MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the plight of Rohingya refugees, including 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

Charles Tannock, Mark Demesmaeker, Ryszard Czarnecki, Jana Žitňanská, Branislav Škripek on behalf of the ECR Group

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

B8‑0477/2015

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

(2015/2711(RSP))

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation of Rohingya Muslims, in particular the one of 13 June 2013,

 

- having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Thailand,

 

- having regard to the UN Resolution on situation of human rights in Myanmar of 29 December 2014,

 

- having regard to the 20th EU-ASEAN Ministerial Meeting under the theme ''Towards Strategic Partnership for Peace, Stability and Prosperity" held on 23 July 2014,

 

- having regard to the 2014 Trafficking in Persons Report by the US Department of State of June 2014,

 

- having regard to the statement by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana of 17 January 2014,

 

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

 

- having regard to Articles 18 - 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of 1948,

- having regard to Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) of 1966,

- having regard to Rule 135 of its Rules of Procedure,

 

 

A.       Whereas on May 1, 2015 at least 30 bodies were discovered by military-police buried in shallow graves at an abandoned human trafficking camp in the Sadao district of Songkhla province of Thailand;

 

B.        Whereas the police reports indicate the buried people were ethnic Rohingya Muslims from BurmaMyanmar and Bangladesh, apparent victims of smuggling, who starved to death or died of disease while held by human traffickers;

 

C.       Whereas 250 refugees, who are believed to have been abandoned by smugglers, have been found wandering around the jungle by the Thai-Malaysian border over the past few weeks;

 

D.       Whereas human trafficking in the region has long been seen as being out of control and the 2014 Trafficking in Persons Report by the US Department of State downgraded Thailand to the lowest rating while reporting the Thai government does not comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;

 

E.        Whereas on May 11, 2015, 1,000 Rohingya arrived in the island of Langkawi near Malaysia and another 600 came to shore of Indonesia hoping to find asylum and better life;

 

F.        Whereas several thousand migrants are abandoned or pushed back to sea as neighbouring countries decided not to receive any more boat migrants despite a United Nations appeal for a rapid rescue operation to be carried out in order to avoid a humanitarian crisis;

G.       Whereas Rohingya, who have been classed as the United Nations' most persecuted ethnic minority, regularly fall victims to human traffickers while trying to flee Myanmar to such neighbouring countries as Thailand, Malaysia or even Australia;

 

H.       Whereas the exodus of Rohingya has serious implications for adjacent countries with Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia in particular now struggling to cope with the influx while boats full of Rohingya continue to arrive by sea;

 

I.         Whereas it is known that the fees Rohingya pay for migration to traffickers range from $500 per person up to even $3,500 and they often end up in Thailand, known to be their first stop, and where they are held in pens and jungle camps while traffickers collect additional money from their relatives;

 

J.         Whereas Thailand ordered a clean-up of suspected traffickers' camps after over 30 bodies were found in shallow graves nearby Thai-Malaysian border;

 

K.       Whereas an estimated 25,000 of Rohingya from Myanmar and impoverished Bangladeshis boarded smugglers' boats only this year and are often held at sea without water or access to nutrition or held in jungle camps while traffickers await additional ransom;

 

L.        Whereas migrants whose families cannot afford to pay additional ransom are frequently beaten, killed or left to die from disease or starvation;

 

M.       Whereas the Rohingya have for decades suffered from state-sanctioned discrimination and restrictions in Myanmar, where they are considered illegal settlers from Bangladesh even though they have lived there for generations;

 

N.       Whereas in the past three years up to 280 people died and 140,000 were forced from homes as a result of systemic religious violence in Myanmar;

 

O.       Whereas the army has carried out a series of abuses against the Rohingya ethnic group, including '969' campaign or a two-child limit policy;

 

P.        Whereas on February 11, 2015, President Thein Sein announced that all Temporary Registration Certificates, known as 'White Cards' would expire on March 31, 2015 disenfranchising by this means around a million people, mostly Rohingya from the November 2015 Myanmar's general election or a possible referendum on the country constitution equally due this year;

 

R.        Whereas the main aspect of the government proposals to resolve the persisting ethnic conflicts in the country was a call for international assistance in deporting all Rohingya from Myanmar;

 

S.        Whereas thousands of Rohingya Muslims remain displaced, many living in camps located in remote areas of the countryside, difficult to access by humanitarian teams, often cut off from lifesaving aid and in unacceptable insanitary conditions;

 

T. Whereas in the neighbouring countries to where the Rohingya who have already fled from violence and poverty live in immigration lock-ups which are extremely overcrowded and offering inhuman conditions;

 

 

 

1. Is alarmed about the situation of thousands of migrants stranded at sea, many of them hungry, sick and without access to drinking water;

 

2. Calls on the countries of the region and the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR to proceed with an international search and rescue operation for refugees abandoned at sea between Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia;

 

3. Urges the countries of the region to jointly seek for a solution to this situation in order to prevent a humanitarian crisis;

 

4. Recommends that the governments of the countries that cope with the influx of Rohingya refugees cooperate closely with UNHCR which has the technical expertise to screen for refugee status and the mandate to protect refugees and stateless people;

 

5. Urges the international community to put pressure on Myanmar to end segregation against the Rohingya and to protect this people as one of this country's ethnic minorities as well as to restore their legal status;

 

6. Calls on all countries in the region to come to the aid of refugees from Myanmar and to support the authorities of Myanmar in finding a solution;

 

7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Governments and Parliaments of Myanmar and of Thailand and Bangladesh, the EU High Representative, the Commission, the parliaments and governments of the Member States, 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 and the UN Human Rights Council.