T

he UN High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) has urged Indonesia to reconsider signing the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees as part of concerted efforts to resolve the issue of irregular migration.

As issues of irregular migration and forced displacement of people garner a broader audience on the global stage, the UN refugee agency raised the need for countries to come together in finding a global solution.

The UNHCR Assistance High Commissioner for Protection, Volker Türk, argued that all countries were affected by the forced displacement of people and suggested that Indonesia would be best served by being a party to the convention.

“We’ve always been hoping that Indonesia would sign the 1951 refugee convention,” Türk told a press conference in Jakarta on Monday.

“The solution doesn’t lie in one country alone; it requires an approach with all countries in the region.”

He argued that countries involved in aiding refugees stood to benefit from the strong international framework of support that comes with it.

The Foreign Ministry could not be reached for comment.

As a non-signatory of the Refugee Convention, Indonesia does not have the authority to determine the status of asylum seekers and must wait for verification by UNHCR.

Indonesia is also not obliged to allocate resources to support UN operations, although it has continued to play a pivotal role in tackling the issue of irregular migration in Southeast Asia through the Bali Process mechanism.

Meanwhile, there is also an emerging realization from actors in the field that refugees are increasingly making an enormously valuable contribution to host communities and societies.

“If you work well the host community could benefit and the refugee community can benefit, it is a win-win situation,” he said.

At the UN General Assembly in September, the organization’s 193 member states agreed to adopt the New York Declaration, which aims to achieve a more equitable sharing of the burden and responsibility for hosting and supporting refugees.

Türk further argued that the New York Declaration provided a blueprint of action in achieving equitable burden-sharing.

“By [seeking] win-win solutions, you can actually do this responsibility sharing, taking into account that some countries have more resources than others,” he said.

Meanwhile, the UNHCR representative also lambasted Australia for its recent deployment of naval vessels to ward off any refugees who tried to enter the country by boat.

Türk argued that Australia was in violation of the basic right for family unity and the right to seek asylum in and of itself, and that the restrictions Canberra imposed on family reunification was one of the reasons behind irregular movements in the region.

“One of the important concerns we have expressed is we do think Australia has to be part of the solution,” he said. “If people have strong, close family links in Australia, for example, it is really key that they are able to reunite as families.”

Türk did however welcome the recent announcement on Sunday by Australia on a resettlement deal with the US for refugees being held in offshore facilities after attempting to reach Australia by boat.

“Looking at the people who are directly affected there is a glimmer of hope now with the announcement,” he said. “Lives of people are at stake and it’s good to find a solution.”

Under Australia’s tough border security laws, asylum seekers intercepted trying to reach the country by boat are sent for processing at detention camps on Papua New Guinea’s Manus island and the tiny South Pacific island nation of Nauru.