JOINT MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereto,

–  having regard to its previous resolutions on PlaceNamePlaceNameBurma,

–  having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas it has been reported that around 1000 Rohingya boat people were intercepted by the navy in Thai territorial waters between 18 and 30 December 2008 and were subsequently towed into international waters without navigational equipment or sufficient food and water; whereas many of them are missing and feared drowned while some of them were rescued by Indonesian and Indian coastguards,

B.  whereas the indigenous Rohingya, the ethnic mainly Muslim community in western Burma, are subjected to systematic, persistent and widespread human rights violations by the ruling military regime, including denial of citizenship rights, severe restrictions of freedom of movement and arbitrary arrests,

C.  whereas in recent years thousands of Burmese have fled from their home country because of the repression and wide-spread hunger and risked their lives to arrive in Thailand and other south east Asian countries; whereas Thailand is increasingly a transit destination for Burmese refugees,

D.  whereas the Thai authorities have denied those accusations and Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has promised a full investigation,

E.  whereas the United Nations Refugee Agency has voiced its concern about the reports of mistreatment of the Burmese refugees and requested access to 126 Rohingya still kept in custody by the Thai authorities,

F.   whereas the Thai authorities claim that migrants caught in Thai waters were illegal economic migrants,

1.  Deplores reports of inhumane treatment inflicted on the Rohingya refugees and urges the Government of Thailand, as a respected member of the international community well-known for its hospitality towards refugees, to take all necessary measures to ensure that the lives of Rohingya are not at risk and that they are treated in accordance with humanitarian standards;

2.   Strongly condemns the continuous persecution of the Rohingya by the Burmese Government, which holds prime responsibility for the plight of the refugees; demands the restoration of the Burmese citizenship of the Rohingya, the immediate lifting of all restrictions to their right to education, right to get married and freedom of movement, a stop to religious persecution and destruction of mosques and other places of worship, and an end to all human rights violations across the country;

3.  Appeals to the Government of Thailand not to push back the Rohingya refugees and asylum seekers, including the boat people, to PlaceNamePlaceNameBurma, where their lives will be in danger or where they may be subject to torture;

4.  Welcomes the statement by Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva that the allegations of mistreatment of Rohingya asylum seekers by the military will be investigated, and requests that a thorough and impartial inquiry be carried out, with full transparency in order to establish the facts and take appropriate action against those responsible for mistreatment of Burmese refugees;

5.  Calls on the Thai Government to give the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees immediate and full access to the detained Rohingya boat people in order to define their protection needs; calls at the same time on the Government of Thailand to sign the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereto;

6.  Stresses that the boat people issue which affects Thailand and other countries is essentially a regional one; views positively the efforts of the Thai Government to increase cooperation among regional neighbours to address the Rohingya issue; welcomes in this respect the meeting held on 23 January by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kasit Piromya, with the Ambassadors of India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Burma; and appeals to the members of ASEAN, and in particular the Thai chair, to work on a permanent solution to this long-standing problem;

7.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the PlaceNameMemberPlaceName States, the Government of the PlaceNamePlaceNameKingdomPlaceName of Thailand, the Government of Burma, the Secretary-General of ASEAN, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.