Three UN humanitarian agencies including the UNHCR, IOM and UNODC urged the regional countries to ensure protection for the migrants at sea.
In a joint statement issued on Wednesday, they expressed deep concern over reports that ‘boats full of vulnerable women, men and children are again adrift in the same waters, unable to come ashore, and without access to urgently needed food, water, and medical assistance’.
“Five years on from the 2015 ‘boat crisis’ in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, in which thousands of refugees and migrants in distress at sea were denied life-saving care and support, we are alarmed that a similar tragedy may be unfolding once more.”
The UN bodies pointed out that deterring movements of people by endangering life is not only ineffective; it violates basic human rights, the law of the sea and the principles of customary international law by which all States are equally bound.
“We call on States in the region to uphold the commitments of the 2016 Bali Declaration as well as ASEAN pledges to protect the most vulnerable and to leave no one behind.”
“Not doing so may jeopardise thousands of lives of smuggled or trafficked persons, including the hundreds of Rohingya currently at sea”.
They also noted that in desperate situations – whether in search of safety and protection or basic survival – people will move, whatever obstacles are put in their way.
“Saving lives must be the first priority. We recognise that in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, States have erected border management measures to manage risks to public health.”
But the UN agencies argued that such measures, however, should not result in the closure of avenues to asylum, or in forcing people to either return to situations of danger or seek to land clandestinely, without health screening or quarantine.
“States can – and should – ensure that our common concerns relating to public health and security are matched with a re-affirmation of solidarity and compassion”.
The UN bodies call on States to continue and expand search and rescue efforts, and to ensure that landing procedures and reception conditions are safe and humane.
They also said search and rescue must be combined with arrangements for prompt disembarkation to a place of safety.
“Now is the time for governments in the region to recall the commitments made in the Bali Declaration.”
“We also call on States in the region that are not directly impacted to offer support to those States that do proceed with rescue and disembarkation.”
In the longer term, a sustainable and comprehensive response to the movement of refugees and migrants cannot be achieved without concerted international cooperation.
The UN agencies stressed the need for prosecution of the traffickers saying that in line with the United Nations Transnational Organized Crime Convention and its Protocols, signed by all States of the region, traffickers and smugglers should be investigated and prosecuted for their crimes in full accordance with international standards for human rights, while fully respecting the rights of victims.
They urged regional states to underscore the existing political commitment to zero tolerance towards the criminal elements facilitating movements and taking advantage of the vulnerable.
Equally, international action and solidarity are essential to tackle the drivers of refugee and irregular migrant movements, including statelessness, discrimination, deprivation, persecution, and other violations of human rights, they said.
Calling upon the states to break the cycle now, the UN agencies said, without collective efforts to address these interlocking issues, this human tragedy will continue to unfold over and over again.
