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Thailand: UNHCR requests access to Rohingya boat people

Briefing Notes, 20 January 2009

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 20 January 2009, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

We have today asked the Thai government for access to two groups totalling 126 Rohingya boat people who are in custody in southern Thailand in order to assess their situation and determine whether any of them are in need of international protection. This follows our expression of strong concern to the government last week over allegations that large groups of Rohingya boat people from Myanmar were intercepted in Thai waters, towed out to sea and left to die.

According to information from our sources, a group of 80 Rohingya boat people are being held on Koh Sai Daeng island off the Thai coast in the Andaman Sea. A further 46 Rohingya who were intercepted on a boat last Friday were reportedly handed over to Thai military authorities, and we are trying to determine where they are now.

Given the new Thai government's commitment to human rights, we are eager to discuss with Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya ways that this crisis can be defused quickly in line with international humanitarian standards. We have stressed that the Thai government should take all measures to make sure the lives of the Rohingya boat people are not put at risk.

We also welcome Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban's announcement in the Thai media today that he has ordered the defence minister to investigate accusations of maltreatment of the Rohingya boat people.

The Rohingya are stateless Muslims from northern Rakhine state in Myanmar. There are 28,000 Rohingya recognized refugees in two UNHCR camps in Bangladesh and some 200,000 unregistered Rohingya living outside the camps there. For several years now in this season, many of them have been desperate enough to risk their lives at sea in small boats sailing from Bangladesh or Myanmar, often turning up in Thailand, Malaysia or as far away as Indonesia.

Because the plight of the Rohingya is a regional problem, UNHCR is urgently seeking to discuss with the Thai government ways that all concerned countries can address the root causes that impel the Rohingya to put their lives at risk on such perilous journeys. We look forward to discussing with Foreign Minister Kasit ways that the new Thai government, given both its key role in the region and its current chairmanship of ASEAN, can play a vital role in addressing this alarming regional issue.

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