2023 Rohingya Asylum Seekers Crisis in Aceh: A Positive Refugee Law Perspective
Keywords:
Rohingya asylum seekers, positive refugee law, international human rights law, international refugee lawAbstract
The arrival of Rohingya asylum seekers on the coast of Aceh in November 2023 presented significant legal and social challenges for Indonesia’s refugee protection framework. Deteriorating conditions in the Cox’s Bazar camps in Bangladesh and the lack of durable solutions prompted Rohingya refugees to undertake onward maritime movements toward Southeast Asia, including Indonesia. This article applies the concept of Positive Refugee Law, grounded in international human rights law and international refugee law, to examine the roles of the Indonesian government and international organizations in responding to these arrivals. Through a three-stage doctrinal analysis, the article first traces the historical trajectory of Rohingya displacement to Aceh. It then analyzes the relationship between Positive Refugee Law and international human rights law to demonstrate that human rights norms form the normative foundation of contemporary refugee protection. Finally, it assesses Indonesian domestic refugee regulation and administrative practice within this framework. The article contends that Indonesia’s response, particularly the provision of temporary accommodation and cooperation with UNHCR, IOM, and other humanitarian actors, constitutes an implicit form of Positive Refugee Law that produces legally relevant protection effects despite Indonesia’s non-ratification of the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol.
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