<p>In a year when fewer people have travelled or migrated voluntarily than in any time in recent history, hundreds of thousands of people in Myanmar have been forced to flee for their own safety and survival.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The UN Human Rights Office for South-East Asia calls on States in the region to protect all those fleeing violence and persecution in Myanmar and ensure that refugees and undocumented migrants are not forcibly returned given the rapidly deteriorating human rights situation inside the country.</p>

<p><a href="https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fu7061146.ct.sendgrid.net%2Fls%2Fclick%3Fupn%3D4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUZ0Azcvksdm7RxiDj2FVh-2FFBk-2F92kMN5rb2qpw56nz8zv9--_62i4ZQidJAut2vx9TYnJ83eSNeOvZZUp6-2BTeWSRd8xJKcxdxYGOMp3gsUGuf-2FK6kYlMVQaxOS53YDh0ZcnPz-2FaL51QwkhmVC7eboQcYcp94RfoIKxqJE2BZFukAya75Lh5IGKGs6-2Flu4D2B4OdYEsHlWW8nSTgjT4ESXiIhTTWa3dkv5r3GBF-2F79TkIWQxgxD9YgVxja4kSNsQVQG1LPOW5XhQlFMnHg9Iz3k8puqt6ohi3alUEfrPMbKRqeqCxG1x-2BtqY1zU6B3Pnpaz5f4QKUjgHbpdRf9Wa95ZDTb-2BVHTkDux2HEVREtR0NVh9FOf3-2FvCEsDbNVtZ2EovrpstvA-3D-3D&amp;data=02%7C01%7Crobertp%40hrw.org%7C479432c750014527be0808d80e6399d2%7C2eb79de4d8044273a6e64b3188855f66%7C1%7C0%7C637275168226129298&amp;sdata=J5BIcc5Vzc6gDkKC4ndeb0CCqsET8hqg1rUT%2BJnDU7Y%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Malaysia</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fu7061146.ct.sendgrid.net%252Fls%252Fclick%253Fupn%253D4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUbA1oLOz52YcIopaZrT4FkZRQ1RbZYoRU1HMostZB-2FqpabfL_62i4ZQidJAut2vx9TYnJ83eSNeOvZZUp6-2BTeWSRd8xJKcxdxYGOMp3gsUGuf-2FK6kYlMVQaxOS53YDh0ZcnPz-2FaL51QwkhmVC7eboQcYcp94RfoIKxqJE2BZFukAya75Lh5IGKGs6-2Flu4D2B4OdYEsHlWW8nSTgjT4ESXiIhTTWa3dkv5r3GBF-2F79TkIWQxgxsRPU2GVE7387-2FW-2FeZxmOElEoWIIrCoxauv-2B9sdVIj793qoOrebMU9-2BW05M6CCzmTHLh3WH0-2B18pADRx-2BakfwAjDUiAYuaNIlxjdaaw6t02yxiM87SEedkII29ZaYAuUzksFGP9m9iAT6iybibhpAyA-3D-3D%26data%3D02%257C01%257Crobertp%2540hrw.org%257C479432c750014527be0808d80e6399d2%257C2eb79de4d8044273a6e64b3188855f66%257C1%257C0%257C637275168226129298%26sdata%3Diz1EpNT7EJ%252Fnpp4c1iwOKmsY0v1AiUqJM%252BnHVYPXlZk%253D%26reserved%3D0&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1592029067209000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEexkiQXvfpi-2BUoSx94QKzqauNg" href="https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fu7061146.ct.sendgrid.net%2Fls%2Fclick%3Fupn%3D4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUbA1oLOz52YcIopaZrT4FkZRQ1RbZYoRU1HMostZB-2FqpabfL_62i4ZQidJAut2vx9TYnJ83eSNeOvZZUp6-2BTeWSRd8xJKcxdxYGOMp3gsUGuf-2FK6kYlMVQaxOS53YDh0ZcnPz-2FaL51QwkhmVC7eboQcYcp94RfoIKxqJE2BZFukAya75Lh5IGKGs6-2Flu4D2B4OdYEsHlWW8nSTgjT4ESXiIhTTWa3dkv5r3GBF-2F79TkIWQxgxsRPU2GVE7387-2FW-2FeZxmOElEoWIIrCoxauv-2B9sdVIj793qoOrebMU9-2BW05M6CCzmTHLh3WH0-2B18pADRx-2BakfwAjDUiAYuaNIlxjdaaw6t02yxiM87SEedkII29ZaYAuUzksFGP9m9iAT6iybibhpAyA-3D-3D&amp;data=02%7C01%7Crobertp%40hrw.org%7C479432c750014527be0808d80e6399d2%7C2eb79de4d8044273a6e64b3188855f66%7C1%7C0%7C637275168226129298&amp;sdata=iz1EpNT7EJ%2Fnpp4c1iwOKmsY0v1AiUqJM%2BnHVYPXlZk%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Thailand</a>&nbsp;should urgently rescue Rohingya refugees stranded at sea and provide them with assistance and access to asylum, Human Rights Watch said today.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.hrw.org/thailand">Thai</a>&nbsp;authorities should allow the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) unhindered access to Rohingya from Myanmar to determine whether they qualify for refugee status, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/21/thailand-let-un-refugee-agency-screen-rohingya">Human Rights Watch</a> said today (21 May). The government&rsquo;s inhumane policy of holding Rohingya arriving in Thailand in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/07/31/thailand-offers-persecuted-rohingya-little-hope">indefinite detention</a>&nbsp;should be immediately repealed.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.hrw.org/asia/bangladesh" target="_blank">Bangladesh</a>&nbsp;authorities have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/news/29-rohingyas-sheltered-bhashan-char-1899223" target="_blank">quarantined 29 Rohingya refugees</a>&nbsp;without adequate access to aid on an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-rohingya-island/floating-island-new-home-for-rohingya-refugees-emerges-in-bay-of-bengal-idUSKCN1G603T" target="_blank">unstable silt island</a>&nbsp;in the Bay of Bengal, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/05/bangladesh-rohingya-refugees-risky-covid-19-quarantine">Human Rights Watch</a> said today (5 May). The authorities&nbsp;<a href="https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/rohingya-refugees-relocated-to-controversial-bangladesh-island-after-weeks-at-sea/1822838" target="_blank">said that they are holding the refugees</a>, including 15 women and 5 children, who had been adrift at sea for over two months, on Bhasan Char to prevent a Covid-19 outbreak in the camps.</p>

<p>Amnesty International released an open letter to the governments of&nbsp;Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Timor-Leste, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam, calling for them to&nbsp;meet their responsibilities according to international standards and regional commitments and take immediate actions to protect the Rohingya people whose lives are at risk at sea.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Southeast Asian governments must immediately launch search and rescue operations for likely hundreds of Rohingya languishing at sea, amid mounting reports of vessels attempting dangerous trips in search of safety, said Amnesty International on Saturday (18 April).</p>

<p>Amnesty International, with artists Jirawut Ueasungkomsate and Sakda Kaewbuadee, opened a new exhibition on urban refugees titled &quot;I am not allowed to exist in your reality,&quot; which will run from&nbsp;18 February-1 March 2020 at the Bangkok Art &amp; Culture Centre.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It was also found that at least 8 of these refugees have disappeared for no known reason, even though they were living in other countries.</p>

<p>Pavin Chachavalpongpun has reported a physical attack against him, confirming growing public concern at his disappearance from Facebook.</p>