The Government of Indonesia, at the Global Forum on Refugees hearing in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday (Dec 17), reaffirmed its commitment to tackling the refugee problem and ensuring better governance of global refugees.
The Indonesian government's commitment was expressed by Chairperson of the House of Representatives’ Commission I Meutya Hafid in a statement from the Indonesian delegation to the global forum, noted a written statement from Indonesian representatives in Geneva received in Jakarta on Thursday.
Hafid expressed the Indonesian government’s commitment for better refugee governance, including building refugee empowerment programs and strengthening cooperation between countries of origin, transit, and destination to realize lasting solutions based on the principle of burden and responsibility sharing.
"As a representative of the Indonesian people, I welcome the government's commitment. Global refugee governance will be effective if full parliamentary support were to be received," she remarked.
Despite Indonesia not being a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its Optional Protocol, the Indonesian government has consistently committed to implementing the main principles contained in the convention.
Hafid stated that Indonesia had moved beyond its obligations and capacity as a non-party to the Refugee Convention by becoming a transit nation for over 14 thousand refugees from 42 nations.
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Indonesia's efforts and commitment to address the refugee problem are also mirrored in the enactment of Presidential Regulation No.125 of 2016 on handling refugees to save and help provide security and basic needs for refugees, as well as the establishment of a National Task Force for Refugee Handling.
In addition to attending the Global Forum on Refugees, the chairman and deputy chairman of the House of Representatives’ Commission I held a hearing with the Indonesian Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva Ambassador Hasan Kleib and his staff to discuss Indonesia's membership in the UN Human Rights Council 2020-2022.
Indonesia also opens access for refugee children to enjoy their rights to education.
At the global forum, the Chair of the House of Representatives Commission I appealed to members of the parliament of the UN member states to cooperate with the government in implementing the Global Compact on Refugee (GCR).
She highlighted the need for continually improving close cooperation between the parliament and government to realize policies and funds related to the resolution of the refugee problem.
The Indonesian delegation's statement immediately drew praises from the UN High Refugee Commissioner, Filippo Grandi, who chaired the 2019 GRF session. Grandi welcomed the participation of members of the Indonesian Parliament and emphasized that the role of parliament was important in supporting the successful implementation of the global governance of refugee issues.
The first Global Forum on Refugee was held in Geneva on December 17-18, 2019. This forum was the outcome of an agreement from the Global Compact on Refugee and was a forum to exchange best practices and experiences between stakeholders.
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Reporter: Yuni Arisandy, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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