A humanitarian disaster looms as thousands of migrants remain stranded at sea, while authorities in Southeast Asian nations refuse to take them in.
The scale of the crisis is still unknown. No organization, from the UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to Rohingya rights groups, knows how many boats there are. The number of migrants stranded aboard these ships, however, is estimated to be in the thousands.
Despite a plea from U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, urging Southeast Asian leaders to uphold “international law” and “the obligation of rescue at sea,” Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia are refusing to accept the “boat people” — men, women and children who remain on ships, with rapidly dwindling provisions.
Thailand supplied them with food and water in the middle of last week, the last confirmed resupply.
CNN understands that the ships, which remain at sea, are trying to elude patrols and the refugees are effectively being held prisoner by their smugglers. Official sources, who have requested not to be named, say the smugglers may be telling people they can only accept landing rights in Malaysia as the smugglers are possibly Thai and wish to avoid what has become a very high-profile issue.
Thailand will host a regional conference on May 29, along with three-way meetings this week between the foreign ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, where the issue will be high up on the agenda.
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