Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Hamonangan Laoly has stressed Indonesia's commitment to providing protection and humanitarian assistance to refugees despite their using the nation as a transit point illegally.

 

"Indonesia remains committed to providing special considerations based on the principles of humanity and global human rights aspirations," Laoly said during a meeting with Chief of Mission of the International Organization of Migration (IOM), UN Migration, Louis Hoffmann, here on Wednesday.

 

Hoffmann paid a courtesy call on Laoly during a visit to Jakarta to improve cooperation and discuss the continuation of cooperation between IOM and the Law and Human Rights Ministry.

 

Indonesia is not legally bound to provide permanent settlement to international asylum seekers or refugees on the grounds that it is not a party to the Refugee Convention 1951 and Protocol 1967 on Refugee Status, Laoly said.


Related news: Eight Rohingya refugees flee from Aceh shelter

 

For its part, as a non-party to the convention, Indonesia is not obliged to provide settlement to foreign migrants who come to the country as refugees, the minister added.

 

The cooperation with IOM is designed to improve the understanding of refugee-related issues, assist the government in tackling migration challenges, and encourage social and economic development related to migration, he said.

 

The cooperation also includes upholding the dignity and welfare of refugees, their families, and the community, he added.

 

The presence of international refugees has become a sensitive issue in international discourse, Laoly noted. They flee their country and take refuge in another country due to domestic conflicts that threaten their safety, he said.


Several countries currently deny entry to foreign refugees on the grounds that they may disturb internal security stability, he added.

 

A refugee-related international regime is set forth in the Convention 1951 on Refugees and Protocol 1967 on Refugee Status, he said.

 

Indonesia has not ratified the convention, he added. Although Indonesia is a non-party to the convention, it does not refuse the presence of foreign refugees, he highlighted.

 

Laoly said the government treats foreign refugees and asylum seekers based on Presidential Regulation No. 25 of 2016 on the Handling of Foreign Refugees.

 

To that end, Indonesia has coordinated with IOM and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), he added. (Antaranews)

RI raises four educational, cultural priorities during G20 presidency