endangered Rohingya (who remain denied full access to basic services including formal
employment) despite Muslim-majority Malaysia being one of their preferred destinations of
refuge.90
In THAILAND, the lack of a comprehensive refugee protection and human rights framework
has largely enabled the current, ruling, military-dominated government to deny Rohingya
protection. Instead, as was demonstrated by its treatment of dozens of Rohingya boat
people in 2022, the Thai authorities have resorted to a policy of either pushing them to
Malaysia or Indonesian waters, or detaining and arresting them on illegal entry charges and
risking them with forcible deportation.91 Their uncooperative, hostile appoach has very
much been in line with that towards ethnic minority refugees in the country over the past
decades, as well as the recent influx of other Burmese refugees following the Burmese
military’s attempted coup.92 The Thai authorities have continued to deny these refugees
access to safety, protection, livelihoods, as well as asylum.93 In such a context, it is
important to note that the Thai military still maintains a close relationship with the Burmese
military even in its purportedly humanitarian efforts; this was most recently demonstrated by
the initiative of a “humanitarian corridor” along the Thai-Myanmar border, which is designed
to be contingent on engagements with the key perpetrator of the deteriorating, regional
refugee crisis: the Burmese military.94
Although not as directly affected by the boat crisis, developments in INDIA (a country that
hosts a significant number of Rohingya refugees) including popularizing anti-Rohingya
sentiment, risks harming Rohingya in other host countries that also lack coordinated
refugee protection and human rights frameworks. As introduced earlier, state-sponsored,
anti-Muslim narratives among the wider Hindu majority have contributed to an environment
where Rohingya refugees face double the vulnerabilities compared to other groups in India:
both for being refugees, and for being identified as solely Muslim. The Hindu nationalist-led
government has indeed acted in complete ignorance of the Rohingya’s wellbeing and safety
in the country – instead naming them “illegal migrants” and failing to prevent its officials
from spewing anti-Rohingya hate speech and its supporters from waging mob violence and
arson attacks against Rohingya refugee slums.95 At the same time, the Citizenship
(Amendment) Act remains in effect as one of the many cases that demonstrate the current
90
“‘We are targeted for being Rohingya in Myanmar and everywhere’: The situation of Rohingya since February 1,
2021”; “Impact of Prolonged Immigration Detention on Rohingya Families and Communities in Malaysia.”
91
“Thailand: Allow Newly Arrived Rohingya Access to Asylum: End Indefinite Detention, Stop Boat Pushbacks.”
92
A/HRC/52/66; “Thailand: Recent Refugees Pushed Back to Myanmar: Pushbacks Endanger People Fleeing
Airstrikes in Karenni State,” Human Rights Watch, November 29, 2023,
https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/11/29/thailand-recent-refugees-pushed-back-myanmar.
93
Ibid.
94
Igor Blasevic, “Thai Humanitarian Aid Initiative for Myanmar is Flawed and Won’t Work,” The Irrawaddy, February 9,
2024,
https://www.irrawaddy.com/opinion/guest-column/thai-humanitarian-aid-initiative-for-myanmar-is-flawed-and-wontwork.html; Adelina Kamal, “Thailand’s ‘humanitarian corridor’ initiative needs a reality check,” Myanmar Now,
February 13, 2024,
https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/thailands-humanitarian-corridor-initiative-needs-a-reality-check/.
95
“‘We are targeted for being Rohingya in Myanmar and everywhere’: The situation of Rohingya since February 1,
2021.”
20