The Washington Center for Human Rights (WCHR) is extremely concerned by reports that dozens of Rohingya refugees were pushed off an Indian naval ship and dumped into the Andaman Sea in a deeply troubling act of refoulement and abuse. This alleged incident is under investigation by UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews, who has termed the incident as “unconscionable” and “a serious violation of international law.”
The sight of helpless Rohingya refugees blindfolded, pushed onto a naval ship, and then compelled to swim to shore in an unfriendly nation is not just an insult to human dignity but a blatant violation of India’s commitments under international law. India has to act immediately and account for this and ensure the safety—not persecution—of refugees fleeing genocide.
Around 40 Rohingya refugees were rounded up in early May from New Delhi on verified reports—having legitimate refugee identification documents—and supposedly flown to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. They were then sent by ship and supposedly pushed out into the open sea with life jackets off the coast of Myanmar’s maritime frontier. Some survivors supposedly swam to shore, but their destiny is still unknown.
In another case, Indian officials are reported to have relocated another 100 Rohingya detainees from Assam State to the Bangladesh border, sparking concerns of further illegal repatriations and disappearances.
These steps are against the principle of non-refoulement, an international binding standard that forbids the repatriation of people to countries where they would face persecution, torture, or death. Rohingya refugees have well-documented risks to life and freedom in Myanmar, including state-sponsored violence, statelessness, and institutionalized discrimination.
The Washington Center for Human Rights strongly demands that the Government of India:
- Immediately suspend all forced expulsions of Rohingya and other at-risk refugees to Myanmar;
- Provide complete transparency about the status and whereabouts of individuals expelled or transferred;
- Grant complete access to detention centers to impartial monitors and human rights researchers;
- Hold accountable those officials involved in planning and implementing these expulsions and arbitrary detentions.
- Implement international refugee and human rights responsibilities, including obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
India’s response to the Rohingya needs to demonstrate a commitment to international human rights and regional security. Actions putting lives in jeopardy or leveraging stateless groups for political benefit have no place in a democracy based on the rule of law.
WCHR stands with the UN Special Rapporteur and international human rights groups in calling for an end to the persecution of Rohingya refugees at once and calls on democratic governments to put human rights at the forefront of all refugee and migration policy. We can work towards never mainstreaming the barbaric act of thrusting persecuted individuals back into the harms they did flee. Silence equals complicity.