[Artikel Berita] Demand for Resettlement by Afghan Refugees in Indonesia
Himmalia Dewi Alya Rahmah — FPCI Chapter Universitas Airlangga
Hundreds of Afghan refugees orchestrated a protest in front of the UNHCR office in Jakarta on Tuesday (24/8). These refugees are also the victims of political turmoil between the Afghan government vis-a-vis the Taliban long before the takeover took place. In this protest, they denounce and condemn the Taliban while also demanding a clear resettlement status (Karmini & Syuflana, 2021). UNHCR noted that there are at least 7600 Afghan refugees in Indonesia, however, up until this day, many refugees testified their status in Indonesia remains unclear. As a consequence, Afghan refugees in Indonesia use this particular momentum to gather and protest about this issue (BBC, 2021).
The unclear resettlement status is because Indonesia has not yet ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention. Therefore, most refugee rights, especially resettlement, can not be given. The Convention consists of the responsibility of the host country, including giving the refugee house, job, and education. Indonesia feels the demand for responsibilities are too burdensome, therefore Indonesia only uses Law Number 6 of 2011 about Immigration to fulfil the rights and responsibilities of refugees. For instance, refugees are placed in RUDENIM (Rumah Detensi Imigrasi) until their status is verified and their 3rd country destination is decided by the UNHCR (Sultoni et al., 2014). One of the refugees protesting in Jakarta said the UNHCR has been telling that there is only one percent chance of resettlement, making the refugees suffer more than they already are (Budiman, 2021).
The protest on Tuesday is the epitome of refugee’s frustration concerning the clarity of their rights. Indonesia has not yet ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention due to various reasons, however, the Indonesian government claimed that they are trying their best to guarantee the refugee’s basic rights and necessities. Nevertheless, the slow resettlement process by the UNHCR has prompted accumulated anger from the Afghan refugees.
Bibliography
BBC, 2021. Afghanistan: Ke mana Warga akan Mengungsi Setelah Taliban Berkuasa?. Available in https://www.bbc.com/indonesia/dunia-58302355 (Accessed on 26 August 2021)
Budiman, Y.C., 2021. Afghan Refugees in Indonesia Call for Expedited Resettlement (Reuters).
Available in
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/afghan-refugees-indonesia-call-expedited- resettlement-2021–08–24/ (Accessed on 26 August 2021)
Karmini, N. & Syuflana, T., 2021. Afghans in Indonesia Protest Taliban, Demand Resettlement (AP News). Available in https://apnews.com/article/indonesia-immigration-race-and-ethnicity-taliban-9f70d01 a408ffbf0cb29e889429f730d (Accessed on 26 August 2021)
Sultoni Y. et al., 2014. “Alasan Indonesia Belum Meratifikasi Konvensi 1951 Tentang Pengungsi dan Perlindungan Hukum Bagi Pengungsi di Indonesia”, in Jurnal Hukum Februari 2014. Available in http://hukum.studentjournal.ub.ac.id/index.php/hukum/article/view/359 (Accessed on 26 August 2021)
