Malaysia halts UNHCR refugee registration, sparking rights concerns

But rights advocates warn the freeze risks leaving newly arrived asylum seekers with no way to prove they need protection, opening a dangerous gap in a country that does not accord them formal legal status.

The cabinet ordered the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to temporarily halt registrations while the government restructures refugee management through the Dokumen Pendaftaran Pelarian (DPP), or refugee registration document, programme launched in January.

Deputy Foreign Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni told the Upper House in parliament on Thursday that the DPP would allow the government to coordinate data, verify identities and monitor refugees “without relying on the records of any foreign entities”.

Registration would involve enforcement agencies and a strict screening process intended to ensure that only eligible refugees received the document, he said, arguing that Malaysia should not continue to carry the burden alone when it was not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention.

The order accelerates Malaysia’s effort to assert greater control over refugee registration, a role UNHCR has performed for decades in the country in the absence of a national asylum law.