The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) on Friday asked India to “immediately halt the forced" return of Myanmar refugees from Manipur and “respect” the non-refoulement principle.

The ICJ has issued a statement to this effect, two days after Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh said 5,457 illegal immigrants had been detected in the strife-hit state, the biometrics of 5,173 of them had been collected and their deportation process was underway.

Since March 8, the BJP-led Manipur government has deported 77 Myanmarese who had entered Manipur following the 2021 coup in the neighbouring country. The last lot of 38 were deported on May 2.

The statement of the Geneva-headquartered ICJ, an NGO defending human rights and the rule of law worldwide since 1952, said the Indian authorities “forced” return of 77 Myanmar refugees “violates the principle of non-refoulement”, and any further plans to “forcibly return” more Myanmar refugees must be “immediately halted”.

The statement also referred to Singh’s May 2 announcement that the state government had “completed the first phase of deportation” of 77 Myanmar refugees and that it was continuing to identify “illegal immigrants” and recording their “biometric data”.

Mandira Sharma, ICJ Senior International Legal Adviser, said: “The forcible return of Myanmar refugees from Manipur violates the principle of non-refoulement under international law as it exposes them to a real risk of serious harm, such as indiscriminate violence against civilians amidst escalating conflict in Myanmar, and the widespread and systematic human rights violations being committed by the Myanmar military.”

Sharma then added: “The Indian authorities must immediately halt all further forcible returns of Myanmar refugees from Manipur and should instead offer protection and support to those seeking safety from serious harm, in line with the non-refoulement principle and India’s other obligations under international human rights law. The incitement of discrimination, hostility or violence against Myanmar refugees in relation to the ongoing violence must also be stopped and prohibited.”

Non-refoulement is a customary international law which ensures a refugee/asylum seeker/migrant cannot be returned to a country where they would face serious threats to their freedom and life.

The ICJ said “reports” indicate over 6,000 Myanmar refugees have “sought safety” in Manipur as a result of the deteriorating security situation in Myanmar and that chief minister Singh has “blamed illegal immigrants for stoking the ongoing violence, and unrest between the Meitei community, the Kuki and other tribal hill communities, and promised to “identify and repatriate them”, despite the lack of substantive evidence of their involvement in the ongoing violence in Manipur”.

The ongoing between the two communities conflict erupted on May, leaving at least 227 dead and over 67,000 displaced. The government has not been able to find a solution to the unrest till now. The Kuki-Zos of Manipur, the Mizos of Mizoram and the Chin people of Myanmar share the same ancestry.

The Centre had in June last year directed the Manipur and Mizoram governments to finish the collection of the biometrics of illegal immigrants by September. However, the Centre revised the deadline to March this year.

Singh had posted on X on Wednesday, “In this crucial juncture, we have noticed certain home grown groups, based out of western countries, criticising the steps taken up against illegal immigration by giving a communal tone and propagating it as violations of religious freedom. This is a situation where the survival of indigenous people is at stake and we will not allow it to continue."