Jakarta, IO – A number of refugee tents from conflict zones such as Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Rohingya, Iraq, Iran and Yemen have been erected on the sidewalk in front of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office, Kuningan, Jakarta.
This was done by the refugees to get the attention of UNHCR. The tents have been there for almost two weeks now. The Foreign Ministry (Kemlu) stated that the actions of the refugees constitute public order violation.
“Refugees are not above the law. The act of setting up tents and staying overnight in front of the UNHCR office is a violation of city ordinance,” said Kemlu spokesperson Rolliansyah Soemirat, per Antara, Mon (1/7).
According to him, such violations, if committed by anyone, including refugees from abroad, can be prosecuted in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations.
Rolliansyah further explained that in the handling of foreign refugees, Indonesia is not a party to the 1951 Convention on the reduction of statelessness and its 1967 protocol.
In other words, Indonesia has no obligation to provide treatment for refugees and asylum seekers from abroad.
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“So far, the assistance provided by Indonesia to refugees has been carried out based on emergency and humanitarian principles,” he said.
He explained that support for refugees is usually provided by international organizations, especially UNHCR, which is supported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Indonesia.
“We have communicated this problem with UNHCR and coordinated with the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Ministry as the head of the refugee task force. (un)