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UN official urges Southeast Asia gov'ts to protect migrant lives

Xinhua, May 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein on Friday urged governments in the Southeast Asia to take swift action to protect migrant lives.

His statements came as 6,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants are believed to be still stranded at sea in precarious conditions in the region, with three countries actively implementing a policy of pushing boats back to sea.

"I am appalled at reports that Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia have been pushing boats full of vulnerable migrants back out to sea, which will inevitably lead to many avoidable deaths. The focus should be on saving lives, not further endangering them," he said in a statement.

Zeid expressed alarm at reports that countries in the region are threatening to criminalize vulnerable migrants and asylum seekers who have crossed borders irregularly.

He said governments in Southeast Asia need to respond to this crisis from the premise that migrants, regardless of their legal status, how they arrive at borders, or where they come from, are people with rights that must be upheld.

The individual circumstances of all migrants and asylum seekers at international borders should be assessed, and appropriate protection provided according to international human rights and refugee law, including ensuring that the principle of nonrefoulement is upheld, Zeid added.

Last year, the number of people leaving Myanmar and Bangladesh by boat was estimated to have climbed to around 53,000. Some 920 migrants are known to have perished in the Bay of Bengal between September 2014 and March this year.

Zeid welcomed the announcement that Thailand will host a regional meeting on irregular migration in the Indian Ocean on May 29 to discuss comprehensive responses to the ongoing crisis in the Bay of Bengal.

"I urge the participating governments to ensure that their responses are based on international human rights and refugee law," Zeid said, adding "dangerous interception practices, including pushing back boats that are trying to land, must be scrupulously avoided." Endit