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
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.
Grave events in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea in
recent days involving migrants and refugees – Rohingya and others – from
Bangladesh and Myanmar confirm that vulnerable people around the world are
moving in search of safety and dignity, fleeing persecution, abject poverty,
deprivation, discrimination, and abuse. Such perilous journeys, whether by
land, sea, or air, have become a global phenomenon.
In Southeast Asia, more than 88,000 people have made the
dangerous voyage by sea since 2014, including 25,000 who arrived in the first
quarter of this year alone. Nearly 1,000 are believed to have perished at sea
due to the precarious conditions of the voyage, and an equal number because of
mistreatment and privation at the hands of traffickers and abusive smugglers.
In the Bay of Bengal, migrants and refugees are fed only white rice and are
subjected to violence, including sexual violence. Women are raped. Children are
separated from their families and abused. Men are beaten and thrown overboard.
We are deeply concerned at reports that boats full of
vulnerable women, men and children are unable to land and are stranded at sea
without access to urgently needed food, water, and medical assistance. We urge
States in the region to protect the lives of all aboard by allowing the
passengers on these overcrowded boats to disembark safely.
We urgently call on leaders, with the support of ASEAN,
to:
1. Make
saving lives the top priority by inter alia significantly strengthening Search
and Rescue (SAR) Operations.
2. Stop boat
push-backs and measures to ‘help on’ boats to leave territorial waters, while
ensuring that all measures taken are in strict accordance with the principle of
non-refoulement and other fundamental human rights standards.
3. Provide
for effective, predictable disembarkation to a place of safety with adequate
and humane reception conditions.
4. Avoid the
use of immigration detention and other punitive measures, and ensure that the
human rights of all migrants and refugees are protected, and that all actions
in regard to children are guided by the best interests of the child.
5. Set in
place screening procedures staffed jointly by government and relevant
international organization personnel to identify the individual circumstances
of all those arriving, including a) individuals in need of protection as
refugees, asylum-seekers, or stateless persons, b) victims of trafficking or
persons at risk of torture or other cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment if
returned to their country of origin, c) migrants with health conditions in need
of emergency medical care and first aid assistance, and d) migrants or others
interested in voluntary return home.
6. Expand
avenues for safe and legal migration, including for labour migration at all
skills levels.
7. Expand
efforts to prosecute traffickers and smugglers for their crimes in full
accordance with international standards for human rights, while fully
respecting the rights of victims.
8. Redouble
efforts, nationally and through strengthened international cooperation, to
address ‘push factors’ and the root causes of refugee and migrants flows,
including discrimination, deprivation, persecution, and violations of human
rights.
9. Put in
place dedicated measures to combat xenophobia and discrimination against any
group on the basis of race, sex, language, religion, ethnicity, nationality and
national origin, or other status.
*António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees;
Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; William L. Swing,
Director-General of the International Organization for Migration; and Peter
Sutherland, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for
International Migration and Development
For further information and media requests, please
contact Rupert Colville (+41 22 917 9767 / rcolville@ohchr.org), Ravina
Shamdasani (+41 22 917 9169 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org ) or Cécile Pouilly (+41 22
917 9310 / cpouilly@ohchr.org)
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