The world is experiencing the biggest refugee crisis since World War II. During the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ UNHCR dealing with refugees, the organization acknowledged that the highest number of refugees fleeing their countries due to war, persecution, and various other conflicts had reached 70 million. Moreover, according to UNHCR’s annual Global Trends Report, more than 2.3 million refugees flee in search of haven, reaching an average of 37,000 new cases each day, half of whom are under 18. Although refugees have left their home countries, they have not been granted citizenship status or have been denied the application in new states and transit countries. As a result, they are often not given certain human rights, such as the right to a decent life, education, and access to good health services.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) confirms that recognizing humans’ natural dignity and equal and absolute rights is based on world independence, justice, and peace. Article 25 of the UDHR explains that everyone, including his/her family, has the right to a standard of living that guarantees his/her health and well-being, including food, clothing, housing, health care, and social services. Each United Nations (UN) member state has stated in the UN Charter their belief in essential human beings and humans’ dignity and value in enhancing social progress to improve living standards.
As a UN member state, Indonesia is responsible for guaranteeing human rights to its citizens, including refugees who layover in Indonesia before heading to their destination country. As stated in the UN's declaration, respect for the values of human rights has been firmly embedded in the Constitution of Indonesia. By following the mandate of Indonesia’s 1945 Constitution, the state is responsible for guaranteeing everyone in the country a prosperous life, one of which is access to health care. The right to health is an essential aspect of human rights. Therefore, Indonesia is responsible for providing good health services for these refugees, regardless of their circumstances.
The great responsibilities and objectives of protecting refugees require vigilance due to the Indonesian people's potential health risks. Following globalization and the initiation of Global Health Security (GHS), the World Health Organization (WHO) established the International Health Regulations (IHR) to protect the world from various disease threats. IHR requires its member countries to develop and maintain the ability to detect, assess, mark, and respond to multiple public health threats globally. Thus, Indonesia is responsible for protecting the public from various health threats that can disrupt national security.
This commitment has been implemented with Presidential Regulation No. 125 of 2016 on Handling of Refugees from Abroad. Until the end of December 2017, Indonesia hosted more than 13,840 refugees from 49 countries and was dominated by conflict-affected countries, such as Afghanistan (55%), Somalia (11%), and Iraq (6%). The refugees are scattered in various Indonesia regions and placed in the Immigration Detention House in coordination with the local District / City Government. Kupang City is the capital of East Nusa Tenggara Province that has implemented the regulation and is willing to accommodate refugees from abroad. The administrative law's success is also a humanitarian call, aside from the obligation to enforce the rule. However, respect for human rights and values such as equality and solidarity must still consider the Indonesian people's health aspects for national security.
Balancing the two responsibilities is not easy: responding to the internal situation of Indonesian public health and the external condition of refugee reception. Thus, to achieve equilibrium in the government’s role, health advocacy and diplomacy capacity at the central and regional government levels is needed to coordinate, communicate, and strengthen support networks. This study analyzes the readiness of the government in balancing its role in responding to internal and external situations, including the capacity of health advocacy and diplomacy in health services for refugees in Kupang City. This analysis will be used in making recommendations to the Indonesian government from the perspective of human rights and health security.