Indonesia Provided Leadership in Addressing Migrants Issue: VP

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia has provided leadership and shown initiative in addressing the issues of migrants and refugees in the region, Vice President Jusuf Kalla has said.

As per a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and received here on Tuesday, Vice President made these observations in a statement he delivered at a meeting of the annual session of the UN General Assembly in New York, the United States, on Monday (Sept 19).

Vice President Jusuf Kalla stated that the Government of Indonesia has addressed the issues of irregular migration through the mechanism of the Bali Process, which has become the main model of cooperation in the region for discussions on issues of refugees and migration.

"The Bali process emphasizes solving the problem of irregular migration through burden-sharing and shared-responsibility. The main model also provides for an approach to prevent and resolve the problem at its roots," he remarked.

As per the vice president, Indonesia expected that the meeting would help prevent people from becoming victims, improve security and end the misery of migrants at various shelters.

On the occasion, the vice president pointed out that Indonesia has provided humanitarian assistance to the refugees consistently.

"Almost 14,000 refugees from various countries were given humanitarian aid. They live in the shelters provided by the Indonesian government," he informed.

Furthermore, Vice President Jusuf Kalla narrated Indonesias experience in 1975-1996 in providing assistance to more than 250 thousand refugees from neighboring countries during the civil war.

"Indonesia established the Galang Refugee Camp in Galang Island, Riau Islands. The camp accommodated refugees and prospective asylum seekers perusing procedures that take up to 20 years," he added.

ANTARA