Myanmar vows safe returns before Malaysia repatriations

Myanmar pledged on Thursday to support "safe and dignified" returns for displaced citizens abroad, as Malaysia prepares to repatriate nearly 1,500 Myanmar nationals in late September despite concerns from the United Nations and rights groups.

Malaysia said in July that Myanmar had agreed to take back 5,000 members of the Rohingya minority. Both countries say the first group of nearly 1,500 people will return voluntarily, but it is unclear how many Rohingya will be included.

Myanmar's foreign ministry said it was committed to working with Bangladesh and "friendly countries" on the voluntary return of verified displaced people. In the same statement, it repeated its rejection of the term Rohingya, saying it "falsely claims an ethnic identity which has never existed in Myanmar".

A report by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres published Wednesday said conditions for Rohingya returns that are voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable "do not currently exist".

Malaysia's communications minister Fahmi Fadzil has said Malaysia will not repatriate Myanmar nationals "if they would either be persecuted or their lives would be threatened".

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled Myanmar after a military crackdown starting in 2017, which is the basis of a genocide case at the International Court of Justice. More than 1.2 million Rohingya live in Bangladesh, and about 126,000 live in Malaysia alongside displaced Myanmar citizens from other ethnic groups.