Protection of Environmental Rights for International Refugees in Indonesia: Present Practice and Future Challenges

Abstract

Human rights related to the environment and its enjoyment have been recognized in international law and need to be fulfilled without exception. One group that is vulnerable to the violation of human rights is international refugees. This paper aims to answer two problems they are the recent practice of environmental rights protection for refugees in the Republic of Indonesia and the future challenges faced by the Indonesian government in protecting the environmental rights of the refugees. This was doctrinal legal research using a statutory approach and a conceptual approach. The data used is secondary data in the form of legislation and scientific works related to the formulation of the problem. It is found that the Government of Indonesia has made efforts to protect the environmental rights of refugees residing in Indonesian territory through various means, including regulations issued by the government and through practical daily activities within the refugee shelters. However, there are still obstacles and limitations such as the imbalance between facilities and immigration personnel compare to the number of refugees as well as the uneven distribution of facilities for supporting the environmental rights of refugees throughout the territory of Indonesia. Thus, it is necessary to increase awareness by disseminating correct environmental knowledge and information to the public, including refugees’ shelters personnel, policymakers in the shelters area, as well as communities around the shelters.