Humanitarian commitment: Indonesia's policy on refugees’ rights to health

Refugees have faced many challenges, including access to housing, education, and social and health services. International conventions regulate human rights that all civilized countries must obey, starting from the Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Indonesia, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and others recognized internationally and nationally. Indonesia, although not a state party to the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol on refugees, must pay attention to how to pay attention to foreigners, especially refugees in its territory. In providing protection and fulfillment of rights, Indonesia must refer to one of the international principles in providing needs to foreigners, namely the International Minimum Standards and National Treatment Standards.

Missbach A. Troubled transit: Asylum seekers stuck in Indonesia. ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute; 2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1355/9789814620871

Afriansyah A, Purnama HR, Putra AK. Asylum Seekers and Refugee Management: (Im)Balance Burden Sharing Case between Indonesia and Australia. Sriwij Law Rev. 2022;6:70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.28946/slrev.Vol6.Iss1.1145.pp70-100

Missbach A, Palmer W. People smuggling by a different name: Australia’s ‘turnbacks’ of asylum seekers to Indonesia. Aust J Int Aff 2020;74:185–206. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10357718.2020.1721429

Brolan C. An Analysis of the Human Smuggling Trade and the Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Air and Sea (2000) from a Refugee Protection Perspective. Int J Refug Law 2002;14:561–96. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ijrl/14.4.561

Janmyr M. No Country of asylum:‘Legitimizing’Lebanon’s rejection of the 1951 refugee convention. Int J Refug Law 2017;29:438–65. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ijrl/eex026

McAdam J. The Enduring Relevance of the 1951 Refugee Convention. Int J Refug Law 2017;29:1–9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ijrl/eex017

Mayblin L. Colonialism, Decolonisation, and the Right to be Human: Britain and the 1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees. J Hist Sociol 2014;27:423–41. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/johs.12053

Essed P, Wesenbeek R. 4 Contested Refugee Status: Human Rights, Ethics and Social Responsibilities. In: Refugees and the Transformation of Societies. Berghahn Books; 2022. p. 53–66. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9780857457080-007

Clark T. Rights Based Refuge, the Potential of the 1951 Convention and the Need for Authoritative Interpretation. Int J Refug Law 2004;16:584–608. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ijrl/16.4.584

Hathaway JC. A reconsideration of the underlying premise of refugee law. In: International Refugee Law. Routledge; 2017. p. 65–119. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315092478-4

Pristiandaru DL. Perubahan Iklim Bikin Para Pengungsi di Seluruh Dunia Semakin Menderita. Kompas 2024 Jul 19.

Beqiraj J, Gauci J-P, Khalfaoui A. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and International Organization for Migration (IOM). In: Research Handbook on the European Union and International Organizations. Edward Elgar Publishing; 2019. p. 203–21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781786438935.00017

Betts A, Loescher G, Milner J. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): The politics and practice of refugee protection. Routledge; 2013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203146651

Yingling RT, Ginnane RW. The Geneva Conventions of 1949. Am J Int Law 2017/04/20. 1952;46:393–427. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2194498

Benhabib S. The End of the 1951 Refugee Convention? Dilemmas of Sovereignty, Territoriality, and Human Rights. Jus Cogens 2020;2:75–100. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42439-020-00022-1

Lambert H, editor. International Refugee Law. Routledge; 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315092478

Fitzpatrick J. Revitalizing the 1951 Refugee Convention. In: Lambert H, editor. International Refugee Law. 1st ed. Routledge; 2010. p. 25.

Blay SKN, Tsamenyi BM. Reservations and Declarations Under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. Int J Refug Law 1990;2:527–61. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/reflaw/2.4.527

Bem K. The Coming of a “Blank Cheque” -- Europe, the 1951 Convention, and the 1967 Protocol. Int J Refug Law 2004;16:609–27. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ijrl/16.4.609

Barsky RF. From the 1965 Bellagio Colloquium to the Adoption of the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees. Int J Refug Law 2020;32:340–63. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ijrl/eeaa013

McNevin A, Missbach A, Mulyana D. The Rationalities of Migration Management: Control and Subversion in an Indonesia-Based Counter-Smuggling Campaign. Int Polit Sociol 2016;10:223–40. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ips/olw009

Hirsch AL, Doig C. Outsourcing control: the International Organization for Migration in Indonesia. Int J Hum Rights 2018;22:681–708. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2017.1417261

Hugo G. Forced migration in Indonesia: Historical perspectives. Asian Pacific Migr J 2006;15:53–92. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/011719680601500104

FORD M, LYONS L. Outsourcing Border Security: NGO Involvement in the Monitoring, Processing and Assistance of Indonesian Nationals Returning Illegally by Sea. Contemp Southeast Asia 2013;35:215–34. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1355/cs35-2d

Wahyudi I, Kinasih SE, Ida R, Koesbardiati T, Romadhona MK, Kim S. Biosecurity infectious diseases of the returning Indonesian migrants workers. Glob Secur Heal Sci Policy 2024;9(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23779497.2024.2358756

Tjitrawati AT, Romadhona MK. Living beyond borders: the international legal framework to protecting rights to health of Indonesian illegal migrant workers in Malaysia. Int J Migr Heal Soc Care 2024;20:227–45. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMHSC-04-2023-0038

Braveman P. Social conditions, health equity, and human rights. Heal Hum Rts 2010;12:31.

