Indonesia and the Rohingya crisis: An analysis of the role of transit countries in refugee protection
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61511/eaebjol.v3i1.2025.2044Keywords:
refugee, asylum seeker, transit, IndonesiaAbstract
Background: This article examines Indonesia's role as a transit country in handling Rohingya refugees fleeing violence and persecution in Myanmar. On the other hand, this study also highlights ad hoc policies and humanitarian practices carried out by the central government, local governments, international organizations, and local communities in Aceh in accommodating and assisting Rohingya refugees. Methods: Using a normative legal approach and policy analysis, this study evaluates Indonesia's national legal framework which does not specifically regulate refugee status, thus creating challenges in providing long-term protection. Findings: The results of the study show that although Indonesia is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention, the principle of non-refoulement and the value of human solidarity have been the basis of a relatively consistent temporary policy. Conclusion: This article recommends the need to strengthen national regulations, multi-party coordination mechanisms, and increase the capacity of related institutions so that Indonesia can carry out its role as a transit country more effectively, humanely, and in line with human rights principles. Novelty/Originality of this article: This study offers a comprehensive analysis of Indonesia's role as a transit country in handling Rohingya refugees, which has previously been rarely studied in depth from a national legal and policy perspective. This study also raises the importance of integrating the principle of non-refoulement into domestic regulations as an innovation in more sustainable refugee protection policies.
References
Adwani, A., Rosmawati, R., & Aiyub Kadir, M. Y. (2021). The responsibility in protecting the Rohingya refugees in Aceh Province, Indonesia: An international refugees law perspective. IIUM Law Journal, 29(S2), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.31436/iiumlj.v29i(s2).677
Ahmad, N., Ariffin, D. I., & Razali, N. (2025). A Critical Overview of International Refugee Law and the Non-refoulement Principle. Manchester Journal of Transnational Islamic Law & Practice, 21(1). https://www.electronicpublications.org/catalogue/283
Ajawaila, D. P., Matulapelwa, A. H., & Ngongare, S. (2022). Peranan Indonesia dalam kasus etnis Rohingya berdasarkan konsep responsibility to protect (R2P). Jurnal Sains Sosial dan Humaniora (JSSH), 2(1), 131–136. https://doi.org/10.52046/jssh.v2i1.1204
Aling, D. M. R. (2024). Analisis yuridis krisis pengungsi Rohingya di Aceh dan peran UNHCR di Indonesia berdasarkan hukum organisasi internasional. Lex Privatum, 14(3), 1–12. https://ejournal.unsrat.ac.id/index.php/lexprivatum/article/view/58369
Amnesty International. (2015). Southeast Asia: Deadly journeys – The refugee crisis in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. Amnesty International. https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa21/2574/2015/en/
Asmara, M. T., & Syahrin, A. (2021). Aktualisasi kebijakan imigrasi Indonesia terkait hak asasi manusia bagi pengungsi Rohingya di Indonesia. Journal of Law and Border Protection, 1(2), 73–84. https://doi.org/10.52617/jlbp.v1i2.174
Bruin, R., & Wouters, K. (2003). Terrorism and the non-derogability of non‐refoulement. International Journal of Refugee Law, 15(1), 5–29. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijrl/15.1.5
Dedi. (2024, January 4). Sederet aksi kriminal imigran Rohingya di Aceh, dari narkoba hingga perkosa anak di bawah umur. Viva.co.id. https://www.viva.co.id/trending/1664361-sederet-aksi-kriminal-imigran-rohingya-di-aceh-dari-narkoba-hingga-perkosa-anak-di-bawah-umur
Duffy, A. (2008). Expulsion to face torture? Non-refoulement in international law. International Journal of Refugee Law, 20(3), 373–390. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijrl/een022
Ernawati, N. (2019). The legal consequences of the application of two Australian policies as members of the 1951 Refugee Convention reviewed from the VCLT 1969. Jurnal IUS, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.29303/ius.v7i1
Fadilah, F. P., Hakim, M. A. T., Frefy, F. A. P., & Wahyuni, R. (2024). Peran Perserikatan Bangsa-Bangsa dalam penyelesaian pelanggaran HAM terhadap etnis Rohingya di Myanmar: Perspektif responsibility to protect concept. Media Hukum Indonesia (MHI), 2(3). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11663887
Fitriyadi, A. A., & Latukau, F. (2020). Diferensiasi pengungsi dan pencari suaka dalam hukum pengungsi internasional dan hubungannya dengan prinsip non-refoulement. Jambura Law Review, 2(2), 120–138. https://doi.org/10.33756/jlr.v2i2.5400
Gil-Bazo, M. T. (2015). Refugee protection under international human rights law: From non-refoulement to residence and citizenship. Refugee Survey Quarterly, 34(1), 11–42. https://doi.org/10.1093/rsq/hdu021
Havez, M., Ernawati, N., Pitaloka, D., Rosidi, A., & Jumadi, J. (2024). Balancing local community interest and international responsibilities in the context of the expulsion of Rohingya refugees in Aceh. Indonesian Journal of International Law, 21(4), 6. https://doi.org/10.17304/ijil.vol21.4.1823
Hermawan, B. B. (2017). Tantangan ASEAN dalam melakukan penanganan pengungsi Rohingya. Padjajaran Jurnal Ilmu Hukum, 4(3), 569–586. https://doi.org/10.22304/pjih.v4n3.a8
Itasari, E. R. (2020). The role of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission of Human Rights in giving protection to the Rohingya in Southeast Asia. Jurnal IUS Kajian Hukum dan Keadilan, 8(3), 569–583. https://doi.org/10.29303/ius.v8i3.803
