UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday urged leaders in the Southeast Asia region to keep their borders and ports open for Rohingya and Bangladeshis.

Despite an urgent humanitarian appeal by the United Nations chief on Wednesday, Malaysia and Indonesia refused entry to several thousand Rohingya and Bangladeshis.

Take a look: Myanmar’s abandoned Rohingya — Asia’s pariah people

They were stranded on smugglers’ boats in the Andaman Sea and the Straits of Malacca. Mr Ban appealed to governments in the region to ensure that the obligation of rescue at sea is upheld and the prohibition on ‘refoulement’ is maintained.

Refoulement is the forcible return of individuals to their country of origin where they could face persecution.

The Secretary-General “also urges governments to facilitate timely disembarkation and keep their borders and ports open in order to help the vulnerable people who are in need”, a UN spokesman said.

Published in Dawn May 16th , 2015

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