New York-wapresri.go.id. In front of the United Nation General Assembly, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said that the world should work together to address refugee crisis resulted from conflicts in various parts of the world. 

“This challenge is too big for a single country or region to handle. We need a better and more inclusive international cooperation,” said the Vice President in the session held at the UN Assembly Hall in New York, United States, on Monday (Sept. 19).

Nowadays, the Vice President continued, many people are forced to leave their country due to conflict in their country. On their way while evacuating, he said, they had to face challenges that can threaten their lives.

“Sadly, the international community stands still to see the countless number of immigrants drowned in the Mediterranean Sea,” he said.

Hence, the Vice President emphasized that the world work together to ensure that such humanitarian tragedy will not happen again in the future.

Although Indonesia does not ratify the 1951 Convention, the Vice President said, the country still provides humanitarian assistance to immigrants in need.

“There are currently almost fourteen thousand refugees and asylum seekers in Indonesia. Indonesia joins a cooperation with the UNHCR and the IOM to provide facilities and temporary shelter for them, including repatriation and resettlement program,” he said.

Indonesia, the Vice President said, has also initiated the Bali Process, which is a holistic approach to address people smuggling, human trafficking, and cross-border crime.

Concluding his speech, the Vice President reiterated that the meeting attended by many heads of state should produce real improvement in the handling of refugees.

“(This is) to prevent more refugees losing their lives on their way, to protect those in need of humanitarian assistance, and to end the suffering of millions of refugees in various shelters,” he said.