In May 2015, more than 5,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshis became stranded in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea after people smugglers abandoned their boats and nearby countries refused to let them land. This Andaman Sea ‘crisis’ highlighted critical limitations in the region’s response to large scale movements of refugees and irregular migrants. Two years later, this response was again tested as some 700,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar to Bangladesh, largely remaining there rather than embarking on further maritime movements. 

This year, 2020 will mark the five-year anniversary of the Andaman Sea ‘crisis’. It therefore offers an opportunity to reflect on the events of 2015 and subsequent developments in the region, including not only the situation of the Rohingya but also the broader question of whether the region is any more willing or better prepared to respond to mass displacement and forced migration. 

To mark this anniversary, the Andrew & Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law and the Asia-Pacific Journal on Human Rights and the Law are inviting proposals for articles to be included in a special edition of the Journal. The purpose of this special edition is to provide high quality peer-reviewed scholarly articles reflecting on the events of 2015 and subsequent developments, including the exodus of Rohingya from Myanmar in 2017, from a range of national and regional perspectives. Publication in the Journal will be subject to the outcome of the peer review process. The special edition will be published in early 2021. 

• Call for papers for the Asia-Pacific Journal on Human Rights and the Law available here.

Additionally, the Kaldor Centre will publish a series of papers exploring various aspects and perspectives of the Andaman Sea crisis and subsequent developments. The purpose of this series is to engage with the topic from a range of perspectives, prompting a critical reflection on whether the region’s capacity to respond to large scale movements of refugees and irregular migrants has improved, and what further steps might be necessary to ensure protection is available to displaced people. Papers will be published in a special report on the anniversary of the crisis in mid-2020 and made available online.

• Call for papers for the Kaldor Centre series marking 5 years since the 2015 Andaman Sea ‘crisis’ available here.

For more information, please contact Madeline Gleeson at madeline.gleeson@unsw.edu.au.