Kismödi E, Corona E, Maticka-Tyndale E, et al. Sexual rights as human rights: A guide for the WAS declaration of sexual rights. Int J Sex Heal 2017;29:1–92. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19317611.2017.1353865

Wronka J. Human rights and social justice: Social action and service for the helping and health professions. Sage Publications; 2016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071800577

Cole M. Education, equality and human rights: issues of gender,'race’, sexuality, disability and social class. Taylor & Francis; 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003177142

Blake M. Immigration, jurisdiction, and exclusion. Philos Public Aff 2013;41:103–30. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/papa.12012

Hollifield JF. The emerging migration state. Int Migr Rev 2004;38:885–912. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7379.2004.tb00223.x

San Giorgi M. The human right to equal access to health care. 2012.

WHO. Social justice and human rights as a framework for addressing social determinants of health Final report of the Task group on Equity [Internet]. Equality and Human Rights. 2016 [cited 2022 Mar 23]. Available from: https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/334356/HR-task-report.pdf

Heriyanto N, Setiawan D. No Choice but Welcoming Refugees: The Non-Refoulement Principle as Customary International Law in Indonesia. Lentera Huk 2023;10:135. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19184/ejlh.v10i1.37920

Tan NF. The status of asylum seekers and refugees in Indonesia. Int J Refug Law 2016;28:365–83. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ijrl/eew045

Sumarlan Y, Kranrattanasuit N. Restricted right to employment among refugees and asylum seekers in Indonesia and its consequences. In: Culture and International Law. CRC Press; 2019. p. 21–42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1201/9780429426032-3

Supriyadi S. International Refugees in The Protection of Human Rights: A Discourse of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law. Int Law Discourse Southeast Asia. 2022;1:43–64. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15294/ildisea.v1i1.56872

Sadjad MS. 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 J Law Soc 2021;8:451–66. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/als.2021.3

Kneebone S, Missbach A, Jones B. The false promise of Presidential Regulation No. 125 of 2016? Asian J Law Soc 2021;8:431–50. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/als.2021.2

Lister* M. Who are refugees? Law Philos 2013;32:645–71. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10982-012-9169-7

Ward P. Refugee Cities: Reflections on the Development and Impact of UNHCR Urban Refugee Policy in the Middle East. Refug Surv Q 2014;33:77–93. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/rsq/hdt024

Mowafi H. Conflict, displacement and health in the Middle East. Glob Public Health 2011;6:472–87. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2011.570358

Tsourapas G. The Syrian Refugee Crisis and Foreign Policy Decision-Making in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. J Glob Secur Stud 2019;4:464–81. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jogss/ogz016

Micinski NR. Refugee Policy as Foreign Policy: Iraqi and Afghan Refugee Resettlements to the United States. Refug Surv Q 2018;37:253–78. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/rsq/hdy007

Hugo G, Tan G, Napitupulu CJ. Indonesia as a transit country in irregular migration to Australia. A long W to go Irregul Migr patterns, Process drivers Decis 2017;167–91. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22459/LWG.12.2017.07

Afriansyah A. Why Indonesia should respect the rights of asylum seekers and refugees. In: Culture and International Law. CRC Press; 2019. p. 463–76. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1201/9780429426032-44

Goodwin-Gill G. Migration: international law and human rights. In: Managing Migration: time for a new international regime. Oxford University Press: Oxford; 2000. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198297642.003.0008

Harisman H. Protection of Human Rights in the Amendment of the 1945 Constitution of The Republic of Indonesia. In: 1st International Conference on Law and Human Rights 2020 (ICLHR 2020). Atlantis Press; 2021. p. 384–9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210506.050

Parekh S. Refugees and the ethics of forced displacement. Taylor & Francis; 2016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315883854

Feller E. Asylum, migration and refugee protection: realities, myths and the promise of things to come. Int J Refug Law 2006;18:509–36. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ijrl/eel016

Eckersley R. Culture, health and well-being. Soc Orig Heal well-being 2001;51–70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9780511819599.005

Chuengsatiansup K. Spirituality and health: an initial proposal to incorporate spiritual health in health impact assessment. Environ Impact Assess Rev 2003;23:3–15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0195-9255(02)00037-9

Herrman H, Jané-Llopis E. The status of mental health promotion. Public Health Rev 2012;34:1–21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03391674

Donnelly J. Universal human rights in theory and practice. Cornell University Press; 2013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7591/9780801467493

Freeman M. Human rights. John Wiley & Sons; 2022.

