Although we are not parties to the 1951 Refugee Convention, on humanitarian grounds, Indonesia and Jordan continue to provide temporary shelters to thousands, if not millions, of refugees in their countries.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The governments of Indonesia and Jordan have initiated their first humanitarian dialog in Amman, the Indonesian Embassy in Amman noted in a written statement released on Wednesday.

"Despite not being parties to the 1951 Refugee Convention, on humanitarian grounds, Indonesia and Jordan have consistently assisted by offering temporary shelters to thousands if not millions of refugees in their countries," Secretary General of the Coordinating Ministry of Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Lieutenant General Agus Surya Bakti noted in the dialog held at the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates.

This is indicative of the fact that Indonesia and Jordan are close linked in terms of handling refugees at the national and global levels, he pointed out.

Director of Human Rights and Humanity of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry Achsanul Habib highlighted the significance of eliciting the international community's commitment to handling the refugee problem, especially by adherence to the principles of taking onus and sharing responsibilities.

Through this practice, destination nations will be able to meet their commitments in a more comprehensive manner without further burdening transit nations, which are largely developing countries, he explained.

"Intensification of dialog over the refugee issue between Indonesia and Jordan is deemed significant to back one another's stance in deliberating on the refugee crisis in global forums," he pointed out.

In the meantime, Indonesian Ambassador to Jordan Andy Rachmanto has lauded the Government of Jordan for its seriousness to tackling the problem of refugees, including those from Palestine.

Indonesia will persistently extend support to Palestinian refugees in Jordan, through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization (JHCO), by adopting innovative measures and forging partnership with non-governmental actors in Indonesia, he noted.

At the conclusion of the meeting, both nations concurred on the significance of moving towards initiating a bilateral framework for holding regular humanitarian dialog between both countries to offer a platform to share views and experiences in solving the refugee problem.



Translator: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga, Suharto
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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