Nearly 1,500 Myanmar nationals repatriated from Malaysia arrived in the country's largest city on Sunday, despite warnings from the United Nations refugee agency and rights groups that conditions in Myanmar remain unsafe for returnees.
Myanmar has remained in turmoil since the military ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, 2021, sparking widespread resistance and pushing large parts of the country into armed conflict.
The returnees, including 86 women, had been convicted in Malaysia of illegal stay and other immigration violations, according to Myanmar state media reports. They were brought back aboard two navy warships and a hospital ship that left Malaysia last Tuesday.
The group arrived in southern Yangon early Sunday, Nay Lin Tun, a regional government minister, said.
They are part of some 5,000 Myanmar nationals scheduled to be repatriated from Malaysia in phases. According to Malaysia's Home Ministry, another 10,388 Myanmar nationals were being held at immigration detention centers in the country.
The U.N. high commissioner for refugees and rights groups have raised concerns over the repatriation, saying the security and humanitarian situation in parts of Myanmar remains volatile and that returnees could face persecution or forced military conscription amid the ongoing conflict.
"Under international law, the Government of Malaysia is obligated to uphold the principle of non-refoulement and prevent the return of individuals to situations where they face a real risk of persecution, torture, or other serious human rights violations," Kelley E. Currie, the U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, said in a statement Thursday.
"In my assessment, the risk of refoulement in the present circumstances is substantial," she said.
It was not immediately clear whether any Rohingya Muslims were among the returnees. The minority group faces persecution in Myanmar and has been denied citizenship.
Myanmar Foreign Ministry official Han Win Aung told The Associated Press that the repatriation involved "genuine citizens."
Malaysia hosts about 215,600 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the UNHCR, including around 126,000 Rohingya, making them one of Southeast Asia's largest refugee communities.
Despite hosting the refugees, Malaysia is not a party to the U.N. Refugee Convention and treats refugees as undocumented migrants.
Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of Myanmar's military-backed government who was sworn in as president in April, is expected to visit Malaysia this month to discuss refugee and migrant issues.