The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has warned Tuesday of an increase in deaths of Rohingya refugees trying to flee from Burma or Bangladesh across the sea.
«In 2022, more than 3,500 desperate Rohingya refugees attempted perilous boat journeys across the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal. Nearly 10 percent died or disappeared at sea,» the refugee office has indicated.
UNHCR has recorded at least 348 people dead or missing in 2022, «making it one of the deadliest years since 2014,» a statement said, warning that most of those involved in the voyages were women and children.
This figure is a 360 percent increase over the previous year, in 2021, when around 700 people went on similar journeys.
In this sense, UNHCR has pointed out that «humanitarian responsibility throughout the region must be distributed more equitably», even though it regrets that the maritime authorities in the area to rescue people in danger «have not been heard».
On the same day, the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) has denounced new abuses against Rohingya refugees, accusing the Armed Police Battalion of Bangladesh (APBn) of extorting, arbitrarily detaining and harassing refugees. In addition, the organization has also pressed the international community to investigate alleged abuses against the minority in Cox’s Bazar refugee camp.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
