Bangladeshi migrant workers are being cheated by going to Malaysia. After going to the country, these workers have to live an inhumane life without getting work as promised. Arrests and detentions are also being carried out. Some UN experts expressed deep concern about this. Along with that, they also urged the governments of the two countries to take urgent steps to protect Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia.
This concern was expressed in a statement published on the website of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Friday.
Those experts said in a statement, such Bangladeshi immigrants who have been in Malaysia for a few months or more are in an undignified situation. They may have to return home at any time.
Speakers include UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery Tomoya Obokata, Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons Shivan Melali, Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants Jihad Madi and five experts from the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights Robert McCorquodale (Chair-Rapporteur ), Fernanda Hoppenham (Vice-Chair), Pichamon Yeophantong, Damilola Olawiyi and Elizabeth Karska.
UN experts said that the Malaysian government needs to take urgent steps to protect Bangladeshi migrant workers from the dire humanitarian situation they are in.
According to the statement, these workers are promised jobs and work before going to Malaysia. But after entering the country, it is seen that they are not getting work as promised. Many times they are forced to stay in Malaysia even after the visa expires without getting a job. They are at risk of being arrested, imprisoned, mistreated and extradited by the country’s authorities.
Migrant workers are being duped by criminal gangs in Bangladesh and Malaysia, experts say, expressing concern over the extortion of large sums of money from workers with false promises of jobs. They are assigned to institutions that do not exist. And while paying money to these circles for this recruitment, the workers are falling into debt trap.
UN experts also say that high-ranking officials of Bangladesh and Malaysia governments are also involved in these gangs. This cannot be accepted in any way. This needs to end.
Demanding that criminals involved in fraud with workers be brought to justice, the UN expert said that no action has been taken against the institutions involved in fraud in Bangladesh and Malaysia. Victims of fraud face reprisals and harassment if they speak up. They called on the government of Malaysia and Bangladesh to investigate these incidents.
UN experts say the Malaysian government must take appropriate measures to protect the workers by employing migrant workers appropriately. It should be remembered that human rights should be given importance in recruitment. And in terms of hiring workers, Malaysia has an obligation to comply with the relevant UN laws. The country must comply with these.
UN experts have called on the Malaysian government to take stronger measures to identify Bangladeshi migrant workers who are victims of fraud. They called on the country’s government to apply the existing laws of the country and international human rights laws to protect these workers who are victims of fraud and trafficking.
These UN experts also mentioned in the statement that they have been involved in various ways with Malaysia and Bangladesh government before regarding the protection of Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia.
