Indonesia honours Tamkeen with HWPA Award for supporting migrant workers in Jordan

AMMAN — The Indonesian government has awarded Tamkeen for Legal Aid and Human Rights, a non-profit organisation in Jordan, the Hassan Wirajuda Citizen Protection Award (HWPA) 2020 for its “outstanding work” in protecting Indonesian workers in Jordan, according to a statement from the Indonesian embassy.

Since 2009, Tamkeen has been working closely with the Indonesian embassy in Amman in providing advocacy and assistances to more than 800 Indonesian migrant workers who are facing abuses and mistreatment, the statement said.

The most common issues include physical and sexual abuse, payment of less than the minimum wage, witholding and non-payment of wages, and withholding passports, according to the statement. 

In addition, working with relevant institutions and communities in Jordan, Tamkeen has also provided legal assistances and support for Indonesian citizens who become “the victim of human-trafficking in Jordan”.

The Indonesian embassy Ad-interim Chief of Mission, Adriansyah, on behalf of the Indonesian government handed over the HWPA 2020 award to Linda Al Kalash, the director of Tamkeen at the Indonesian embassy  on Friday.

“On behalf of the Indonesian government, I ‘d like to extend our appreciation to Tamkeen for its relentless effort in supporting the works of embassy to provide protection to our citizens in Amman,” said Adriansyah. 

“Citizen protection has been one of embassy’s main priorities, and we are looking forward to having a stronger cooperation with Tamkeen, including with other stakeholders, regarding this issue,” he said. 

The annual HWPA award, initiated since 2015,  is named after former Indonesian foreign minister Hassan Wirajuda in recognition of his role as an initiator and pioneer of citizen protection. 

He introduced the concept of Citizen Service and formed a special unit in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be responsible for the protection of Indonesian citizens and BHI services abroad.

The HWPA awardees are not limited to Indonesian citizens, but also foreign citizens who work for Indonesian missions abroad.

HWPA 2020 comprised 23 awardees from eight different categories, which include heads of missions, diplomatic staffs, NGOs, the diaspora, embassies and local governments, the statement said.

Tamkeen was the only NGOs to receive the award for this year, according to the statement