Refugees in Indonesia protest slow UN resettlement process

Indonesia is home to nearly 14,000 men, women and children seeking resettlement in other countries, according to UNHCR.

Refugees from Afghanistan hold placards during a protest outside the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees office in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Feb. 6, 2017. | AP 

JAKARTA: Asylum seekers in Indonesia have staged a protest in the capital urging the UN refugee agency to speed up the process of resettling them in third countries.

Dozens of people from war-torn countries including Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan and Somalia who have been in Indonesia for years called on the UNHCR to accelerate their resettlement. They waved banners reading "Refugees are human" and "Save us" during today's rally at the UNHCR office in Jakarta.

Indonesia is home to nearly 14,000 men, women and children seeking resettlement in other countries, according to UNHCR. About 7,500 have been recognized as refugees, but last year just 610 were resettled in other countries such as the United States and Canada.