The Practice of People Smuggling in Indonesia: Draconian Laws for a Better Life

Abstract

The era of globalization and the mobility of goods and services across different countries have led to the emergence of transnational crimes, one of which is human smuggling. Many countries have been harmed either directly or indirectly by the crime of people smuggling, and most importantly, the rights of smuggled people are definitely neglected. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the strictness of Indonesian national legal provisions in relation to the crime of human smuggling and law enforcement activities conducted by the state apparatus in combating the practice of people smuggling in Indonesia. This article is a conceptual article that uses qualitative methods with statutory approaches, conceptual approaches, and case approaches. Indonesia's national legal provisions related to the crime of people smuggling are contained in the Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 15 Year 2009 on the Ratification of Protocols against the Smuggling of Migrants through Land, Sea and Air, Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 6 Year 2011 on Immigration, and Director General of Immigration Regulations Number F-1002 on Procedure of Detention. Law enforcement by the state in combating the practice of human smuggling in Indonesia involves many agencies, but the police and immigration authorities are at the forefront of combating this crime. The international community clearly has a major role to play in combating the flow of people smuggling, starting from the home country to the transit and destination countries, so that a better human life can be realized.