File photo: A boat carrying suspected ethnic Rohingya migrants is seen detained in Malaysian territorial waters on April 5, 2020 ReutersBangladesh has recently allowed 400 people to disembark on its shoresEighteen humanitarian agencies called on governments in the region to save lives of stranded asylum seekers in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. The agencies urged the governments to conduct search and rescue operations to save the lives of the stranded people seeking asylum and allow them to disembark on their shores and provide adequate assistance, reports UNB. The statement said, Covid-19 is no excuse to prevent people from disembarking, nor does it exempt states from upholding their obligations under international human rights, humanitarian, refugee, and maritime laws. Preventing these boats from coming ashore will probably lead to more deaths at sea, the humanitarian agencies said. The other humanitarian agencies are Action Contre la Faim, Save the Children, Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network, Asian Dignity Initiative, ChildFund International, Danish Refugee Council, Humanity and Inclusion, ISDE Bangladesh, Médecins du Monde France, Médecins du Monde Switzerland, MUKTI Cox’s Bazar, Norwegian Refugee Council, PHALS, Plan International, Save the Children, and Solidarités International.

Source: Dhaka Tribune May 08, 2020 15:33 UTC