Indonesia’s Legal Obligations toward Rohingya Refugees under Public International Law
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62193/te925072Keywords:
customary international law, public international law, rohingya refugees, state responsibilityAbstract
The arrival of Rohingya refugees in Indonesia continues amid the absence of a clear and consistent legal framework for their protection. Indonesia’s position is particularly complex: it has not ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, yet remains situated within the normative landscape of public international law. The customary status of the non-refoulement principle offers a critical entry point for assessing the state’s legal responsibilities. This article adopts a normative and doctrinal approach to explore the tension between international legal standards and Indonesia’s domestic policy responses. It examines the extent to which the state bears non-treaty obligations to uphold refugee protection, even without formal ratification. The findings suggest that the current national framework lacks the coherence and legal certainty required to sustain long-term protection. Legal reform, therefore, is not merely a matter of normative alignment, but a reflection of Indonesia’s humanitarian engagement within an increasingly interconnected international legal order.
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