UNHCR EXPECTS SURGE OF ‘IRREGULAR’ MIGRANTS FLEEING
BANGLADESH AND MYANMAR .
Thousands of
“irregular” migrants fleeing Bangladesh and Myanmar
are expected to board boats for new countries in coming weeks as the end of the
Asia’s south-west monsoon season reopening the Bay of Bengal sea route to
south-east Asia.
Rohingya migrant children who arrived
in Indonesia by boat in May 2015. Photograph
Reuters.
Each year for the past three years,
the post-monsoon spike in the number of people seeking to migrate irregularly
by sea across the region has been higher and come earlier in the year.
A similar surge is expected this
“sailing season”. This trend is likely to continue unless the root
causes of their migration are addressed.
At least 1,000 people are missing
from journeys in 2015, presumed to have died or drowned at sea
Efforts to rescue people might be
complicated by the politics of south-east Asia. Only two countries, Cambodia
and the Philippines, are parties to the Refugees Convention, which formalises
protections for refugees and allows people to claim asylum.Many countries are
expected to refuse to allow migrants to
disembark .
The UN’s $13m appeal for funds to
respond to the maritime crisis is only 45% funded, and a multinational
taskforce, agreed to by countries at a meeting in May, has not yet formed. With
an emphasis on saving lives, UNHCR is asking countries to move beyond ad hoc
disparate responses.
This is clearly an international challenge that calls for international cooperation and
planning .
A multinational task force should be
at work to address the problem comprehensively in countries of origin, transit and
destination. We have seen in past years that reactive responses in the middle
of a crisis are inadequate in the face of such extreme circumstances.
Our Immigration Minister, Peter
Dutton, needs to be proactive in calling for and supporting such an approach.
For a more detailed account see
Guardian Australia Oct 15th edition
Marlene Griffin
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