TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry reiterated the government's stance on the thousands of Rohingya refugees who have landed in Aceh. As a non-signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, Indonesia calls on signatory parties to take responsibility for the resettlement of refugees.

Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, a spokesperson for the ministry, assessed that the current handling of the refugee problem, especially in terms of resettlement, is very slow. “That is why we ask the signatory countries and the international community to show more responsibility in the efforts to solve the Rohingya refugee problem,” Iqbal said at a press conference in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, Dec. 12.

The government also continues to cooperate with international organizations, particularly the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to address the issue.

“UNHCR has conveyed its commitment to provide facilities, address and consider the resettlement of refugees,” Iqbal added.

The ministry stressed that its current focus is on preventing and eradicating criminal acts that occurred upon the arrival of the refugees in Aceh, namely human trafficking and smuggling.

Indonesia has signed the UN Convention Against Transnational Crime, so although it is not compelled to accept refugees from Myanmar, it is obliged to prevent and participate in the eradication of these two criminal practices.

Iqbal also underlined the need to address the root of the problem, which is the ongoing conflict in Myanmar. “Indonesia will do everything possible to help resolve the conflict in Myanmar quickly and restore democracy,” he said.

Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi, he added, would highlight the issue of Rohingya and Palestine at the UN meeting in Geneva, Switzerland this week.

NABIILA AZZAHRA A.

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