'€œThe people aboard the boats are in the grip of a humanitarian crisis. Turning them away was not only an affront to human decency, it was a violation of the principle of non-refoulement '€“ a tenant of customary international law,'€ he said in a release on Thursday.

AI made the statement following emergency talks on the crisis on Wednesday, attended by foreign ministers from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

There has been strong international criticism following reports that boats seeking to reach their shores have been driven back to sea, leaving those on board at risk of death.

In a joint statement made at the meeting, 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. They said the shelter would only be provided for up to a year, and on condition that the international community helped with repatriation or resettlement efforts.

Thailand did not sign on to the commitment to provide temporary shelter, citing domestic legal constraints. However, it has pledged to not push back boats stranded in its waters and to provide humanitarian assistance to those on board.

On May 29, Thailand will host a regional summit bringing together key stakeholders '€“ including the governments of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar as well as UN agencies '€“ to discuss the crisis.

'€œNext week'€™s conference offers an important opportunity to address the root causes of this crisis, including the systemic discrimination in law, policy and practice against the Rohingya and other minority populations in Myanmar,'€ said Bennett.(ebf)

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