International Organization for Migration (IOM) Indonesia & United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). (2017). Indonesia as a transit country: Challenges and responses. International Organization for Migration (IOM). https://indonesia.iom.int/indonesia-transit-country-challenges-and-responses
Kim, S. (2017). Non-refoulement and extraterritorial jurisdiction: State sovereignty and migration controls at sea in the European context. Leiden Journal of International Law, 30(1), 49–70. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0922156516000625
Kingston, L. N. (2018). Protecting the world’s most persecuted: The responsibility to protect and Burma’s Rohingya minority. In The responsibility to protect (pp. 179–191). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315537153-11
Kneebone, S., Missbach, A., & Jones, B. (2021). The false promise of Presidential Regulation No. 125 of 2016? Asian Journal of Law and Society, 8(3), 431–450. https://doi.org/10.1017/als.2021.2
Liliansa, D., & Jayadi, A. (2015). Should Indonesia accede to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol? Indonesia Law Review, 5(3). https://doi.org/10.15742/ilrev.v5n3.161
Moran, C. F. (2021). Strengthening the principle of non-refoulement. The International Journal of Human Rights, 25(6), 1032–1052. https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2020.1811690
Nobre, F. (2024, September 1). A boat with a lot of people on it in the water A tourist boat cruises along the Douro River at sunset. Unsplash License. https://unsplash.com/photos/a-boat-with-a-lot-of-people-on-it-in-the-water-Gsy7g3tNCN0
Paripurna, C. F., Pradita, R. D., Priageng, S. P., & Ummah, A. (2024). Global citizen and shared responsibility: Addressing the Rohingya refugee crisis in Indonesia. ARRUS Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 4(6), 697–704. https://doi.org/10.35877/soshum3406
Putri, E. A., Wahyuni, W. S., Syaputra, M. Y. A., Paramesvari, A. J., & Pratama, G. A. (2023). Legal protection of Rohingya citizens related to the conflict in Myanmar. Jambura Law Review, 5(1), 60–75. https://doi.org/10.33756/jlr.v5i1.16722
Putri, R. W., Putri, Y. M., Ernawati, N., Havez, M., & Sabatira, F. (2024). Balancing the principles of non-refoulement and national security in the protection of refugee rights: A legal and policy analysis of refugee handling in Australia. Jurnal IUS Kajian Hukum dan Keadilan, 12(2), 372–392. https://doi.org/10.29303/ius.v12i2.1391
Sadjad, M. S. (2021). What are refugees represented to be? A frame analysis of the Presidential Regulation No. 125 of 2016 concerning the treatment of refugees “from abroad.” Asian Journal of Law and Society, 8(3), 451–466. https://doi.org/10.1017/als.2021.3
Setiawan, A., & Hamka, H. (2020). Role of Indonesian humanitarian diplomacy toward Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Social and Political Sciences (ICOSAPS 2019). https://doi.org/10.4108/eai.5-11-2019.2292481
Shivakoti, R. (2017). ASEAN’s role in the Rohingya refugee crisis. Global Is Asian. https://lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/gia/article/asean-s-role-in-the-rohingya-refugee-crisis
Simeon, J. C. (2019). What is the future of non-refoulement in international refugee law? In Research handbook on international refugee law (pp. 183–206). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9780857932815.00020
Sudrajat, T., Jati, B. K. H., & Gupta, C. M. (2024). Questioning Indonesia’s role in addressing Rohingya refugees: A legal, humanitarian, and state responsibility perspective. Volksgeist: Jurnal Ilmu Hukum dan Konstitusi, 7(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.24090/volksgeist.v7i1.10506
Sukendro, A., Santoso, P., Sumertha, I. G., Puspasari, P., & Maysara, M. M. (2022). Conflict resolution in handling foreign refugees in West Jakarta, Indonesia. International Journal of Social Science Research and Review, 3(4), 1–7. https://journals.ijramt.com/index.php/ijramt/article/view/1896
Sumarlan, Y. (2019). Political economy of pragmatic refugee policies in Indonesia as a transit country. Asian Review, 32(3), 63–93. https://so01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/arv/article/view/240363
Supaat, D. I. (2013). Escaping the principle of non-refoulement. International Journal of Business, Economics and Law, 2(3), 86–97. https://oarep.usim.edu.my/entities/publication/cd24d5a1-06cc-42e9-a9de-e8be593b316e/full
Syahrin, M. A. (2018). The Rohingya refugee crisis: Legal protection on international law and Islamic law. 1st International Conference on Indonesian Legal Studies (ICILS 2018), 94–99. https://doi.org/10.2991/icils-18.2018.18
Trevisanut, S. (2014). The principle of non-refoulement and the de-territorialization of border control at sea. Leiden Journal of International Law, 27(3), 661–675. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0922156514000259
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). (2015). Mixed maritime movements: In South-East Asia in 2015. UNHCR. https://www.refworld.org/reference/regionalreport/unhcr/2015/en/112153
Yatani, V. G., Safrin, M., & Wagian, D. (2023). Exclusion of the principle of non-refoulement in article 33 paragraph 2 of the 1951 Refugee Convention. Ex Aequo Et Bono Journal of Law, 1(1), 53–65. https://doi.org/10.61511/eaebjol.v1i1.2023.108
Zetter, R., & Ruaudel, H. (2018). Refugees’ right to work and access to labour markets: Constraints, challenges and ways forward. Forced Migration Review, 58(June), 4–7. http://www.fmreview.org/economies
Zulkarnain. (2023, November 19). Acehnese residents’ dilemma facing thousands of Rohingya refugees continue to arrive. Kompas. https://www.kompas.id/baca/english/2023/11/19/en-aceh-mulai-menolak-pengungsi-rohingya
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Citation Check
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Joko Jumadi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
