Somali Refugees Urge UNHCR to Accelerate Third-Country Resettlement

A number of refugees from Somalia, Africa, are urging the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to accelerate the process of resettlement to a third country. “These are indeed refugees who are urging UNHCR to send them to a third country immediately,” said Rian Kasim, Head of the Information and Communication Section at the South Jakarta Immigration Office, to reporters in Jakarta on Friday. Rian stated that the refugees are asylum seekers who are awaiting processing and placement by UNHCR. According to him, based on information from various sources, the refugees take turns occupying the tents each month as a way of conveying their aspirations to UNHCR. He explained that the refugees are trying to attract the attention of UNHCR so that their processing and placement can be expedited. “They are creating noise or disturbances so that their aspirations can be heard by UNHCR,” he said. Rian added that his office has coordinated with relevant agencies to determine the next steps for handling the presence of these refugees. He noted that refugee handling in Indonesia involves a task force in each region comprising various relevant agencies. Meanwhile, the regional government has primary authority in handling refugees in accordance with Presidential Regulation Number 125 of 2016 concerning the Handling of Refugees from Abroad. Nevertheless, Immigration is part of the refugee handling task force and continues to monitor developments on the ground. “The Immigration office is part of the refugee handling task force, so we are also monitoring the development of this incident,” said Rian. A post went viral on the Instagram social media account @jakartaselatan24jam, showing a number of foreign nationals creating a disturbance around the UNHCR area.