Jakarta - Indonesia says the root cause of the Rohingya refugee problem must be resolved, namely the ongoing violence in Myanmar due to conflict between the military junta and civilians.
This condition has forced Rohingya people to leave the country, and many of them eventually entered Indonesia.
This was conveyed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, through her written statement, at the Global Refugee Forum (GRF) at the United Nations Office, Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday (13/12/2023).
"Therefore, 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," Retno said.
In addition, in the GRF Forum, she reminded that there are strong indications that refugees have become victims of criminal acts of human trafficking and smuggling or (TPPO), including thousands of refugees who come to Indonesia.
The practice of TPPO, Retno said, adds to the complexity and difficulty of handling refugee issues.
"I explained that Indonesia will not hesitate to fight against TPPO which is a transnational crime. However, Indonesia cannot do it alone," she said.
Therefore, Retno called for close cooperation, both regionally and internationally, to combat TPPO.
Retno emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperation with several UN agencies, namely the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as well as the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in handling the Rohingya issue.
Furthermore, Retno emphasized the obligation of states parties to the Refugee Convention to accept the resettlement of these refugees, considering that Indonesia is not a state party to the convention.
"I have to say that the resettlement process has been very slow lately. Many state parties have even closed their doors to refugees," Retno said.
The GRF, which was attended by 140 countries, was held with the aim of seeing the progress of commitments made by countries and other stakeholders in 2019 related to refugee issues.
The forum discussed various issues regarding refugees, including the implementation of burden-responsibility sharing and responses that need to be carried out as a whole.
At the GRF meeting, Foreign Minister Retno also emphasized Indonesia's commitment to strengthen cooperation within the framework of the Bali Process, as a forum for handling TPPO and other related crimes among countries of origin, transit countries, and destination countries.
Previously, UNHCR Indonesia stated that there were already a thousand Rohingya refugees in Aceh.
"Cumulatively since November 14, the number of refugee arrivals is around 1,200 people at several points in Aceh, such as Pidie, Bireuen, East Aceh, and Sabang," said UNHCR Indonesia's public information officer Mitra Salima Suryono in a written statement on Sunday (10/12/2023).
According to UNHCR, the Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic minority group who have lived for centuries in Myanmar - a predominantly Buddhist country. (InfoPublik)