AGRATA SNAPSHOT 1 : Connecting the Dots: Urban Refugee and Human Trafficking.
By: Agrata Institute Indonesia
Tags: Urban Refugees, Human Rights, Unhcr, Refugees, Human Trafficking

Traditionally, the context of refugee was perceived as those who are taking refugee without any possibility to prosper themselves in refugee camps, because of the nature that temporary camps are not sufficient enough for the betterment of refugees, resettlement for refugees through urbanization of refugee become one of the contentions to improve the status quo. UNHCR defined that refugees who are residing in urban areas should be described as ‘urban refugees’. Traditionally people perceived that refugees are settled in refugee camps, however, economic development has made the nature that cities allows a refugee to live autonomously for their own life. (UNHCR, n.d) Not only refugees by conflicts who are settling in urban areas, even in 80% of the world’s urban refugee is comprised of the internally displaced persons (IDPs). Although they are situated in many urban areas and cities, it doesn’t mean that threats and other challenges are traversed completely — these urban refugees are tangible proof that the world is now challenged by unprecedented displacement crises which caused more than 26 million refugees, 4,2 million asylum seekers, and 45,7 million IDPs are still vulnerable to threats and insecurities. (UNHCR, 2019)

Picture 1: 2019 Forced Displacement Infographics Picture 1: 2019 Forced Displacement Infographics. Source: UNHCR 2019 Global Trend on Forced Displacement Report, retrieved from unhcr.org/5ee200e37.pdf

These numbers are depicting a 50–60% surge in total compared to the 2018 UNHCR Global Trend Force Displacement 2018 Report. And it should be understood that out of those 26 million refugees and 45,7 million IDPs, the non-urban refugees and urban refugees are translated into a 2:1 ratio in December 2019. This is a signal that the world is now facing numerous displacement crises which also proportional to the rising multidimensional threats towards the urban refugee either on societal, legal, financial, and or political challenges that occur. It can be in the form of partisan issues towards refugees regarding border control and immigration which usually complemented by the rising trend of populism, notorious xenophobic acts and societal hostility, criminal acts and prejudices, and the most prolonged problem: human trafficking which was done by the transnational organized crime networks. (Muggah & Abdenur, 2018)

Human trafficking is the most prolonged problem in the status quo, involving multilayered challenges and types which made it dangerous for the vulnerable urban refugee community. Financial conditions and other social preconditions have made these refugees living in urban areas prone to be trafficked by the transnational crime networks. Preconditions such as the mixed migration flows have perpetually increased the deprivation of their rights and fears, not limited only to the context of ‘refoulment’ — the darkest nightmare of a refugee, mixed migration also impact their likelihood to acquire legal protection, authorization, and capacity building. (Wilson, 2011) Why this is subjected to the collateral impact from mixed migration? Few arguments can be comprehended: First, the mixed migration flows has hindered the authorities to completely identify the urban refugees’ data for registration and bureaucratic purposes. And this was exacerbated by the fact that without sufficient data, the government couldn’t exercise their best practices on policy mapping to cater to the needs of these refugees to strive for a better life.

Hence we can conclude that without authorization to the sufficient life-supporting features, these refugees can’t improve their financial life which eventually will prolong their poor conditions which made them prone to the traffickers’ outreach. Although for example in Indonesia where these urban refugees can still work and made some incomes, the refugees are still vulnerable since most urban refugee communities in Indonesia are pretty much visible because of their minor number and other societal features which made them easy to be arrested especially those who are illegal and undocumented. (Save the Children Asia Regional Office, 2018) sometimes got arrested by the authorities and they have to play ‘hide-and-seek’ with the officials. These hide-and-seek game with the authorities has led some of them to pave the way towards the disguised traffickers that sugarcoated them with a ‘brighter future’. Illegal activities like drug trafficking, illegal prostitution, child trafficking, and other forms of human trafficking are being experienced by these refugees who are desperately looking for a better endeavor. This can be supported by the fact that in April 2020 that from 13.515 refugees in Indonesia, 7.112 of them (more than 50%) were found living in many urban slums rather than any NGO-assisted or UN-assisted settlements which made them vulnerable to be the trafficking victim. (Roshan Learning, 2020)

When a refugee is trafficked, that particular individual will have to experience the trafficking activities such as selling drugs, exploited sexually, forced labor, and even surrogacy, which will not only merely about human rights violations but also will create negative sentiments and prejudices from the society that will consider them as a ‘burden’ for their communal security. For example, there were many drug trafficking arrests by the police in Kelapa Gading, Jakarta against Nigerian refugees and other migrants, and these arrests that were also circulated in the news will increase negative sentiments from the native people that were feeling insecure because of the illegal drug activities conducted in their neighborhood. Another case in Medan in August 2019 when 2 Rohingya refugees were arrested because they are trying to smuggle cocaine as ordered by their traffickers. (Muhardiansyah, 2019) It’s safe to understand that exploitation of these refugees has backfired the norms and principles on how refugees should be treated and whatnot. The existence of local mafia (or gangs) also prolongs the repercussions against the refugees who are trying to legally acquire a better future endeavor. The case study for this narrative can be seen from the existence of mafia and gangs all over South America and Mexico which illegally procure their resources from the trafficked refugees who are leaving their unstable countries like Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil to the United States, but got troubled either by the authorities or by the gangs in their way. (United Nations, 2008)

Picture 2: 2 Rohingnyan Refugees were Arrested by the Police in Medan, August 2019. Source: https://www.merdeka.com/peristiwa/kedapatan-beli-sabu-sabu-2-pengungsi-rohingya-ditangkap-di-medan.html

Then the question right now would be, how to secure these vulnerable urban refugees from further trafficking and to resolves the damaged status quo from the collateral economic impact? The UNHCR already provides various comprehensive guidelines and policy guidance for the stakeholders, either from the internal capacity building, collaboration with the NGO, technical guidance for the implementation of UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, Trafficking In-Persons Protocol, and other measures. However, the challenges would be one simple word: ‘compliance’. Why does it matter? Because compliance from the stakeholders particularly from the government as the policymaker is needed, but challenges in the legislative process itself varied from partisan debates about refugees and social welfare, ratification of the relevant international humanitarian law, and political interests (which sometimes involves the refugees as the currency to push bilateral/ regional/ and even multilateral negotiations towards a certain political issue. In the case of Indonesia for example, the status of Indonesia as a non-party state to the 1951 Refugee Convention has set it clear that there is no foundational basis for a more extended effort. Plus, the non-existent refugee budget by the parliament for the social welfare benefits can’t allow Indonesia to procure social welfare benefits for refugees about their status.

Then what can be recommended to improve and revert the systemic challenges? We need to uphold the principle that NGO-assisted/ UNHCR-assisted settlements are better but not sustainable in the long run, therefore shared responsibility among communal stakeholders needs to be done so they can be secured until a better option allows them to strive and be resilient on their own feet. A whole-society approach should be done towards these urban refugees to ensure that the counternarrative to the xenophobic acts and prejudices can be done to preserve the refugees’ social dignity. Communication between the private and public stakeholders to have a dialogue on urban refugees and ensuring that the NGOs and other community stakeholders can advocate the benefits and potentials from the refugee to support economic development and improving the livelihood. And lastly, safety net establishment against the presence of traffickers and report them early as a pre-emptive step to counterattack them and to prevent further prolonging collateral impact from human trafficking to the urban refugees.