Rohingya issue requires ASEAN’s human rights responsibility

BANGKOK, February 15 (TNA) - Thai academics have called on all member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) to jointly seek solutions to the growing problem of Rohingya migrants in Myanmar, not just leave asylum burdens to countries of their destinations. Speaking in Bangkok on Friday at a seminar organised by Chulalongkorn University, a key panelist, Somchai Homla-or from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), acknowledged that the 10-nation bloc has never done enough to address the growing problems of Rohingya migration, but rather leaving destination countries, like Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, to have dealt with the problem. Other panelists said decades of discrimination have left the Rohingya ethnics stateless and inaccessible to employment, education, medical care and land rights, with, particularly, more and more Rohingya women and children having been seen aboard. Destination countries were, however, suggested to enforce their existing women and child laws to ensure basic humanitarian support to these boat people. According to Somchai and other key panelists, giving up ASEAN's principle of non-interference appears to the only way for ASEAN to pressure Myanmar, the country of origin, to take better responsibility for the estimated one million Rohingya in the country. At the same time, promoting education, based on human rights, is considered essential and believed to be a key to ASEAN’s cohesiveness and harmony. (TNA)