Activists have pointed out that Indonesia is part of many international and regional human rights conventions to ensure the rights of refugees, even though the government did not sign the 1951 Refugee Convention, which obliges members to take in and take care of refugees.

Indonesia is party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and others rights agreements.

“The government can and should do better,” said Zico Pestalozzi of the Indonesian Civil Society Association for the Protection of Refugee Rights (SUAKA) on Monday.

“And this is not only for the benefit of refugees but also the government itself. Seeing the refugee as the problem is the problem.”

Zico’s appeal echoed the desires of thousands of refugees who have long been struggling to obtain better access to basic rights in Indonesia as they wait to be resettled in other countries, usually after fleeing conflict or persecution in their home countries.

Indonesia was hosting 13,534 refugees as of May, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR).

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