Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 24th Jan. UN refugee agency on Tuesday called for urgent action to address the dramatic rise in deaths of Rohingya refugees at sea, in a press release issued in New York.
UNHCR noted that the Rohingya are a Muslim community whose members have fled waves of persecution in Myanmar for neighboring Bangladesh. Scores have been departing from Bangladesh and, to a lesser extent, Myanmar, in recent months.
UNHCR said statistics reveal a surge in the number who reportedly are dying or going missing while taking risky boat journeys in the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal.
According to the UN agency over 569 Rohingya were reported to have died or disappeared in 2023 the highest number since 2014, when the total reached 730 and 200 more than in 2022.
UNHCR said that 4,500 took deadly sea journeys in 2023, marked a significant increase on previous years. The majority of those making these crossings, around 66 per cent, are women and children.
It showed one Rohingya was reported to have died or gone missing for every 8 attempting the journey in 2023, making the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal one of the deadliest stretches of water in the world.
UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh said that “In a single deadly incident in November 2023, it is feared that some 200 Rohingya lost their lives when their boat was reported to have sunk in the Andaman Sea.”
The agency called on regional authorities to take urgent action to prevent future tragedies, reminding them of the international obligation to save lives and rescue those in distress at sea.
