Dear Prime Minister Anthony Albanese,
Congratulations on your re-election as prime minister. Human Rights Watch looks forward to working with you and your government to make the protection of human rights a strong pillar of Australia’s domestic and foreign policy.
Human Rights Watch is a nongovernmental human rights organization that is dedicated to defending and promoting human rights in about 100 countries around the world. We have had an office in Sydney since 2013.
I am writing in relation to your upcoming trip to Indonesia. We note that shortly after you were elected, you announced that your first visit as head of state in your second term would be to Indonesia. We appreciate what a significant partner Indonesia is in the region.
In recognition of Australia’s important trade and security relationship with Indonesia, we encourage you to work with President Prabowo Subianto on issues of shared concern. In particular, we urge you to identify aligned approaches to the human rights crisis in Myanmar and to the situation of ethnic Rohingya.
Myanmar
We believe the situation in Myanmar should be a focus of your discussions because both Indonesia and Australia’s long-term economic and security interests are best served in a region that respects rights.
Together with President Prabowo, you should seek to strengthen and harmonize multilateral efforts, including the use of targeted sanctions, to more effectively pressure the junta to end violations of human rights and humanitarian law.
We specifically urge Australia to:
- Expand targeted sanctions on Myanmar-related entities and seek cooperation from ASEAN countries. Australian and United States sanctions on Myanmar banks, for example, have reduced the junta’s ability to procure weapons and other military supplies, particularly when upheld by ASEAN members in Southeast Asian jurisdictions, such as Singapore. If Australia were to expand its sanctions regime to include the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), the junta’s single largest source of foreign revenue, it would increase leverage for other approaches from Indonesia and ASEAN. Such measures would require ASEAN cooperation in enforcement, particularly from Thailand as the largest purchaser of gas from Myanmar.
- Commit along with the Indonesian government to supporting the inclusion of Myanmar civil society in regional efforts toward improving human rights, humanitarian access, and processes for accountability and justice for the military’s grave crimes.
Rohingya
Currently, thousands of Rohingya continue to undertake dangerous voyages to flee violence and oppression in Myanmar and growing restrictions and difficult conditions in Bangladesh. Rohingya attempting to flee by sea or overland describe being subject to beatings, extortion, and other abuses by unscrupulous traffickers and smugglers. Over the past year, more than 600 Rohingya died or went missing at sea. Approximately two-thirds of Rohingya attempting these journeys are women and children. Many are looking to reach Malaysia or Indonesia despite the threat of boat pushbacks, anti-refugee violence, and immigration detention.
Responsibility for the security of the Rohingya rests primarily with Myanmar but extends to the countries where they seek refuge and to the broader international community, which should provide resources and support. We commend the Australian government for the dramatic increase in the number of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh that it resettled in 2024.
We urge that:
- Australia and Indonesia, as co-chairs of the Bali Process, recommit to the lessons learned from the Andaman Sea crisis 10 years ago, when members acknowledged that “unilateral, unplanned and unprepared responses led to deaths, inadequate/delayed access to basic services, refusal of landing/entry.”
- Indonesia and other receiving countries should provide refugees with access to fair asylum procedures and ensure they are not subject to indefinite detention, inhospitable conditions, or threat of being forcibly returned to Myanmar.
- Australia and other foreign governments should promote equitable responsibility sharing, including by increasing resettlement opportunities for Rohingya refugees.
- Australia should also commit to lifting its ban on resettling refugees from Indonesia who registered with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) after 2014.
We thank you for your consideration of these important issues. Please let us know if you would like additional information on these or other human rights concerns.
Yours sincerely,
Daniela Gavshon
Australia director, Human Rights Watch
