Malaysia
is involved in a complex dispute with
Brunei, China, Philippines, Taiwan,
and Vietnam over claims to part or all
of the Spratly Islands; while the 2002
"Declaration on the Conduct of
Parties in the South China Sea"
has eased tensions over the Spratly
Islands, it is not the legally binding
"code of conduct" sought by
some parties; Malaysia was not party
to the March 2005 joint accord among
the national oil companies of China,
the Philippines, and Vietnam on
conducting marine seismic activities
in the Spratly Islands; disputes
continue over deliveries of fresh
water to Singapore,
Singapore's
land reclamation, bridge construction, and
maritime boundaries in the Johor and Singapore
Straits; in 2008, ICJ awards sovereignty of
Pedra Branca (Pulau Batu Puteh/Horsburgh
Island) to Singapore, and Middle Rocks to
Malaysia, but does not rule on maritime
regimes, boundaries, or disposition of South
Ledge; ICJ awarded Ligitan and Sipadan
islands, also claimed by Indonesia and
Philippines, to Malaysia but left maritime
boundary and sovereignty of Unarang rock in
the hydrocarbon-rich Celebes Sea in dispute;
separatist violence in Thailand's
predominantly Muslim southern provinces
prompts measures to close and monitor border
with Malaysia to stem terrorist activities;
Philippines retains a dormant claim to
Malaysia's Sabah State in northern Borneo;
Brunei and Malaysia agreed in September 2008
to resolve their offshore and deepwater seabed
dispute, resume hydrocarbon exploration, and
renounce any territorial claims along their
land boundary; piracy remains a problem in the
Malacca Strait
Refugees
and internally displaced persons:
refugees
(country of origin): 15,174
(Indonesia); 21,544 (Burma) (2007)
Trafficking
in persons:
current
situation: Malaysia
is a destination and, to a lesser extent, a source and
transit country for women and children trafficked for
the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation, and men,
women, and children for forced labor; Malaysia is mainly
a destination country for men, women, and children who
migrate willingly from South and Southeast Asia to work,
some of whom are subjected to conditions of involuntary
servitude by Malaysian employers in the domestic,
agricultural, construction, plantation, and industrial
sectors; to a lesser extent, some Malaysian women,
primarily of Chinese ethnicity, are trafficked abroad
for commercial sexual exploitation
tier rating:
Tier
2 Watch List - the Government of Malaysia does not fully
comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of
trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do
so, despite some progress in enforcing the 2007
comprehensive anti-trafficking law; it has yet to fully
address labor trafficking in Malaysia; there are
credible allegations of involvement of Malaysian
immigration officials in trafficking and extorting
Burmese refugees; the government did not develop
mechanisms to effectively screen victims of trafficking
in vulnerable groups and condones the confiscation of
passports of migrant workers by employers (2009)
Illicit
drugs:
Drug
trafficking is prosecuted vigorously and carries severe
penalties;
heroin still primary drug of abuse, but
synthetic drug demand remains strong; continued ecstasy
and methamphetamine producer for domestic users and, to
a lesser extent, the regional drug market.
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