Attending Global Refugee Forum, Foreign Minister Retno: We Have the Same Obligation to Stop War and Conflict

JAKARTA - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi reminded all parties that they have the same obligation to stop war and conflict, citing the crisis in Gaza and the Myanmar conflict, while attending the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, Switzerland on Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Retno said that the world is currently not doing well, facing a very large surge in refugees. One of the causes is the wars and conflicts that occur in various parts of the world.

"Therefore, we must resolve the root of the problem," said Foreign Minister Retno in a statement from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thursday, December 14.

"I remind you, we all have the same obligation to stop war and conflict, and respect international law, including international humanitarian law," said Foreign Minister Retno.

She further said that this obligation also applies to Palestine. According to Foreign Minister Retno, the Palestinian people have been driven from their homes and land, witnessing with their own eyes, their land being confiscated and taken.

And now, she continued, the people of Gaza are living their nightmare as efforts for a ceasefire continue to face obstacles.

Meanwhile, in Mayanmar, the ongoing violence there has forced Rohingya residents to leave their homes, said Foreign Minister Retno.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. (Source: Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

"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," said Foreign Minister Retno.

In this forum which was attended by more than 140 countries, Foreign Minister Retno also emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperation with UNODC, UNHCR, and also IOM in handling this problem.

Apart from that, he also emphasized the obligation to accept resettlement for countries party to the Refugee Convention.

"The resettlement process has recently been going very slowly. Many party countries have even closed their doors to refugees," she criticized.

On this occasion, Foreign Minister Retno also reminded that there were strong indications that refugees had become victims of criminal acts of human trafficking and smuggling or TIP, including thousands of refugees who came to Indonesia.

The existence of TIP further adds to the complexity and difficulty of handling refugee issues.

"I explained that Indonesia will not hesitate to fight TIP, which is a transnational crime," she stressed.

"However, Indonesia cannot do it alone. Close cooperation is needed, both regionally and internationally, to combat TIP," continued Foreign Minister Retno.

He added, based on data from a UNRWA report on December 12, around 1.9 million (more than 85 percent) Gaza residents were forced to flee, some even more than once because they moved from place to place to seek shelter.

Meanwhile, between October 7 – December 11, data from the Gaza Ministry of Health stated that 18,205 Palestinians were killed in Gaza. 70 percent of them are women and children. And more than 49,645 were injured.