Asean must step up ― or fade away into insignificance ― Syed Hamid Albar
OCTOBER 28 ― The 38th and 39th Asean Summits this week are a watershed moment for Asean to reaffirm its commitment to human rights.
In fact, to prove it is still an entity that is credible, Asean must go even further ― it must acknowledge that most Rohingya will be unable to return to Myanmar for the foreseeable future, and discuss coordinated approaches for ensuring their protection until such a time that repatriation is possible.
With only two of ten Member States party to the 1951 Refugee Convention, Asean has long focused on voluntary repatriation as the only ‘durable solution’ for the vast majority of Rohingya refugees in the region. Thus, the “aspirations” for the speedy return of Rohingya refugees have never been realistic.
Despite worsening security and humanitarian conditions in Rakhine State, Asean and member states continue to promote voluntary return without conceding that it will be almost impossible in the short- and medium-terms. It has been a long time coming and to prove that it is not a paper tiger, Asean has to reconsider the principle of non-interference which renders the grouping toothless when faced with a rogue state.
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