Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the humanitarian needs of the Rohingya refugees reportedly trapped on fishing trawlers in the Bay of Bengal; and what representations she has made to the Governments of Bangladesh, Malaysia and Thailand on providing safe refuge for those refugees.

We continue to monitor the extremely concerning reports of hundreds of Rohingya still at sea and reports of failure to disembark vessels in distress. All men, women and children on board are potentially in serious peril. We are working with UN partners, including the International Organisation for Migration and UN High Commissioner for Refugees, to provide live-saving action where possible and in particular if they are brought to shore.

The Minister for South Asia, Lord Ahmad, has raised this with the Bangladesh Foreign Minister and with the Bangladesh High Commissioner in London. In addition, the British High Commission in Dhaka have raised this issue with the Government of Bangladesh. Officials from the British Embassy in Bangkok have discussed with the Thai government the importance of the provision of humanitarian assistance to Rohingyas aboard vessels that enter Thai waters, including in the last week. The Foreign Secretary raised our concerns about the situation of the Rohingya community with the former Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah on 11 February. Our High Commission in Kuala Lumpur has also subsequently continued raised our concerns about the Rohingya community with the Malaysian Government before the COVID-19 crisis. We continue to urge the Governments of Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and other governments in the region to assist boats carrying Rohingya refugees to land. The UK is committed to protecting the Rohingya community, some of the world’s most vulnerable people.