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SITUATIONAL OVERVIEW
Rohingya refugees have undertaken perilous sea journeys from Myanmar and Bangladesh seeking protection, family reunification, and access to livelihoods and education for years. In the last weeks of 2023 and early 2024, the pace of boat arrivals and the number of individuals disembarking in Indonesia rapidly increased. From mid-November 2023 to date, 15 boats carrying 2,026 Rohingya refugees (73% of whom are women and children) landed in Aceh and North Sumatera, Indonesia. While many have since departed Indonesia, 1,175 remain in informal and temporary accommodation in Aceh, North Sumatera, and Riau Provinces.
According to information provided to UNHCR by the new arrivals, the increase in the number of individuals undertaking the sea journey has been driven by a number of factors. These include the continued instability in Myanmar, lack of progress in addressing the root causes of Rohingya displacement and enabling conditions conducive for return, growing insecurity and declining humanitarian assistance in the camps in Bangladesh, more active smuggling networks, and a decrease in the cost of sea journeys.
These journeys are extremely dangerous and are often undertaken on unseaworthy vessels under the command of unscrupulous crew. In March 2024, a boat carrying approximately 142 Rohingya capsized off the coast of West Aceh, killing 67 passengers, including at least 27 children. Nearly 800 Rohingya refugees traveling by boat perished or went missing at sea in 2022 and 2023*, including a boat bound for Indonesia carrying approximately 200 refugees that is believed to have sunk in November 2023. Disembarked refugees report experiencing protection and security challenges at sea, including gender-based violence, physical abuse, malnutrition, exploitation, and extortion. Rohingya refugees confirm that they are aware of the risks but still board boats, highlighting the pervasive fear and sense of hopelessness that precipitate their decision to embark on these journeys.
In previous years, as per the 2016 Presidential Regulation 125 on the Handling of Refugees, Rohingya boats in distress were rescued and allowed to disembark in Indonesia by the navy, local authorities, and Acehnese coastal communities. Following disembarkation, authorities designated host sites where UNHCR, IOM, and other partners provided protection and basic assistance.
While many Indonesians remain supportive of and sympathetic to the challenges facing Rohingya refugees, those who arrived by boat in late 2023 and early 2024 met unprecedented resistance in Indonesia. Some Rohingya were prevented from disembarking, others disembarked only to be forced by local communities back on the boats and returned to sea, and many of those who disembarked have yet to be allocated adequate shelter by authorities. As a result, hundreds of refugees who have disembarked in recent months are currently living in extremely perilous, overcrowded, and sub-standard conditions in which the protection and assistance response is compromised.
While Rohingya refugees undertake journeys from Bangladesh and Myanmar throughout the year, the majority typically move between November and March when sea conditions are most favorable. Support is needed to bolster the response in the likely event that more boats carrying Rohingya refugees arrive in Indonesia in the last months of 2024. UNHCR anticipates 2.2 million USD will be required to respond to the needs of the current population and anticipated new arrivals in 2024. Only a fraction of needed funding has been received by UNHCR to date. The Rohingya boat arrival response remains seriously underfunded.