The United Nations’ Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on May 17 expressedhis increasing concern about the plight of refugees and migrantsstranded in boats off Southeast Asia’s shores.
In astatement released on May 17, Ban Ki-moon’s spokesman said the SecretaryGeneral has recently had high-level telephone talks with the primeministers of Malaysia and Thailand about the plight of the strandedrefugees, while Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson has contactedsenior officials in Bangladesh and Indonesia.
During the talks,the UN’s leaders urged regional leaders to protect lives and upholdinternational law, stressing the obligation of rescue at sea and theneed for the timely disembarkation of migrants.
BanKi-moon supports Thailand’s initiative in organising a regionalconference in Bangkok on May 25 and calls on regional leaders to attendthe event. He stated that the UN is willing to support all efforts tosolve the issue.
The UN leader expressed anxiety in the contextof a migrant wave, especially ethnic Rohingyas in Myanmar andBangladesh, who in trying to escape poverty have landed in Malaysia,Indonesia and Thailand in recent times. Authorities of related countrieshave provided them food and water but refused to let them come onshore.
An estimated of 8,000 migrant are “floating” on regional shores in unsecured conditions.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) evaluatedthe issue as a transnational challenge to which no country can face onits own, emphasising that countries in the region must coordinate tosolve the emergency.-VNA
In astatement released on May 17, Ban Ki-moon’s spokesman said the SecretaryGeneral has recently had high-level telephone talks with the primeministers of Malaysia and Thailand about the plight of the strandedrefugees, while Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson has contactedsenior officials in Bangladesh and Indonesia.
During the talks,the UN’s leaders urged regional leaders to protect lives and upholdinternational law, stressing the obligation of rescue at sea and theneed for the timely disembarkation of migrants.
BanKi-moon supports Thailand’s initiative in organising a regionalconference in Bangkok on May 25 and calls on regional leaders to attendthe event. He stated that the UN is willing to support all efforts tosolve the issue.
The UN leader expressed anxiety in the contextof a migrant wave, especially ethnic Rohingyas in Myanmar andBangladesh, who in trying to escape poverty have landed in Malaysia,Indonesia and Thailand in recent times. Authorities of related countrieshave provided them food and water but refused to let them come onshore.
An estimated of 8,000 migrant are “floating” on regional shores in unsecured conditions.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) evaluatedthe issue as a transnational challenge to which no country can face onits own, emphasising that countries in the region must coordinate tosolve the emergency.-VNA
