36. As of 31 January 2018, there were 153,480 refugees and asylum seekers registered with UNHCR in Malaysia.24 Of these, 67,300 were identified as being Rohingya. A further 9,820 were recognised as ‘Myanmar Muslims’.25 37. Over 40,000 of the registered refugee population are children, with close to half, likely to be from the Rohingya community. The majority of Rohingya asylum seekers and refugees in Malaysia are likely to be stateless. 38. In addition to the registered refugee population, there is a significant population of asylum seekers who are yet to be registered with UNHCR. Indeed, asylum seekers are often required to wait up to three years to be registered and to receive documentation confirming registration with UNHCR.26 In 2014, UNHCR estimated that there were approximately 35,000 unregistered asylum seekers in Malaysia, of which approximately 15,000 were Rohingya. However, community-based organisations, Rohingya leaders and activists believe that this population is likely to be much larger.27 39. Registration with UNHCR and associated documentation can assist asylum seekers and refugees to access subsidised medical care and avoid arrest and detention on account of their immigration status in Malaysia. Even though Malaysia treats all refugees as “illegal immigrants”, in practice, Malaysian police and immigration officers are known recognise the protection afforded by a UNHCR registration document. Such documentation can sometimes assist an asylum seeker or refugee to avoid arrest and detention if intercepted by Malaysian police and/or immigration officers. 40. The main population of stateless asylum seekers and refugees are Rohingya. However, there are also other populations that are likely to be stateless such as Palestinian refugees and asylum seekers. The majority of Rohingya who seek asylum in Malaysia are men, although women and children are increasingly seeking asylum in the country. While in Malaysia Rohingya men, typically marry with Rohingya women, Indonesian migrant workers and sometimes Malaysian women. 41. Children born to such unions may be stateless or at risk of statelessness, if one or both of their parents are stateless, their parents are unable to confer their citizenship on their children and/or they are unable to register their births with either Malaysian authorities or relevant consulates. Despite the fact that the Federal Constitution entitles stateless children born in Malaysia to Malaysian nationality, there are no known cases where stateless Rohingya children have been conferred Malaysian citizenship through the application of this safeguard. 42. Another issue for refugee children born in Malaysia is access to birth registration. Even if they are registered with UNHCR, some Rohingya asylum seeker and refugee parents do not to report their children’s birth for fear of arrest or detention when approaching the authorities to register their children’s births. Additionally, the cost of accessing health services in Malaysia often discourages Rohingya parents from giving birth at health clinics, resulting in their children being without birth notification letters that are often required for birth registration. However, some Rohingya communitybased organisations and community leaders through ad hoc paralegal projects have overcome some of these barriers to assist groups of Rohingya children born in Malaysia to have their births registered.28 24 UNHCR, Figures at a glance in Malaysia, January 2018, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/uk/figures-at-a-glance-inmalaysia.html 25 The category “Myanmar Muslim” includes Muslims from all regions of Myanmar of various ethnic backgrounds, who identify as such. Within this group there are likely to be those who share the same ethnicity as “Rohingya” but who do not identify as “Rohingya”. 26 Caitlin Wake and Tania Cheung, ‘Livelihood Strategies of Rohingya Refugees in Malaysia’, June 2016, Overseas Development Institute <https://www.odi.org/publications/10449-livelihood-strategies-rohingya-refugees-malaysia>. 27 See Equal Rights Trust, Equal Only in Name: The Human Rights of Stateless Rohingya in Malaysia, 2014, available at: http://www.equalrightstrust.org/ertdocumentbank//Equal%20Only%20in%20Name%20-%20Malaysia%20-%20Full%20Report.pdf 28 Interviews with Rohingya leaders in Kuala Lumpur, November and December 2016. 9