Social Problems Appear In Aceh, Government Considers Humanity To Handle Rohingya Refugees

Illustration - Rohingya Refugees in UPTD Ladong Aceh Besar. (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Director General of Human Rights (HAM) of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (Kemenkumham) Dhana Putra said the handling of the Rohingya refugee problem prioritizes universal humanitarian aspects, while still considering the interests of local communities.

"Seeing the resistance that occurs to Rohingya refugees, it is necessary to intensify communication with IOM, UNHCR, and neighboring countries, so that the handling of refugees does not have a negative impact on local communities, especially in this context in Aceh," said Dhana as quoted by ANTARA, Saturday, December 30.

However, said Dhana, the Indonesian government has not ratified the 1951 Geneva Convention regarding refugees, so on humanitarian grounds, Indonesia still has to temporarily accommodate Rohingya refugees.

The reason is, there are non-refoulment principles that have been recognized as laws of international customs.

Non-refoulment is the principle of prohibition against a country to refuse or expel refugees from other countries to return to their home country or an area where refugees have the potential to face threatening and endangering the lives and freedom of refugees for racial, religious, national reasons, membership of certain social groups, or political opinions.

"This non-refoulment principle prohibits the state from returning or expelling people to their home countries or other countries that have the potential to receive acts of persecution, torture, gross human rights violations," he explained.

He revealed that Rohingya refugees are currently only temporary in Aceh.

"What needs to be underlined is that their presence here is temporary until later UNHCR determines the status of refugees and the placement of third countries or recipients of Rohingya refugees," explained Dhana.

On the one hand, as long as the Rohingya refugees are in Indonesia, they are still required to comply with the laws and regulations and local wisdom values that apply in Indonesia, so as not to cause social problems that make noise.

"On the other hand, we hope that all parties can refrain from provocative actions so as not to cause conditions that are not conducive in Aceh in handling Rohingya refugees," he added.

Meanwhile, related to acts of violence against Rohingya refugees, the international community has been in the spotlight. Several international media have reported incidents at the BaleeMeuseuraya Building, Aceh.

"Hopefully, of course, a similar incident that gives such a negative image will not happen again in the future," said Dhana.