embarked on 40 boats with nearly 3,922 permitted to disembark and 416 dead or missing.6 Though its data is considered a conservative estimate, the UNHCR reports, in 2023, that the vast majority of these Rohingya departed from Bangladesh’s refugee camps, while nearly a third them departed from Myanmar; women and children composed around 65 percent of the boat people, and 71 percent of those who left Bangladesh.7 This rising trend follows the previous year, during which at least 3,705 Rohingya embarked on 41 boats with 2,630 of them permitted to disembark, while 348 Rohingya went dead or missing and 727 Rohingya “unknown” according to the UNHCR.8 Data from 2021 reveals that the refugees’ preferred locations for disembarkation have been Malaysia and Indonesia. In contrast, an overwhelming majority who have embarked on boats in Myanmar have been intercepted and arrested by, and risked being forcibly returned to, the junta.9 Overview of the Rohingya boat crisis in 202310 Source: UNHCR Recent developments The fall of 2023 marked a rapid increase in Rohingya’s deadly sea crossings in South and Southeast Asia. The sailing season – from October to May – coincided with the period that follows the annual monsoon season, when the sea is calm, and during which many Rohingya refugees undertake their maritime journeys. Nearly 60 percent of Rohingya who took to the sea in 2023 reportedly did so from October onwards.11 6 “Rohingya refugees fleeing over land and sea - Quarterly update: Desperate journeys: Rohingya refugees in search of protection,” Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, February 5, 2024, https://reliefweb.int/report/myanmar/unhcr-regional-bureau-asia-and-pacific-rbap-rohingya-refugees-fleeing-over-lan d-and-sea-quarterly-update-31-december-2023#:~:text=In%20addition%20to%20sea%20movements,risks%20alo ng%20the%20land%20routes; “Rohingya Refugee Maritime Movements,” Myanmar Situation, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, last accessed March 4, 2024, https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/myanmar. 7 Ibid. 8 Ibid. 9 Ibid. 10 As the UNHCR notes, “the information is compiled from a variety of sources, the quality and reliability of which can vary” and can be retroactively amended. It is thus assumed that, combined with the unavailability of sources on this particular topic due to its precarious conditions, the figures provided may likely be a conservative estimate of the actual data of Rohingya at sea. See Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, “Rohingya Refugee Maritime Movements.” 11 Ibid. 4