Malaysia has returned 1,476 Myanmar nationals from immigration detention to Myanmar. The UN says conditions there are still unsafe for return. It is the first phase of a program to send back 5,000 people.
The group left Malaysia on September 29, 2026, aboard three Myanmar Navy ships. They arrived at the Thanlyin naval base near Yangon early on Sunday, October 4. Relatives gathered outside the base to meet them.
Malaysian authorities say the group included 1,370 men, 79 women, 20 boys and seven girls, aged 8 to 60. They came from 14 immigration detention centers. Myanmar identified them and sent their names to Malaysia in a diplomatic note dated August 13. As of August 15, Malaysia held 10,388 Myanmar nationals in detention.
Malaysia says the returns are voluntary, safe and based on consent after the people were verified. It says it must manage migration and the pressure that large numbers of foreign nationals put on the country.
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said on September 30 that it was concerned about the returns because of Myanmar's conflict and serious human rights situation. It said some returnees could need international protection. It also said its staff had no access to the detainees, so it could not tell whether their decisions were free and informed.
UN human rights chief Volker Türk urges Malaysia to stop the returns. " This is no time to return anyone forcibly" to Myanmar, he said. UN officials point to the principle of non-refoulement, which says a country should not send people back to a place where they face a real risk of serious harm. Malaysia is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention, but UN bodies and rights groups say it still has protection duties. That is their position and not a court ruling.
Myanmar has been in armed conflict since the military takeover in February 2021. By the end of June 2026, about 3.8 million people were displaced inside the country and 16.2 million needed aid, according to UN agencies.
Who exactly was sent back?
In July, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Myanmar had agreed to take back 5,000 Rohingya. Later announcements about the first group spoke only of Myanmar nationals. Neither government has said how many of the 1,476 were Rohingya, if any, or how many held UNHCR registration.
Malaysia has approved another 3,524 people for a second phase, which would make 5,000 in all. As of September 30, it was waiting for Myanmar to give a date. On October 5, Myanmar state media said 9,517 of its citizens had been returned from Malaysia this year. That includes 8,041 by air between January and August and the 1,476 by sea. Malaysia has not explained the air returns in the same way.
With a second phase approved, how the first group is treated could decide how much scrutiny the whole program faces.
