Amnesty International Raises Alarm Over Worsening Plight of Rohingya Refugees After Fatal Boat Sinking
Amnesty International Raises Alarm Over Worsening Plight of Rohingya Refugees After Fatal Boat Sinking
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Amnesty International has voiced deep concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation facing Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and in countries where they have sought refuge, following the sinking of a boat carrying 90 refugees and migrants near the Thailand–Malaysia border that reportedly left at least 25 people dead.
More details in the following report:
In a statement released Monday published on JURIST, Amnesty’s Myanmar researcher Joe Freeman said the tragedy “once again lays bare the deadly risks faced by Rohingya Muslims who attempt to flee conflict and persecution in Myanmar, as well as worsening conditions in Bangladesh’s refugee camps.”
Freeman urged Malaysia and Thailand to coordinate humanitarian assistance for survivors and to avoid refoulement — the forced return of refugees to Myanmar — in violation of international law. He also called on ASEAN leaders to take stronger collective action on the recurring Rohingya boat crises and the ongoing conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.
Amnesty highlighted that food shortages, forced labour, arbitrary detention, and movement restrictions continue to plague the Rohingya in Myanmar, while funding cuts to UN programs have worsened living conditions in Bangladesh’s camps, pushing many to undertake perilous sea journeys.
According to Malaysian police, search and rescue operations are ongoing for two additional boats reportedly carrying Rohingya refugees. Authorities have opened an investigation under Section 6(1)(c) of Malaysia’s Immigration Act (1959/63), which criminalizes unauthorized entry.
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) recently turned away two vessels carrying about 300 Rohingya refugees and has detained over 1,300 undocumented migrants off Kedah’s coast since 2020.
The UNHCR reports that Malaysia currently hosts 117,670 registered Rohingya refugees and asylum-seekers but has yet to ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention. UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reiterated that states have a legal duty under Article 98 of UNCLOS to rescue and protect persons in distress at sea.