Chapman AR. Global health, human rights, and the challenge of neoliberal policies. Cambridge University Press; 2016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316104576

Hendriks. The right to health in national and international jurisprudence. Eur J Health Law 1998;5:389–408. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/15718099820522597

Yamin AE. Power, suffering, and the struggle for dignity: Human rights frameworks for health and why they matter. University of Pennsylvania Press; 2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.9783/9780812292190

Griffin J. On human rights. OUP Oxford; 2008. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199238781.001.0001

Tobin J. The right to health in international law. Oxford University Press, USA; 2012. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199603299.001.0001

Taylor AL. Making the World Health Organization work: a legal framework for universal access to the conditions for health. Am J Law Med 1992;18:301–46. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0098858800007322

Organization WH. International migration, health and human rights. World Health Organization; 2003.

Ssenyonjo M. Economic, social and cultural rights in international law. Bloomsbury Publishing; 2009. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781849803373.00007

Hadiprayitno I. Defensive Enforcement: Human Rights in Indonesia. Hum Rights Rev 2009;11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12142-009-0143-1

Tjitrawati AT, Romadhona MK. Affliction in the post Palu disaster: State failure to implement human rights standard on disaster management. Cogent Soc Sci 2023;9(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2233255

Tjitrawati AT, Tavip M, Romadhona MK. Integrative Social-Health Security For Indonesian Migrant Workers: Does Fully Covered And Protected? Malaysian J Med Heal Sci 2023.

Dimyati K, Nashir H, Elviandri E, et al. Indonesia as a legal welfare state: A prophetic-transcendental basis. Heliyon 2021;7:e07865. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07865

Brown I, editor. The Territories of Indonesia. Routledge; 2004. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203403013

Pisani E, Olivier Kok M, Nugroho K. Indonesia’s road to universal health coverage: a political journey. Health Policy Plan 2016;czw120. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czw120

Ford M. International Networks and Human Rights in Indonesia. In: Human Rights in Asia. Edward Elgar Publishing; 2011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9780857933263.00009

Davies M. States of Compliance?: Global Human Rights Treaties and ASEAN Member States. J Hum Rights 2014;13:414–33. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14754835.2014.886949

Juwana H. Internasional Law As A Political Instrument (A Case Study Of Indonesia). Al-Risalah Forum Kaji Huk dan Sos Kemasyarakatan 2018;13:1–26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.30631/alrisalah.v13i02.414

Agustina R, Dartanto T, Sitompul R, et al. Universal health coverage in Indonesia: concept, progress, and challenges. Lancet 2019;393:75–102. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31647-7

Aspinall E. Health care and democratization in Indonesia. Democratization 2014;21:803–23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2013.873791

Mboi N. Indonesia: On the Way to Universal Health Care. Heal Syst Reform 2015;1:91–7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23288604.2015.1020642

Ramadani RY, Tjitrawati AT, Romadhona MK, Narwati E, Kinasih SE. The Rights to Health for All: Is Indonesia Fully Committed to Protected Refugees and Asylum Seekers? J Hub Luar Negeri 2023;8:55–80. DOI: https://doi.org/10.70836/jh.v8i2.11

Puspitawati D, Susanto FA. Protection of People at Sea under International Law: Lesson Learnt from Pushback Action to boat people in Indonesia and Malaysia. Brawijaya Law J. 2023;10(2). DOI: https://doi.org/10.21776/ub.blj.2023.010.02.02

Angioi S. 40 Years of Forced Migrations and Refugees Flows in South-East Asia: A Regional Model or a Legal Limbo? In: International Migration and the Law. Routledge; 2024. p. 371–89. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003488569-24

Sampson RC, Gifford SM, Taylor S. The myth of transit: The making of a life by asylum seekers and refugees in Indonesia. J Ethn Migr Stud 2016;42:1135–52. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2015.1130611

Region WHOS-EA. Health of refugees and migrants. Pract Addressing Heal Needs Refug Migrants 2018.

Warf C, Eisenstein E, AlMakadma AK, et al. Challenges Faced by International Migrants and Refugees to the Health, Development, and Well-Being of Adolescents and Youth. In: Clinical Care for Homeless, Runaway and Refugee Youth. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2020. p. 349–403. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40675-2_17

Ali M, Briskman L, Fiske L. Asylum seekers and refugees in Indonesia: Problems and potentials. Cosmop Civ Soc An Interdiscip J 2016;8:22–43. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5130/ccs.v8i2.4883

Lu Y. Mental health and risk behaviours of rural–urban migrants: Longitudinal evidence from Indonesia. Popul Stud (NY) 2010;64:147–63. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00324721003734100