However it is You’re welcome continues to be ignored.
“This shocking ordeal and tragedy must not continue,” said Indrika Ratwatte, UNHCRis Director for Asia and the Pacific.
“These are people — men, women and children,” he added.
decode the situation
They have reportedly been at sea for a month in dire conditions, without adequate food or water, and with no effort from states in the region to help.
Many are women and children. According to reports, up to 20 people died during the journey on the unseaworthy ship.
“We have to see that the states in the region help to save lives and not let people die,” emphasized Mr. Ratwatte.
A month on the run
Since the first reports of the boat sighting in Thai waters, UNHCR has received unconfirmed information that the vessel was sighted near Indonesia and then off the coast of India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Its current location is reportedly further east again in the Andaman Sea north of Aceh.
UNHCR has repeatedly urged all countries in the region to make saving lives a priority and earlier this week asked the Indian Sea Rescue Center to allow disembarkations.
“It is devastating to learn that many people have already lost their lives, including children,” UNHCR’s Ratwatte added.
Deadly year at sea
It is very difficult for UNHCR to verify the information, but if it is true, the number of dead and missing in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea will be estimated at nearly 200 this year alone.
All states have a responsibility to rescue the people on the boat and allow them to disembark safely in the name of humanity, UNHCR said.
Meanwhile, that shocking number represents around 10 percent of the estimated 2,000 people who have made risky sea voyages to the region since January.
“Unfortunately, this makes it one of the deadliest years in the region’s seas,” the UNHCR director lamented.
tears of salt water
One of the deadliest years in the region’s seas – Senior UNHCR official
Yesterday, UN-appointed independent human rights expert Tom Andrews released a expression urging governments to “immediately and urgently coordinate search and rescue for this boat and ensure safe disembarkation of those on board before further casualties occur.”
“As many around the world prepare to enjoy the holidays and ring in a new year, camps are desperate Rohingya men, women and children embark on perilous voyages in unseaworthy vessels‘ said the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar.
In his appeal to all regional governments for “a more humane regional response” to those fleeing the junta’s brutal violence, including the Rohingya, Mr Andrews called for “an absolute moratorium on deportations or pushbacks to Myanmar” and a harmonized search and search rescues at sea.
Dangerous Rides
This is just the latest in a series of dangerous journeys, the UN expert said.
Two weeks ago, a Vietnamese oil company ship bound for Myanmar rescued a sinking boat carrying 154 Rohingya refugees.
“Since they were near Myanmar waters, they reportedly turned the group over to the Myanmar authorities,” he said.
“It has been reported that those on board have been taken into migratory detention in Myanmar and may now face criminal prosecution.”
And last weekend, the Sri Lankan Navy rescued a third trawler in distress carrying 104 Rohingya, including many children, some unaccompanied.
“The international community must step up and support regional actors to provide lasting solutions for the Rohingya,” Andrews said.
Special rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to investigate and report on a specific human rights issue or situation in a country. The positions are honorary and the experts are not paid for their work.
