PERAN INDONESIA SEBAGAI NEGARA TRANSIT BAGI PENGUNGSI INTERNASIONAL DALAM PERSPEKTIF KEDAULATAN NEGARA DAN HAK ASASI MANUSIA

Abstract

This study examines Indonesia's position as a transit state for international refugees from the perspective of international law and analyzes the relationship between the principles of state sovereignty and the protection of refugees' human rights. Employing a normative legal research method through statutory, conceptual, and international law approaches, this study examines relevant primary and secondary legal materials. The findings reveal two main conclusions. First, although Indonesia has not ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, it remains bound by the principle of non-refoulement as a norm of customary international law that is binding upon all states regardless of their ratification status. Indonesia's strategic geographical location has made it a de facto transit state, with approximately 11,900 registered refugees from 54 countries as of 2025. The existing national legal framework, particularly Law Number 6 of 2011 on Immigration and Presidential Regulation Number 125 of 2016, has yet to provide comprehensive protection for refugees because it primarily emphasizes immigration control rather than the protection of human rights. Second, there exists a profound normative tension between the principle of state sovereignty and the obligation to protect human rights, as reflected in refugee management policies that remain reactive, administrative in nature, and heavily dependent on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in carrying out Refugee Status Determination (RSD). Harmonization between these two principles can be achieved through a policy reorientation that recognizes state sovereignty in the modern era as not absolute, but rather as a responsibility exercised in accordance with universal humanitarian norms.