However, AI said, the move falls short of the measures urgently needed to save thousands of lives still at risk at sea, or to address the root causes of the crisis.

'€œThis is certainly good news for the people aboard those boats that manage to reach the safety of the shore, but it does nothing for the thousands still adrift at sea, with diminishing supplies of food and water, or for any more who may follow them,'€ AI'€™s Asia-Pacific director Richard Bennett said in a release on Thursday.

'€œIndonesia, Thailand and Malaysia cannot shirk their duty as states party to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to provide maritime search and rescue operations to save lives,'€ he went on.

Bennett was speaking in response to a recent joint statement in which Indonesia and Malaysia said they would provide temporary shelter for up to 7,000 people still at sea, believed to be mainly Rohingya refugees fleeing persecution in Myanmar as well as Bangladeshis.

Governments of the two countries said shelter would only be provided for up to a year, and on condition that the international community helped with repatriation or resettlement efforts.

'€œTemporary shelter is a first step, and is better than no protection at all,'€ said Bennett. However, he further said that it was far from adequate and risked undermining the international protection system.

'€œPeople claiming asylum must be able to access refugee status determination procedures, in safety and in dignity,'€ Bennett said.

'€œRefugees and vulnerable migrants must not be criminalized for irregular entry, nor can they be returned to countries where their life or rights are at risk.'€ (ebf)

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