned to their country from Malaysia against their will. Hundreds of people have been deported between September and October, it said.
As of the end of September, there were nearly 160,000 refugees, and asylum-seekers from Myanmar registered in Malaysia, including many Rohingya Muslims, an ethnic minority, according to UNHCR figures.
Since the 2021 coup, the UN rights body also said it has documented numerous cases of reprisals against Myanmar nationals who have returned to the country from abroad. It also said opponents of the junta risk being tortured in prison or sentenced to death.
The Malaysian Advisory Group on Myanmar, a group led by a former foreign minister of Malaysia, meanwhile, has urged their government to "immediately halt all further deportations to Myanmar."
