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UN praises RI for aiding Rohingya, asks other nations to follow suit
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Rohingya refugees eat food in a temporary shelter following their arrival by boat in Laweueng, Aceh province on December 27, 2022. Rohingya refugees received emergency medical treatment after a boat carrying nearly 200 people came ashore on Tuesday authorities said, in the fourth such landing in the country in recent months.
(AFP/Chaideer Mahyudin)
T
he United Nations refugee agency UNHCR has commended Indonesia for rescuing hundreds of Rohingya refugees who were stranded at sea for weeks and called on other nations in the region to do their part to address the fresh boat crisis.
“Indonesia has helped to save [more than 400] people in the past six weeks from four boats, showing its commitment and respect of basic humanitarian principles for people who face persecution and conflict. UNHCR urges other States to follow this example”, said the UN refugee agency in a written statement published on Tuesday.
The UN plea came as local communities and international NGOs in Aceh were providing emergency assistance to over 200 Rohingya people who arrived in the province on Sunday and Monday. Among them are believed to have been a boatload of an estimated 180 people who had languished at sea for weeks and who were feared lost.
Indonesia already hosted 229 Rohingya refugees who washed ashore on the coast of North Aceh in November and who are currently living at an unused immigration office building in Lhokseumawe. The latest wave of refugees, who arrived on two boats of 58 and 174 people, respectively, brings the total number of refugees in Aceh to 451 people.
“We welcome this act of humanity by local communities and authorities in Indonesia,” said Ann Maymann, UNHCR representative in Indonesia. “These actions help to save human lives from certain death, ending torturous ordeals for many desperate people.”
ASEAN response needed
The government needs to work with its partners in the region to tackle the protracted refugee crisis, according to Amnesty International Indonesia (AII).
