UN refugee agency raises alarm over increase in loss of life at sea among Rohingya refugees

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - The UN refugee agency on Tuesday said that it is "deeply alarmed" by statistics showing a surge last year in the number of desperate Rohingya refugees reportedly dying, or going missing at sea while taking risky boat journeys across the Andaman Sea, or the Bay of Bengal.

"Some 570 Rohingya were reported to have perished or gone missing last year in the Southeast Asian waters, with nearly 4,500 embarking on deadly sea journeys. That's a significant increase on the previous years, and there was a big increase in the last quarter in particular," UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh told a press briefing in Geneva.

"The number reported missing or dead is the highest since 2014, which saw some 730," he added.

According to estimates, he said, "One Rohingya was reported to have died or gone missing for every eight people attempting the journey last year.

He added: "This makes the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal one of the deadliest stretches of water in the world."

Most attempting these journeys were women and children, he said, while some 66% of all of those embarking refugees were leaving from Bangladesh and to a lesser extent from Myanmar, where ethnic Rohingya have faced severe repression.

"UNHCR calls on regional coastal authorities to take urgent action to prevent future tragedies. Saving lives and rescuing those in distress at sea is a humanitarian imperative and a long standing duty under international maritime law," the spokesman urged.

Saltmarsh called on international community to address the root causes of these maritime movements and to take steps to make good on pledges made at the global refugee forum in Geneva last month to "advance solutions for Rohingya refugees, and improve self-reliance to provide hope for refugees and reduce the compulsion to take these dangerous boat journeys."