Nations involved in finding solutions to the Rohingya problem are seeking a balanced approach to reduce irregular migration, the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) says.
They will address human rights issues as 17 countries convene in Bangkok Friday as part of a concerted effort to address the boat people problem in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal.
IOM director William Lacy said Southeast Asian migrant issues were different from those in the Mediterranean due to the mixed driving factors, but the most urgent action needed was to bring the estimated 3,900 boat people stranded at sea to dry land.
Mr Lacy said he did not know how many come from the various refugee groups identified so far. He saw Friday's meeting as a follow-up to the May 20 meeting in Malaysia's Putrajaya and expected discussions would continue after the Bangkok meeting.
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Foreign Ministers from Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand held talks there to discuss ways to handle the mass influx of Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants into their territorial waters. "We are here to support countries in the region including Asean and Bangladesh as well as the Bali Process," Mr Lacy said.
He conceded that several aspects of the problems would be discussed at the meeting particularly "the causes driving people away from home, how to give them better jobs, safety and human rights protection and improve the work of the alliance against trafficking which has not been quite successful yet".
"We expect some kind of mechanism to keep conversation going for the benefit of migrants and the nation states balancing the conundrum of national security and individual rights," said Mr Lacy, who will represent one of the three UN agencies participating at the meeting.
The Special Meeting on Irregular Migration in the Indian Ocean will include representatives from Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Thailand, with observers from the US, Japan and Switzerland.
International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) regional director (Asia and Oceania) Sam Zarifi said any responses that emerge from the meeting should comply with international law and standards on human rights, the treatment of refugees and migrants, and people who are in distress at sea.
The ICJ called on all Asean member states and Bangladesh to become parties to key international treaties, such as the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, the Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, and the 1979 International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR).
Mr Zarifi said Myanmar should work to scrap laws that discriminate against minorities and actively prosecute acts of violence fuelled by discrimination as well as crimes of hate speech.
He echoed calls by other UN agencies to stop arresting and putting Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants on trial. "Thailand still views this problem as mainly one of migration and trafficking, instead of as a human rights crisis that demands a human rights-based regional response," he said.
