Research Report: Impact of Prolonged Immigration Detention on Rohingya Families and Communities in Malaysia
In 2017, a violent security crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine State triggered the largest exodus of Rohingya in recent history. At the time, the Malaysian government took a vocal stance against the persecution of the Rohingya, positioning themselves as supportive and sympathetic to their plight. However, as growing numbers of Rohingya have sought irregular means of travelling to Malaysia to reunite with family and community members, levels of public and political tolerance in the country have waned. The Malaysian government has increasingly adopted a securitised and frequently ad-hoc approach in responding to Rohingya and other refugee communities. This has included more boat pushbacks, more frequent immigration enforcement raids, and the immediate, arbitrary, and indefinite immigration detention of many Rohingya in Malaysia.
Previous research has documented the ways in which Malaysia’s laws and policies are applied towards Rohingya and other refugees. However, less attention has been paid to the ways in which Rohingya experience these policies, and the means by which they have responded to corresponding threats to their safety and security. This research focuses on how Rohingya families and communities have been impacted in the immediate and longer-term by Malaysia’s harsh and indefinite immigration detention policies. It also provides strategic and relevant recommendations for increasing access to protection and services for Rohingya refugees in Malaysia, not least the need for Alternatives To Detention (ATD) and a refugee-, survivor-centred approach in policies and responses at both national and regional levels, in line with international protection and human rights standards.
The research methodology comprised a multi-method qualitative research approach using desk research, secondary data collection from case intake forms, and semi-structured interviews with key informants from refugee-led organisations (RLOs), Malaysian civil society organisations (CSOs), think tanks, regional CSOs, faith-based organisations (FBOs), and international human rights organisations.
While the research focused primarily on Rohingya in Malaysia, key informants and desk research indicated that many of the findings, especially experiences related to policies and processes of immigration detention, are likely applicable to most refugee communities in Malaysia. Likewise, the recommendations to improve these immigration policies and practices will serve to benefit not only the Rohingya, but other refugee communities too.
Key Findings
• Rohingya refugees in Malaysia are not a homogenous group. Their risk of detention, direct and indirect experiences of detention, and ability to access services and support are shaped by their duration of residence in Malaysia; family origins and status in Myanmar’s Rakhine State; and intersectional factors such as gender, age, medical vulnerabilities, socioeconomic background, and documentation status.
• All refugees are at risk of arrest and detention under Malaysian immigration law, which permits arbitrary and indiscriminate arrest and detention. However, Rohingya are at higher risk of arrest and detention than other refugee communities, predominantly due to their visibility as the largest refugee community in Malaysia.
• Rohingya refugees who have travelled to Malaysia from Bangladesh are at increased risk of prolonged detention compared to Rohingya refugees who have travelled directly from Myanmar, or have been living in Malaysia long-term, pursuant to an internal immigration document.
• Malaysia’s immigration detention policies have had medium- and long-term impacts on Rohingya families and communities. Rohingya in detention are at significant risk of physical and psychological abuse that can lead to cumulative trauma and mental health challenges. For children specifically, immigration detention can have a detrimental and long-lasting impact on development and physical and mental well-being.
• Family members of detained Rohingya also experience significant psychological distress. This distress is underpinned by concern for their family members’ wellbeing, increased fear and anxiety about risk of arrest, and lack of access to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) documentation and the protection it provides.
• Detention has a profound impact on family structures by separating or preventing reunification of families, and indirectly causing the breakdown of familial relationships.
• Immigration detention disproportionately affects women as they experience detention in intersecting and gendered ways, due to patriarchal norms within Rohingya communities and the social and economic positions women occupy.
• In response to the detention of a community member, some Rohingya communities mobilise quickly to: a) seek help from UNHCR or relevant NGOs to protect the detained community member and others at high risk of detention; b) engage community networks to warn and safeguard the broader community; c) attempt to secure the release of the detainee; and d) support family members of the detainee to meet their basic needs.
• Malaysia’s immigration detention policies and practices demonstrate policy incoherence at a national level, as well as at regional and international levels, which negatively affect Malaysia’s international reputation and standing.
• Immigration detention is harmful to individuals, families, and communities, is not an effective deterrence measure, and comes at significant financial cost to Malaysian taxpayers and the Malaysian economy. Further, there is no legal basis to deport stateless persons such as the Rohingya.
• ATD are beneficial to both refugees and governments as they support outcomes such as improved health and wellbeing, fulfilment of human rights principles, and effective migration governance. ATD are also more cost-effective than immigration detention.
• A comprehensive and sustainable approach to responding to Rohingya and other refugee communities requires coordination and collaboration across Malaysian Government ministries, departments, and other government actors. Further, close collaboration with civil society, RLOs, UN agencies, and regional and international CSOs is needed to strengthen the government’s response to end harmful immigration detention policies and practices.
The full report, including findings and recommendations can be found in Malay here and English here.