Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia urged to end Rohingya refugee detention
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The governments of Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia should end the indefinite detention of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and provide them with full protection, said Fortify Rights and the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) in a new briefing today.
Almost ten months after human trafficking syndicates abandoned thousands of Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshis in the Andaman Sea, Rohingya refugees continue to lack protections in Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, the rights groups said.
“We hoped the international attention on the boat crisis last year would have resulted in durable solutions and greater protections for Rohingya refugees in Southeast Asia, but that’s not what we’ve found,” said Tun Khin, president of BROUK. “Asean can and should do better.”
The group produced an 18-page briefing, “Everywhere is Trouble,” based on meetings with government officials, United Nations officials, and nongovernmental organisations; visits to an immigration detention centre (IDC), government-operated shelter, and refugee camps; and interviews with Rohingya refugees and survivors of human trafficking.
It said at least 40 Rohingya refugees have been detained in Thailand for more than 10 months in squalid facilities at the Songkhla IDC, including reportedly a dozen or more boys under the age of 18.
“Thailand should immediately stop detaining refugees,” said Matthew Smith, executive director of Fortify Rights. “The treatment of refugees in these facilities is inhumane and undignified, and the detention of refugee children is particularly shameful and should end immediately.”
In Malaysia, thousands of Rohingya refugees are detained in IDCs throughout the country. Rohingya survivors from the May 2015 boat crisis reportedly remain detained in Belantik Immigration Detention Center, where access by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and service providers is extremely limited.
In May 2015, Indonesia was widely praised for opening its borders to Rohingya refugees after Acehnese fishers courageously rescued at sea more than 1,000 survivors of human trafficking. Today, Rohingya survivors from the May boat crisis are confined to camps in Aceh, Indonesia. Rohingya refugees living in the camps are not free to leave the camps and must depend on service providers for basic necessities. Rohingya refugees living in other parts of Indonesia with UNHCR status lack freedom of movement in the country.
