Transparency called for in granting of asylum

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia has called on the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) for transparency in its granting of refugee status to asylum seekers here.

The call was made on Thursday by Zaiman Nurmatias, the Immigration Office's Director for Control and Enactment Affairs, after he opened the two-day UNHCR Workshop for immigration, police and related officials.

He said "unilateral decisions should no longer be made, and it is necessary for relevant parties to build a common understanding as to who should be granted status as refugees."

The UNHCR was currently the sole body authorized to examine people illegally entering Indonesia and determine whether the status of refugee was justified. Zaiman insisted government officials should have the same authority as Indonesia wanted to accept only people with certain expertise and skills capable of contributing to its development.

"I am hoping the workshop bridges differences on the criteria for refugees," Zaiman said about the event being attended at the Millennium Hotel by around 25 representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Police, the Immigration Office, and other relevant officials.

The UNHCR regional representative in Indonesia, Staffan Bodemar, said in his opening remarks that: "Asylum seekers and refugees are part of humanity. One of the basic human rights in international law is the right of an individual to seek and enjoy asylum."

According to Bodemar, Indonesia continues to receive a small number of asylum seekers and refugees from countries in the Middle East, north Africa and even central Africa.

This is a reflection of crisis situations, often manifested in open and bitter conflict, sometimes resulting in severe persecution of individuals, he said.

However, amid great transition in a world filled with crises of many kinds in many places, Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, has not seen a major refugee crisis since 1996 after the departure of almost all the Vietnamese refugees, he said.

He noted that the closest refugee populations are those in Thailand -- some 100,000 Myanmar people and 30,000 Cambodian refugees -- as well as those in Australia.

"It is fortunate for the Indonesian authorities and for the UNHCR office in Jakarta, that the number of refugees in the country is small," he said.

Bodemar said that last year, the UNHCR office in Indonesia received 99 applications for asylum.

The office has also recorded 47 refugees in the country, including the 14 remaining Vietnamese living in Tanjung Pinang district, Riau province, he added.

"There may of course be others who have not approached our office, and who have addressed themselves directly to the Indonesian authorities or to other diplomatic missions," he said.

Bodemar said some of the refugees who have come to Indonesia have begun to integrate themselves in the country by learning the language, making new friends, even marrying Indonesians, and joining the large informal economic sector in the place where they have chosen to stay.

"It is a varied and complex process. Each individual poses specific problems and also has specific needs," he said. (01)