Malaysia Favours Voluntary Refugee Repatriation - Foreign Minister

KUALA LUMPUR, May 14 (Bernama) -- Malaysia feels that voluntary repatriation and successful reintegration of returnees are some of the practical solutions to the problem of refugees facing the Muslim world. Foreign Minister of Malaysia Anifah Aman said the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries should work together and assist each other in addressing this issue. "The strategies and methods of implementation to create a safe and conducive environment for the return of refugees are steps that OIC countries should undertake to discuss expeditiously," he said. He said this in his statement at the OIC International Conference on Refugees in the Muslim World in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. The statement was made available to the media by the ministry here. Noting that the Muslim world today faced the problem of hosting more than 50 per cent of the world's refugees, Anifah stressed that each refugee situation had its own peculiarity and that there was no 'one size fits all' solution. "At the same time, we need to recognise the social and humanitarian dimension that this problem brings and the urgent need for us to address its root causes," Anifah said. The minister observed that the number of refugees in the Muslim world would continue to increase and this situation could not continue. He said the international community had an important role to play, particularly in assisting the countries involved to facilitate the voluntary repatriation and successful reintegration of returnees. Anifah added that the role of the international community would be to provide appropriate funding and logistical support for this exercise. -- BERNAMA