UNHCR began its operations in Malaysia in 1975 when the Vietnamese boat people arrived on the eastern shores of the country, and this became the Office’s priority until 1996, when the Comprehensive Plan of Action on Indochinese refugees was officially brought to a close. UNHCR assisted Malaysia in hosting close to 250,000 boat people for over two decades before durable solutions were found for them. Over 240,000 Vietnamese boat people were resettled and some 9,000 more returned to Vietnam.
Malaysia also generously hosted a couple of thousand Muslim Chams from Cambodia in the nineties, several thousand Filipino Muslims from Mindanao in Sabah during the seventies and eighties and assisted in the resettlement of several hundred Bosnian refugees in the nineties.
Today, the Office of UNHCR in Malaysia is located in a colonial styled mansion on Jalan Bukit Petaling, just behind Istana Negara where it continues its cooperation with Malaysia to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. Its wheels are turned by some 100 staff, all based in Kuala Lumpur.
As Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees nor its 1967 Protocol, UNHCR is the main actor of protection and assistance for asylum-seekers and refugees in Malaysia. UNHCR conducts all activities related to the reception, registration, documentation and status determination of asylum-seekers and refugees.
Other core functions of UNHCR are:
