Press briefing note on South East Asia / migrants boats, Burundi and The International Day against Homophobia & Transphobia

Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Rupert Colville
Location:  Geneva
Date: 15 May 2015
Subjects:  (1) South East Asia / migrants boats, (2)  Burundi and (3)  International Day against Homophobia & Transphobia

(1) South East Asia / migrants boats

With some 6,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants believed to be still stranded at sea in precarious conditions in South East Asia, and three countries actively implementing a policy of pushing boats back to sea, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Friday urged governments in the region to take swift action to protect their lives.

The UN Human Rights Chief said he is “appalled at reports that Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia have been pushing boats full of vulnerable migrants back out to sea, which will inevitably lead to many avoidable deaths. The focus should be on saving lives, not further endangering them.” He said news that another boat, with several hundred people in abject condition, had been given provisions and then pushed back out to sea by the Thai navy on Thursday was “incomprehensible and inhumane.”

To see the full press release entitled ‘Pushbacks endanger thousands in Bay of Bengal’ go to:
http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2015/05/high-commissioner-zeid-pushbacks-endanger-thousands-bay-bengal

(2) Burundi

We are very concerned by developments in Burundi over the past two days, and call on all armed forces and non-state actors to refrain from taking actions which may endanger the lives of civilians and to ensure their protection from the effects of conflict. There is a clear risk that the instability may be prolonged, or even made worse, if there are violent reprisals.

We have received reports of numerous attacks on both private and state media with radio and television stations destroyed, endangering the lives of the journalists who were still inside them at the time. We call for a re-opening of all media outlets and the respect of the independence of journalists. There is also an urgent need to ensure the safety of human rights defenders and journalists. To give just one example, one of Burundi’s most prominent human rights defenders, Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa, has had to go into hiding after receiving death threats.

Those who incite or engage in acts of mass violence are liable to be prosecuted by competent judicial bodies, as reflected in the recent statement by the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

We are also very concerned that political instability and reports of intimidation of civilians could result in an even greater humanitarian crisis. There is a significant increase of refugees fleeing Burundi to neighbouring countries, with reports of rapidly deteriorating sanitary conditions in some locations where large numbers of refugees have gathered, such as Kagunga in Tanzania.

(3)  International Day against Homophobia & Transphobia

As you may know, this Sunday, 17 May is observed in many countries as the International Day against Homophobia & Transphobia. This year, to help mark the occasion, the UN Human Rights Office has produced a new video as part of our ongoing “Free & Equal” campaign.

The new two-minute video celebrates the contributions that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBT) people make to families and local communities around the world. There are no actors, just real people filmed in their workplaces and homes – among them, a fire-fighter, a police officer, a teacher, an electrician, a doctor and a volunteer, as well as that prominent defender of LGBT rights, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The pop star Sara Bareilles has contributed the soundtrack and offered to help promote the new video. The video can be viewed and share at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JosMsjRNznM and at https://www.unfe.org/Faces

ENDS

For more information and media requests, please contact please contact Rupert Colville (+41 22 917 9767 / rcolville@ohchr.org) or Cécile Pouilly (+41 22 917 9310 / cpouilly@ohchr.org).

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