NGO CAMPAIGN TO GET MALAYSIA TO SIGN U.N. REFUGEE

UNCLAS KUALA LUMPUR 000846 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KTIP KCRM KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG MY SUBJECT: NGO CAMPAIGN TO GET MALAYSIA TO SIGN U.N. REFUGEE CONVENTION KICKS OFF ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On October 15, PolOff attended the opening of a photography exhibition covering Burmese refugees in Malaysia organized by SUARAM, one of Malaysia,s leading human rights organizations. The keynote speaker, opposition Member of Parliament Charles Santiago, helped launch the NGO,s campaign to have the GOM recognize refugees and sign the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. Although such a move is unlikely, opposition parties have used the refugee issue to attack the ruling party's human rights record. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) On October 15, PolOff attended the local NGO Malaysian People's Voice (SUARAM) opening of a ten-day photography exhibition entitled, "No Refuge ) Burmese Refugees in Malaysia" at the Annex Gallery at Kuala Lumpur's Central Market. The exhibition included photographs of Chin and Rohingya refugees living in Malaysia. SUARAM, the leading Malaysian human rights NGO, used the opening of this exhibit to launch a petition to have the GOM recognize refugees and to sign the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. SUARAM is collecting written as well as online signatures at www.petitiononline.com/1951Conv. SUARAM hopes to collect at least 10,000 signatures from Malaysians by May 31, 2010 in order to submit them to Prime Minister Najib on World Refugee Day on June 20, 2010. ¶3. (SBU) Member of Parliament Charles Santiago of the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) served as the keynote speaker for the exhibition opening. Santiago became a member of parliament in March 2008 when he wrestled away one of the National Front's key parliament constituencies, Kelang Selangor. Prior to politics, Santiago received his master and bachelor degrees from the New School of Social Research in New York and worked as NGO activist concentrating on refugee and trafficking in persons issues. He opened his remarks by stating, "Burmese refugees come to Malaysia expecting to find a tolerant country, but you need only look at these pictures around you to see that we are a selfish country." He went on to praise the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee's April Report on "Trafficking and Extortion of Burmese Migrants in Malaysia and Southern Thailand", the Department's 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report, and Tenaganita's publication of "Revolving Door" for shedding light on an issue that the GOM has long tried to ignore and pretend was not there. Santiago added that the situation in Burma was at the heart of this refugee problem and that both the GOM and ASEAN have a shared responsibility to help resolve this issue. He closed by stating that "a country is measured by how it protects those who are most marginalized, oppressed, and discriminated against" and called for a signing of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. ¶4. (SBU) Background: Malaysia is not a signatory to the Convention. The GOM has historically justified its failure to do so by claiming such action would open the floodgates and result in a significant increase of refugees travelling to Malaysia. In both 2008 and 2009, the World Refugee Survey placed Malaysia in the list of "Worst Places for Refugees." This is a politically sensitive issue for the GOM and it is doubtful that there will be any immediate steps taken on this initiative. Opposition parties, leading NGOs, and SUHAKAM have latched on to this issue and have argued that if the GOM wants to be considered a responsible member of the international community it needs to sign and ratify the Convention. KEITH