GENEVA: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Friday issued an alert on the dramatic increase of people trying to cross the Sea of Andaman from Myanmar and Bangladesh. The United Nation forum said that the waterway in Southeast Asia is one of the deadliest across the globe as more than 1,900 people have followed the route for their journey since January and the number of people is six times more than 2020.
UN: More than hundred people killed during risky journeys
Spokesperson of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Shabia Mantoo said that the agency had warned that such attempts are pushing people toward fatal consequences and grave risks. She said that as many as 119 people have been reportedly killed during these attempts.
According to media reports, Rohingya refugees are mostly endangering their lives as they fled Myanmar for safer places. The spokesperson of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees welcomed the decision of Indonesia, as the authorities in North Aceh allowed many refugees and provided them shelters.
It may be recalled that several refugees were safely disembarked at the coastal area of Indonesia.
United Nation, partners organizations working to resolve deadly issue
Shabia Mantoo said that United Nations Humen Commissioner Refuges, IOM, and other partners are working on the matter with the local authorities to provide all sorts of assistance to the refugees.
She added that UNHCR and its humanitarian partners need an increased cooperation at local and international levels to save the lives of refugees and share responsibility over this deadly issue.
Indonesia Sea hosts refuge, asylum-seekers
It may be recalled that Indonesia presently hosts as many as 13,000 sea refugees and asylum-seekers mostly from Somalia, Afghanistan and Myanmar. The country should not be alone in disembarking and rescuing people adrift at sea, the spokesperson added.
“It is imperative that countries in the region should uphold their commitments that were made in 2005 as per Bali Process to jointly find solutions for these deadly journeys. In 2016, Asia-Pacific governments had pledged to do a lot to stop people dying from during such deadly journeys. – APP
