Repatriating 1,500 Rohingya refugees from Malaysia to Myanmar is neither safe nor viable at present

While not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, Malaysia remains bound by customary international law’s principle of non-refoulement – the requirement to not forcefully return anyone to a country where they would face persecution.

On 5 August 2026, Malaysia said that it would not proceed with returns “if they [refugees] would either be persecuted or their lives would be threatened.” However, more recent announcements from the Malaysian government indicate this may no longer be the case, which raises grave human rights concerns.

MSF calls on Malaysia to:

• Ensure the non-return of any Myanmar refugees – civilians in Myanmar continue to face extreme violence, including relentless aerial bombardment, mass killings, imprisonment, forced recruitment, and deprivation of essential supplies such as food and medicines.
• Disclose the nationality, age, and protection risks of those identified for return. Refugees and asylum-seekers who face persecution or other serious harm must not be returned
• Ensure that the protection needs of those subject to return are thoroughly assessed in accordance with international standards.

According to UNOCHA, in 2025, Myanmar ranked second globally for conflict intensity and fourth most dangerous for civilians, with over half the population exposed to violence. Myanmar continues to face a severe humanitarian crisis driven by intensifying armed conflict, natural disasters, and economic instability.

MSF has worked in Myanmar since 1992, and remains present in Rakhine, Kachin, northern Shan, and Yangon delivering healthcare services together with water, sanitation and hygiene programming. Our teams directly witness how healthcare, food supplies, education, and livelihoods for communities across many parts of Myanmar continue to be severely disrupted by conflict and insecurity.

Refugees should not be returned to places they’ve fled and where their lives are at risk.

Refugees, such as the Rohingyas and other persecuted minorities have endured, and continue to survive, decades of oppression, violence, constrained living and life in limbo while they await resettlement from Malaysia – if it ever comes. Refugees do not leave their home by choice – they are fleeing persecution and should not be treated as criminal or convenient targets for political gain.

MSF calls on Malaysia to halt all returns of refugees to the dangerous and violent conditions they fled and to ensure that any such process is wholly transparent and in accordance with international standards. 

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"Stop treating repatriation of Rohingya as a solution when conditions are clearly unsafe,"- MSF's International President, Dr Javid Abdelmoneim.  

On 30 September 2025, the United Nations hosted a High-Level Conference in New York on the situation of Rohingya Muslims & Other Minorities in Myanmar.  The goal of those in attendance was to propose “a comprehensive, innovative and concrete plan for a sustainable resolution of the crisis, including efforts to create a conducive environment for the voluntary, safe, sustainable and dignified return of Rohingya’ to Rakhine state in Myanmar." 

One year on, the situation for over one million Rohingya refugees living in limbo across the camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, and those remaining in conflict ravaged Rakhine state, remains dire and continues to deteriorate under global neglect. 

Civilians in Rakhine State, and across several other areas of Myanmar, face extreme violence. Myanmar’s health system continues to be torn apart by the ongoing violence: medicines and medical supplies are often depleted, unable to reach facilities because of the conflict, or blocked altogether resulting in severely disrupted access to healthcare. 

Despite these perilous conditions, regional pressure and dangerous moves toward returning refugees to Myanmar persist, while conditions are not yet safe enough to do so. Notably, Malaysia plans to return nearly 1,500 refugees back to Myanmar, including Rohingya people, around 29th September 2026.

Here is what MSF's International President, Dr Javid Abdelmoneim, has to say:  

"One year on since the conference, Rohingya communities have seen too little action, and too little accountability. There were strong words at that conference, but for people affected, words have not resulted in change.  

My message to world leaders is this: stop treating repatriation as a solution when conditions are clearly unsafe.  Myanmar remains a place of extreme violence. Civilians are facing aerial bombardment, mass killings, forced recruitment, and sever deprivation. Healthcare, food supplies, education, and livelihoods are all being disrupted by conflict and insecurity. 

MSF activities, like those of others, have contracted drastically because of insecurity. This is not only about the ability to keep our patients and staff safe from bombs and shelling but also the relentless buracracy we're faced with to secure the authorisations to respond, even as needs continue to escalate. And yet, we're still seeing dangerous moves towards return. 

In Malaysia, nearly 1,500 Myanmar refugees are at risk of being returned under a repatriation programme announced for the end of September. That's deeply alarming. Let's be clear. Return is not safe and it is not viable now. Rohingya people themselves are saying this. In our survey last year, 84% of Rohingya patients in Bangladesh said they would not feel safe returning to Myanmar. What is needed now is concrete action.  

Forced or premature returns must stop. Any returns must be truly voluntary, safe, and dignified. Host countries must protect refugees and assess protection needs properly. This means identifying if people are at risk of persecution if they are returned to their home countries and upholding the principle of non-refoulement. 

Humanitarian access [in Myanmar] must be expanded, assistance must be sustained, and there must be real accountability for the violence Rohingya people, and all other conflict affected communities in Myanmar continue to face."