We should collaborate with UNHCR, not shut it down

THE Coalition of Malaysian NGOs in the UPR Process (Comango) is disturbed by the proposal of National Security Council director-general Datuk Rodzi Md Saad to shut down the United Nations High Commis-sion for Refugees’ (UNHCR) office in Malaysia. He labelled UNHCR’s operation as “foreign interference” (campur tangan asing) in the country’s management of the refugee situation, saying, “When the UNHCR doesn’t refer to our authorities first, it’s as though they have no respect for our country (translation).”

We remind the DG that in the absence of any national legal framework in Malaysia, UNHCR is mandated to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees and asylum-seekers worldwide.