MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the plight of Rohingya refugees, including the mass graves in Thailand

19.5.2015 - (2015/2711(RSP))

with request for inclusion in the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure

Ignazio Corrao, Fabio Massimo Castaldo, Marco Zanni, Rolandas Paksas on behalf of the EFDD Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0469/2015

B8‑0469/2015

European Parliament resolution on the plight of Rohingya refugees, including the mass graves in Thailand

(2015/2711(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolution of 5 February 2009 on the situation of Burmese refugees in Thailand,

 

– having regard to its previous resolutions of 13 September 2012 and 13 June 2013 concerning the situation of Rohingya Muslims,

 

– having regard to its previous resolution of 6 February 2014 on the situation in Thailand,

 

– having regard to the Local EU Statement of 13 February 2015 on democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Thailand,

 

– having regard to the Statement by the EEAS Spokesperson of 2 April 2015 on developments in Thailand,

 

– having regard to the statement by UNHCR of 6 May 2015 concerning Rohingya mass grave in Thailand,

 

– having regard to the report of UNHCR released on 8 May 2015 on Irregular Maritime Movements in South-East Asia,

 

– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948,

 

– having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) of 1966,

 

– having regard to the 1951 UN Convention on the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereto,

 

– having regard to Rules 123 and 135 of its Rules of Procedure,

 

 

A. Whereas the Rohingya have been leaving Burma in large numbers since an outbreak of violence in 2012 left neighbourhoods razed and claimed hundreds of lives; whereas many of those who escaped fell into the hands of trafficking gangs that operate within the Bay of Bengal.

 

B. Whereas some 25,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshis boarded smugglers' boats between January and March this year – almost double the number over the same period in 2014.

 

C. Whereas UNHCR estimated that 300 people died at sea in the first quarter of 2015 as a result of starvation, dehydration or abuse by boat crews,

 

D. Whereas smuggling networks by sea from the Bay of Bengal area to Thailand and onwards to Malaysia have become increasingly lucrative for smugglers, and increasingly dangerous for their human cargoes,

 

E. Whereas at least 6000 migrants from Burma and Bangladesh are believed to be at sea, and neighbouring countries have become increasingly reluctant to take responsibility for them,

 

F. Whereas an estimated 140,000 Rohingya now reside in squalid camps for internally displaced people in Thailand,

 

G. Whereas there are widespread reports of deaths, tortures, rapes and exploitation of Rohingya, in many cases involving the complicity of Thai authorities,

 

H. Whereas conditions in the smugglers camp are horrific and people are held and abused until their relatives pay for their release,

 

I. Whereas at the beginning of May 2015 more than 30 bodies had been found in graves in smugglers' camps in the southern province of Songkhla, close to the border with Malaysia,

 

J. Whereas under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to seek asylum from persecution,

 

 

 

1. Expresses its deep concern at recent exhumations of dozens of bodies from mass gravesites near human trafficking camps in southern Thailand;

 

2. Calls on Thai authorities to hold full, independent and credible investigations into the mass graves of Rohingya Muslims, with independent UN assistance, to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice;

 

3. Calls on the Government of Thailand and its officials to end any complicity with the criminal gangs trafficking Rohingya people in Thailand;

 

4. Demands that the Government of Thailand acts to improve conditions in the Rohingya displacement camps as a matter of urgency, providing also protection and rehabilitation support to victims rescued from human smugglers’ camps in southern Thailand and defining the temporary protection regime and related rights granted to Rohingya refugees and stateless persons;

 

5. Calls on countries in the region to work more closely together to counter the smuggling and trafficking of vulnerable people;

 

6. Asks for concerted efforts to stabilize the situation through reconciliation, the realization of rights for all, socio-economic equality and addressing issues related to citizenship;

 

7. Expresses disappointment that the Rohingya issue was not discussed in the recent 26th ASEAN Summit held between 26-28 April in Malaysia;

 

8. Calls on the Vice-President / High Representative to address this issue at the highest possible political level in her contacts with Thailand and with other ASEAN member countries;

 

9. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Government and Parliament of Burma/Myanmar, the Government and Parliament of Thailand, the Secretary-General of ASEAN, the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, the UN Special Representative for Human Rights in Myanmar, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN Human Rights Council and the governments and parliaments of other States of the region.