Southeast Asia: Governments Must Turn Commitments into Reality to Stem Southeast Asian Migrant and Refugee Crisis

Ahead of a regional meeting hosted by Thailand tomorrow, Amnesty International calls on the governments of Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand to prioritise protection of the human rights of migrants and refugees in any action directed at combating human trafficking and managing irregular migration. The government of Thailand is hosting the 2nd Special Meeting on Irregular Migration in the Indian Ocean on 4 December 2015 in Bangkok […]

UN News Centre: UN Refugee Agency Seeks $13 Million to Beef Up Protections for Boat Arrivals in Southeast Asia

The United Nations refugee agency today announced that it is seeking $13 million to help with the needs of new boat arrivals to countries in Southeast Asia, where thousands of refugees and migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh have been risking their lives by crossing the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea […]

Southeast Asia: Put Rights at Center of Boat People Summit

(Bangkok, May 28, 2015) – Governments gathering in Bangkok on May 29, 2015, to discuss the Southeast Asia boat people crisis should reach binding agreements to save people at sea, permit them to disembark without conditions, and ensure unimpeded access for United Nations agencies to protect the rights of asylum seekers, Human Rights Watch said today […]

Statement by Cardinal Charles Bo on the ‘Boat People’ – for Compassion and Mercy

An agony of immense poignancy unfolds on the seas of South East Asia. A new wave of boat people, ejected by excruciating poverty and conflict from both Myanmar and Bangladesh are adrift in the seas. Exploited by unscruplous human traffickers, men, women and children are huddled in unhealthy, sqaulor ships, often sent to die in the seas. South East Asian seas have a wounded history of gulping down hundreds during the Vietnam conflict. A new wound opens up. Now a new saga of tears and shatteredness filles our consciousness everyday[…]

Southeast Asia: End Rohingya Boat Pushbacks

(Bangkok, May 14, 2015) – Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia should end their pushbacks of boats with Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants and asylum seekers, and instead bring them ashore and provide desperately needed aid, Human Rights Watch said today […]

ASEAN: ICJ Condemns Indonesian and Malaysian Push-backs at Sea

Bangkok, Thailand — The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) today condemned the decisions of the governments of Indonesia and Malaysia to turn away and push back boats carrying hundreds of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas, including women and children, out to sea […]

Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia: Coordinate Sea Rescues, Protect Asylum Seekers and Trafficking Survivors

(BANGKOK)—Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia should immediately coordinate search and rescue operations for Rohingya asylum seekers and possible survivors of trafficking from Myanmar and Bangladesh who are stranded at sea, Fortify Rights said today […]

Thailand: Mass Graves of Rohingya Found in Trafficking Camp

(New York) – The discovery of more than 30 bodies in a human trafficking camp should prompt Thai authorities to authorize an independent, United Nations-assisted investigation, commit to publish its findings, and bring those responsible to justice, including any government officials involved, Human Rights Watch said today […]

South-East Asia: Irregular Maritime Movements (January-June 2014)

GENEVA, (UNHCR) – A new UNHCR report on irregular maritime movements in Southeast Asia estimates that 20,000 people risked their lives in sea crossings in the first half of this year. Many were Rohingya who fled Myanmar and arrived in the region suffering the effects of malnutrition and abuse during the journey. Several hundred people were also intercepted on boats heading to Australia.

The report was produced by UNHCR’s Bangkok-based Maritime Movements Monitoring Unit, which collates information through interviews, and from media reports, partners and governments. It focuses on departures from the Bay of Bengal and elsewhere passing through Southeast Asia, and highlights the abuses people are facing on their journeys, and developments related to Australia’s Operation Sovereign Borders policy.

It also shows that more than 7,000 asylum-seekers and refugees who have travelled by sea are at present held in detention facilities in the region, including over 5,000 in Australia or its offshore processing centres in Nauru and Papua New Guinea […]

Rohingya in Bangladesh: Maintaining the Status Quo; Squandering a Rare Opportunity

For decades, Burmese Rohingya fleeing persecution have sought refuge in Bangladesh. June’s inter-communal violence in Burma’s Rakhine State, as well as subsequent state-sponsored persecution and targeted attacks against Muslim populations […]