Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to help the boats of Rohingya refugees that have been turned away from Bangladesh and Malaysia.

We are extremely concerned about the reports of hundreds of Rohingya still at sea and reports of failure to disembark vessels in distress. I have 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. We continue to urge the Governments of Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and other governments in the region to assist boats carrying Rohingya refugees to land.

We are working with UN partners, including the International Organisation for Migration and UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), to find out more and provide live-saving action where possible. The UN are already providing shelter and assistance to survivors from the boat which reached Bangladesh on 16 April and stand ready to help any further refugees who make it ashore. We agree with UNHCR that there is a need for greater coordination and responsibility-sharing by states to address the maritime movements of refugees and asylum-seekers in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. The UK is committed to protecting the Rohingya community, some of the world’s most vulnerable peoples.