Acehnese Refugees

EDM number 303 in 1992-93, proposed by Alice Mahon on 22/06/1992.

That this House notes the occupation of the office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in Kuala Lumpur by 40 Acehnese men, women and children; is aware of the massacres in Aceh, North Sumatra, over the past two years, prompting hundreds of Acehnese, in fear of their lives, to flee from Aceh to Malaysia in search of sanctuary; is aware that, notwithstanding the fact that the Malaysian Government is not a signatory of the 1961 United Nations Convention on Refugees, it is under obligation to protect people fleeing from persecution; is gravely concerned by reports that Acehnese who have been forcibly repatriated by the Malaysian Government have been killed on their return to Indonesia; and calls on the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to provide effective protection services for these and other Acehnese in Malaysia who are seeking political asylum, pending the establishment of proper procedures to examine their cases and to protect them from forcible repatriation.

This motion has been signed by a total of 52 MPs.