The Political Law of Presidential Regulation on the Handling of Refugees in Indonesia

Indonesia has been dealing with refugees since 1950s, despite the fact that the country has never been a party to the 1951 Refugees Convention and its 1967 Protocol. As of May 2017, according to UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), Indonesia has been hosting 14,500 refugees from more than 57 countries. In handling of refugees, Indonesia puts forward the value of human rights that in line with its nation’s ideology (Pancasila) and its constitutions (UUD 1945), and Regulation Number 39 Year 1999 pertaining to human rights. At the end of 2016, president of Indonesia releases new regulation pertaining this matter to show its willingness and strong commitment to help these refugees. Therefore, this new regulation is expected to balance out the challenge as well as the threat that might harm the nation with the arrival of these foreigners and the implementation of existing regulations on human rights. Thus, this research examines about the ius constitutum and ius constituendum pertaining to the handling of refugees in Indonesia. This research is legal research, using statute approach and descriptive legal research. Ultimately, the results of this research are expected to give more insights on the handling of refugees in a non-state party to the other state parties to the 1951 convention relating to the status of refugee.