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 […]

South East Asia: Immediately Step up Efforts to Rescue Thousands at Grave Risk At Sea

South East Asian governments must step up urgent search and rescue efforts to ensure that thousands of people stranded in boats are not left in dire circumstances and at risk of death, Amnesty International said, as another boat carrying hundreds of people thought to be migrants and asylum seekers in desperate conditions is currently awaiting rescue off the Thai coast […]

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 […]

Parliamentarians Welcome Malaysian FM’s Comments on Rohingya Crisis, but Urge Concrete Action

JAKARTA, 30 April 2015 — Recent statements by Malaysia’s Foreign Minister recognizing the regional significance of the plight of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar are a step in the right direction, but ASEAN leaders must take concrete action to address the growing crisis, said ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) this week […]

Burmese Human Rights Activists Detained At Airport, Banned from Entering Malaysia

ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC) / ASEAN People’s Forum (APF) 2015 Malaysian National Organising Committee and SUARAM strongly condemns the arrest, detention, deportation and violence behavior against Aung Naing Win, better known as Shine, the Myanmar based human rights activist that has been campaigning for democracy and interfaith relationships/marriages in his country. He was deported back to Myanmar on 23 January 2015, 2 days after his flight landed in Malaysia […]

Equal Only in Name: the Human Rights of Stateless Rohingya in Thailand

Two important new reports on discrimination against stateless Rohingya in Malaysia and Thailand were launched today by the Equal Rights Trust in partnership with the Institute for Human Rights and Peace Studies Mahidol University, Bangkok (IHRP) […]

Equal Only in Name: the Human Rights of Stateless Rohingya in Malaysia

Two important new reports on discrimination against stateless Rohingya in Malaysia and Thailand were launched today by the Equal Rights Trust in partnership with the Institute for Human Rights and Peace Studies Mahidol University, Bangkok (IHRP) […]

Equal Rights Trust Publishes Two Reports on Stateless Rohingya Refugees in Malaysia and Thailand

Two important new reports on discrimination against stateless Rohingya in Malaysia and Thailand were launched today by the Equal Rights Trust in partnership with the Institute for Human Rights and Peace Studies Mahidol University, Bangkok (IHRP) […]

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 […]

ASEAN Civil Society 2015 – ACSC/APF National Organizing Committee (NOC), Accelerating a People-Centered Region: Introspection of the Envisioned ASEAN Community in 2015

Kuala Lumpur – As Malaysia will be chairing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2015, the next ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN Peoples Forum (ACSC/APF)i Kuala Lumpur in March/April 2015, parallel to the ASEAN Summit. We are proud to say that it was the Malaysian government, under Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Prime Minister, which initiated the first ASEAN civil society conference in 2005. Thus, the ACSC/APF 2015 marks a full circle since the meaningful initiative by Malaysia 10 years ago […]