Government criticized over handling of IDPs

Government criticized over handling of IDPs

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The United Nations criticized on Thursday the government's poor
handling of internally displaced persons (IDPs), urging
government officials to comply with the guidelines it had issued.

Michael Elmquist of the UN Office for Coordination for
Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) said that Indonesia's compliance
with the UN guidelines fell well short of what was desirable.

The Indonesian government succeeded in providing protection to
the life and dignity of IDPs but fell short of protecting the
assets that refugees left behind, said Elmquist, adding that the
government had once told him it was not even aware of this duty.

To help Indonesia deal with IDPs, the UN had issued a booklet
outlining the UN guidelines on refugees, and to make these
guidelines easier to understand among officials in the regions, a
non-governmental organization called Baris Baru issued the
booklet as a comic.

Meanwhile, activists said Thursday that despite budget
constraints, the government could do more for the country's over
1.2 million IDPs, starting by following the United Nations (UN)
guiding principles on refugees.

Out of Indonesia's 30 provinces, 22 are sheltering a total of
1.24 million refugees, making it number five among countries with
the highest number of IDPs after Angola, Sudan, Congo, and
Colombia.

"The problem with refugees is more than the cost they
represent for the state budget," said Rully N. Amrullah of Nurani
Dunia, a foundation supplying humanitarian aid to victims of
social and natural disasters. "Still the government treats them
(refugees) like objects."

Maulana Mahendra of the non-governmental organization Baris
Baru criticized the government's decision to revoke the refugee
status of nearly 1 million people, making them disappear on
paper.

"It's wrong to think that by revoking their status the problem
is over," Maulana said. "It will not be over as long as conflicts
continue to exist."

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla
surprised many at a workshop on refugees last month when he said
that the number of refugees had dropped to 300,000. He also
pledged to resolve the refugee problem in three months time, or
by the end of this year.

By cutting the official number of refugees the state hopes to
save on expenses. A government paper estimated the cost at Rp 1.5
trillion (about US$166 million) just to cover refugees' needs for
bare essentials such as food, shelter and medical care.

Although the paper did not say over what period these costs
corresponded to, they are likely to come from this year's state
budget which is already suffering from an estimated shortfall of
Rp 42 trillion.

Much of the taxpayers' money goes on repaying debts to foreign
creditors and recapitalized banks, leaving little behind for
social and welfare-related spending.

This situation has been the main reason behind the decision to
stop food handouts to refugees in many parts of the country. Some
refugees still get foreign aid, although this too is decreasing.

"It's more a problem of approach than money," said Rully. The
government's approach to refugees was misguided and on this, he
said, the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement could be
a starting point for change.

The UN guidelines identify refugee rights that a state should
protect. They are not binding.

And although the government's national policy on refugee was
partly based on the UN guidelines, Rully said this fact was not
apparent in how it handled the problem.

"The guidelines treat them (refugees) as people that are part
of society," he said.

For example, Rully pointed out, the government should have
consulted refugees about their needs before helping them. He and
his colleagues had found relocation projects that remained
deserted despite the billions of rupiah poured into them.

"But the government handles the matter as one involving state
projects that must go through the usual channels," he explained.

Several points of the UN Guiding Principles on Internal
Displacement

- Every human being shall have the right to be protected against
being arbitrarily displaced form his or her home or place of
habitual residence. (principle 6)

- Every internally displaced persons (IDPs) has the right to
liberty of movement and freedom to choose his or her residence.
(principle 14)

- The property and possessions of IDPs shall in all
circumstances be protected. (principle 21 point 2)

- Competent authorities have the primary duty and responsibility
to establish conditions, as well as provide the means, which
allow IDPs to return voluntarily, in safety and with dignity, to
their homes or places of habitual residence, or to resettle
voluntarily in another part of the country. (principle 28 point
1)

- Special efforts should be made to ensure the full
participation of IDPs in the planning and management of their
return or resettlement and reintegration.