A Regional Solution to the Refugee Crisis Must Address Root Causes

On 29 May 2015, Thailand hosted the long-awaited Special Meeting on Irregular Migration to address the unfolding refugee crisis in the Andaman Sea. The talks brought together representatives from 19 nations mainly in the ASEAN region, along with delegates from the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). At the time of the meeting, the Arakan Project has reported that at least 6,000 refugees, mainly Rohingya, are unaccounted for and likely stranded at sea. Victims of discrimination and denied even basic human rights back in Burma, these individuals are risking malnourishment, dehydration, and abuse in order to escape repressed lives under the Burma Government.

As more and more refugees are rescued from the squalid conditions at sea, survivor accounts have begun to emerge. Human Rights Watch recently published accounts that detail the dangerous journey from Burma, including stories involving traffickers intentionally abusing the refugees in order to hasten ransom demands, being forced at gunpoint into departing refugee boats, and the cramped and overcrowded conditions of the boats used to transport the refugees. A 16-year-old Rohingya girl described her experience on board the refugee boat, “When I got to the big boat … I cannot explain my feeling I was so scared. We were about 16 people in one small room. The doors were always locked. The smugglers put the food and water through a small hole, we never saw them.” […]

Fate of the Rohingya Remains Uncertain

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has stated there are still thousands of Rohingya and Bangladeshi refugees stranded at sea, half of whom have been confined to their boats for more than a month. Many of the refugees are facing severe food and water shortages, and rescuers from Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia – including Sumatran fishermen who have taken it upon themselves to rescue refugees – have reported that a number of boat people are in grave condition. Meanwhile, on 24 May 2015, another mass grave containing hundreds of refugees was unearthed near one of the recently uncovered human trafficking camps in Malaysia. A number of the victims were found to be from Burma, demonstrating the desperation faced by thousands of refugees wishing to emigrate from the oppression faced back home.

Burma’s discriminatory treatment of the Rohingya continues to fuel the refugee crisis in the Andaman Sea. Over the past weekend, President Thein Sein approved the Population Control Health Care Bill, which enshrines into law the authority for state governments to determine birth-spacing guidelines in regions that are deemed to be facing high population growth, thus potentially acting as a tool for religious and ethnic discrimination. This repressive and discriminatory bill, a component of the controversial Race & Religion Protec tion Laws, has been supported by an influential group of ultra-nationalist Buddhist monks, such as the notorious Wirathu. The group has long spearheaded the hate campaign against Burmese Muslims of which many analysts claim is politically motivated by elements within the state apparatus.

Urgent APRRN Statement On Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand Allowing Migrants Rescued at Sea Temporary Protection

APRRN welcomes the decision of the governments of Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand to provide temporary protection to refugees and migrants rescued at sea as a step in the right direction […]

ASEAN Parliamentarians Welcome Temporary Shelter for Boat People, but Stress Need to Address Root Causes of Refugee Crisis

JAKARTA, 21 May 2015 – ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights today welcomed the decision by Indonesia and Malaysia to provide temporary shelter to 7,000 migrants stranded at sea, but continued to demand that regional leaders address the state-sponsored persecution of Rohingya in Myanmar that lies at the root of the mass exodus […]

Letter from Members of the U.S. House of Representatives to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on the Rohingya Refugees

Like many around the world, we are horrified by the humanitarian crisis affecting the Rohingya Muslims in Southeast Asia, where thousands of men, women, and children have been put at grave risk as they flee systematic repression in Burma […]

South East Asia: Necessary U-Turn on Refugee Boats Still Leaves Thousands at Risk

The decision by Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand to reverse an appalling policy of turning back boats carrying refugees and vulnerable migrants is a step in the right direction – but falls far short of the measures urgently needed to save thousands of lives still at risk at sea, or to address the root causes of the crisis, Amnesty International said […]

Tell President Obama to Urgently Search for and Rescue Stranded Rohingya

The Chair of the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission, Fiona Bruce MP, today urged the British Government to use its influence with governments in South-East Asia to address the crisis facing thousands of Rohingyas stranded on boats in the Andaman Sea, with no food or drinking water […]

Joint Statement By UNHCR, OHCHR, IOM And SRSG For Migration and Development: Search and Rescue At Sea, Disembarkation, and Protection of The Human Rights of Refugees and Migrants Now Imperative To Save Lives in The Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea

We, the undersigned*, strongly urge the leaders of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, to protect migrants and refugees stranded on vessels in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, to facilitate safe disembarkation, and to give priority to saving lives, protecting rights, and respecting human dignity […]

Rohingya and Bangladeshi Boat People Humanitarian Crisis: Prompt and Concrete Measures Needed

The Malaysian Bar is appalled by the ongoing saga of the fate befalling boatloads of thousands of people heading for our shores […]

Press Release: US Government Needs to Step Up to Avert Growing Humanitarian Disaster of Rohingya Refugees

(Washington DC, May 18, 2015) – Today, US Campaign for Burma calls on the U.S. government to take leadership in providing immediate humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya refugees as well as putting effective pressure on the Burmese government to end its systemic ethnic cleansing program of the Rohingya […]