UNHCR worried over refugee boats in Bay
The UN Refugee Agency has expressed deep concerns over the reported failures of vessels in the Bay of Bengal to disembark.
It did not mention any number of boats carrying Rohingya refugees in the sea, but sources say two boats carrying some 500 Rohingyas have been adrift at sea as the regional countries -- Malaysia and Thailand -- refused to accept their entry in the last couple of weeks.
Last week, the Bangladesh coast guard rescued a boat carrying around 400 Rohingyas, whose boat was reportedly refused by the Malaysian authorities. Some 60 Rohingyas die at sea during their two-month stay on the open waters.
Indrika Ratwatte, director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific of UNHCR, in a statement yesterday urged for greater coordination and responsibility-sharing by states to address the maritime movements of refugees and asylum-seekers on the Bay of Bengal and Andaman sea.
"We are [getting] increasingly concerned by reports of failure to disembark vessels in distress and of the grave immediate risk this poses to the men, women and children on board," he said.
Search and rescue, along with prompt disembarkation, are life-saving acts. The dire -- and, in many cases, fatal -- predicament of thousands of refugees and migrants on the Bay of Bengal and Andaman sea in 2015 ultimately demonstrated the critical, humanitarian imperative for solidarity and joint action to address threats to life at sea.
The 2016 Bali Declaration embodied these principles and outlined the way forward to prevent another crisis on the Andaman sea.
"In the context of the unprecedented current Covid-19 crisis, all states must manage their borders as they see fit. But such measures should not result in the closure of avenues to asylum, or of forcing people to return to situations of danger," the UNHCR official said.
UNHCR stands ready to support governments in carrying out responsible disembarkation procedures and quarantine measures to ensure that public health issues are addressed.
UNHCR noted it is encouraged by the Association of South East Asian States' clear commitment to joint action and a whole-of-society approach in the context of Covid-19.
"Saving lives at sea must be a collective effort, in which any one state that rescues and disembarks refugees can draw on resources pooled from other states in the region," Indrika said.
He said rescue at sea and allowing the persecuted to seek asylum are fundamental tenets of customary international law, by which all states are bound.
"Beyond the current Covid-19 crisis, a predictable and humane disembarkation approach will remain critical. UNHCR is calling on all states to uphold these life-saving obligations to refugees and asylum-seekers."
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