Downgraded
At the 14th ASEAN Summit in 2009 there was discussion of the need to cooperate to find a solution for the Rohingya boatpeople. Known as the Bali process, its main purpose was to decrease transnational crimes such as smuggling and illegal migration.
But the relegation of the Rohingyas' plight to the Bali process "downgraded people fleeing persecution, and now mass atrocities, to a question of human trafficking," Stothard charged.
Options for regional cooperation for refugees and asylum seekers are limited, given that only two of the 10 ASEAN countries (Philippines and Cambodia) have signed the 1951 Refugee Convention.
"There is no easy solution until ASEAN is more established," said Wattarayagorn. "It is hard for even developed countries in the European Union [to deal with illegal migration]. We still have a long way to go," he said.
Myanmar is expected to chair ASEAN in 2014, and some believe this could provide a platform for a push to end human rights violations against Rohingya.