Geneva, Switzerland (BBN)– More than 2,000 people have fled Burmese northern Rakhine state and Bangladesh on boats run by smugglers putting their lives at risk, the United Nations refugee agency said warning that the situation of those displaced by the violence in Rakhine grows more desperate every day.
At a news briefing in Geneva, a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Adrian Edwards, noted on Friday that the final destination of the boats is uncertain, although they are believed to be heading to other countries in Southeast Asia.
“It is unclear how many actually make it to their final destinations, where they often risk arrest, detention and possible refoulement through deportation to Myanmar,” Mr. Edwards said, referring to the international customary law principle of ‘non-refoulement,’ which guards against the return of people to countries where, for example, they might be subjected to torture.
Several waves of clashes between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims – the first of which occurred in June last year – have left 115,000 people displaced, as well as more than 100 dead, according to UN estimates.
UNHCR fears that more people will undertake the dangerous journey from the Bay of Bengal if there is no imminent end to the violence.
The number of those displaced this month adds to an estimated 13,000 people who left from the Bay of Bengal on smugglers’ boats in 2012. At least 485 people are believed to have died or remain missing in four reported boat accidents last year.
However, Mr. Edwards highlighted that the real death toll could be much higher. “It is hard to tell due to the clandestine nature of these irregular movements,” he said.
The spokesperson said the UN refugee agency has asked for access to newly-arrived people from Burma, officially known as Myanmar, in Thailand and Malaysia, where it seeks to secure their release if they have been detained. In Bangladesh, some 30,000 refugees are being hosted in two camps, but many more are living in makeshift sites and among the local communities.
UNHCR is also calling on countries in the region to maintain open borders and ensure humane treatment of people seeking asylum from Myanmar or elsewhere, and reiterated its readiness to support States in assisting refugees.
 
BBN/SSR/AD-12Jan13-1:20 pm (BST)