JAKARTA: Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi, at the Global Refugee Forum (GRF) at the UN office in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday, emphasised that the root problem of Rohingya refugees should be resolved immediately.
She noted that the violence that continues to occur in Myanmar due to the conflict between the military junta and civilians has forced Rohingya people to leave the country, and many of them landed in Indonesia.
“To this end, I invite the international community to work together to stop the conflict and restore democracy in Myanmar, so that Rohingya refugees can return to their homes, namely in Myanmar,“ she remarked while delivering an online press statement from Geneva, reported ANTARA.
At the forum, she also drew attention to a strong indication that refugees have become victims of human trafficking and smuggling, including thousands of refugees, who landed in Indonesia.
Marsudi noted that human trafficking has worsened the complexity and difficulty of handling the issue of refugees.
“I explained that Indonesia will not hesitate to combat human trafficking, which is a transnational crime. However, Indonesia cannot do it alone,“ she remarked.
Hence, she pressed for close cooperation, both at the regional and international levels, to combat human trafficking.
The minister also stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation with several UN agencies, namely the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), in handling the problem.
Furthermore, Marsudi emphasised that it is the responsibility of countries parties to the Refugee Convention to accept the resettlement of the refugees, considering that Indonesia is not one of the countries parties to the convention.
“I said that the resettlement process has been running very slowly lately. Many countries parties (to the convention) even closed their doors to refugees,“ she stated.
The GRF, attended by 140 countries, was held to review the progress on the commitments made by countries and other stakeholders in 2019 regarding the refugee issue.
The forum discussed various issues on refugees, including the implementation of burden- and responsibility-sharing and responses that need to be carried out comprehensively.
At the meeting, Minister Marsudi also emphasised Indonesia’s commitment to intensifying cooperation in the Bali Process as a forum to handle human trafficking and other related crimes between countries of origin, transit countries, and destination countries. –Bernama
