State Sovereignty and Statelessness: Protecting the Bajau Laut in Southeast Asia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26623/jic.v11i2.12561Keywords:
Bajau Laut, Legal Frameworks, Stateless PersonsAbstract
This article examines the normative tension between state sovereignty and international legal obligations in addressing statelessness among the Bajau Laut in Southeast Asia. Employing a normative juridical method with a comparative approach, the study analyses legal frameworks and practices in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines concerning nationality, civil registration, and the protection of maritime nomadic communities. The findings reveal that state responses remain fragmented and predominantly driven by security and migration control considerations, resulting in inconsistent and often inadequate protection for the Bajau Laut, particularly in maritime border areas. Furthermore, domestic legal regimes in the three countries are only partially aligned with international standards on statelessness and the protection of indigenous peoples, leading to persistent legal invisibility and limited access to basic rights. This article contributes to the literature by proposing a regional cooperative legal framework that integrates nationality law harmonisation, adaptive civil registration mechanisms, and cross-border administrative coordination. Such a framework aims to enhance access to nationality and fundamental services for the Bajau Laut while maintaining respect for state sovereignty and reinforcing compliance with international human rights obligations.
References
Acciaioli, Greg, Helen Brunt, and Julian Clifton. “Foreigners Everywhere, Nationals Nowhere: Exclusion, Irregularity, and Invisibility of Stateless Bajau Laut in Eastern Sabah, Malaysia.” Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies 15 (August 2017): 233–34. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/15562948.2017.1319526.
Ahirullah, Rajab. “The Role of the International Community and the Responsibility of States to the Existence of Stateless Nations from a Human Rights Perspective.” Journal of Public Representative and Society Provision 6, no. 1 (February 6, 2026): 182–97. https://doi.org/10.55885/jprsp.v6i1.767.
Alexander, Heather. “The Nationality and Statelessness of Nomads under International Law: With a Comprehensive Examination of the Nationality and Statelessness of Former Bedouin in Kuwait, Tuareg in Mali and Sama Dilaut (Bajau Laut) in Malaysia.” Tilburg University, 2020. https://doi.org/https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3762178.
Andal, Aireen Grace. “Nomadic Boat-Dwelling Children of Southeast Asia: Discourses on the Sama-Bajau Children and Implications on Decentering Child Migration Studies.” Children & Society 39 (January 2023): 653. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12686.
Arpannudin, Iqbal, and Dewantara Jagad Aditya. “Legality and Delayed Citizenship: The Identity Crisis of Indonesian Migrant Children in Sabah and Sarawak.” Jurnal Civics: Media Kajian Kewarganegaraan 22 (2025). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.21831/jc.v22i2.89429.
Assistant High Commissioner for Protection. “73rd Session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner’s Programme Statement by Gillian Triggs.” International Journal of Refugee Law 35 (October 9, 2023). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/ijrl/eead015.
Bauböck, Rainer, ed. Citizenship and Statelessness. In The Oxford Handbook of Citizenship. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020.
Batchelor, Carol. “Transforming International Legal Principles into National Law: The Right to a Nationality and the Avoidance of Statelessness.” Refugee Survey Quarterly 25, no. 3 (2006): 8–25. https://doi.org/10.1093/rsq/hdi0276.
Cairns, Rebecca. “They’ve Sailed across Southeast Asia for Centuries. Now, These Sea Nomads Are Being Forced to Live on Land.” CNN Climate, November 26, 2024.
Darmawan, Feby Dwiki, Dodik Setiawan, dan Nur Heriyanto. “Invoking International Human Rights Law To Prevent Statelessness of International Refugee Children Born in Indonesia.” Prophetic Law Review 5, no. 1 (June 1, 2023): 22–41. https://doi.org/10.20885/PLR.vol5.iss1.art2.
Fadjri, Khalid, and Budi Ardianto. “Stateless Person dalam Tinjauan Hukum Nasional dan Hukum Internasional di Indonesia.” Uti Possidetis: Journal of International Law 1, no. 3 (2020): 277–309. https://doi.org/10.22437/up.v1i3.10873.
Gluck, Caroline. “Ensuring the Rights of Nomadic Seafarers.” UNHCR US, September 25, 2019.
Gocke, Katja. Indigenous Peoples in International Law. Gottingen Studies in Cultural Property. Göttingen: Göttingen University Press, 2013.
Hassan, Wan Shawaluddin Wan, and Diana Peters. “The Vulnerability of Bajau Laut as Stateless People in Sabah.” Jurnal Kinabalu Bil 26 (December 2020). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.51200/ejk.v26i2.2771.
Ikrami, Hadyu. “Sulu–Sulawesi Seas Patrol: Lessons from the Malacca Straits Patrol and Other Similar Cooperative Frameworks.” The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law 33, no. 4 (November 13, 2018): 799–826. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718085-12334092.
Istikhomah. “Kebijakan Hukum terhadap Individu Tanpa Kewarganegaraan Berdasarkan Perspektif Hak Asasi Manusia dan Konstitusi.” Refleksi Hukum: Jurnal Ilmu Hukum 9 (2025). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.24246/jrh.2025.v9.i2.p237-258.
Jones, Lee. “ASEAN’s Unchanged Melody? The Theory and Practice of ‘Non-Interference’ in Southeast Asia.” The Pacific Review 23, no. 4 (2010): 479–502. https://doi.org/10.1080/09512748.2010.495997.
Kusuma, Pradiptajati. “The Last Sea Nomads of the Indonesian Archipelago: Genomic Origins and Dispersal.” European Journal of Human Genetics, May 2017, 1009. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1038/ejhg.2017.88.
Leong, Mandy, Hussein Hasnoor, and Latiff Rozanna. “Malaysia’s Eviction of Sea Nomads Casts Light on Precarious Lives.” Reuters, October 14, 2024.
Mujiono, Dadang I. K. “The Sea People of Southeast Asia: Forgotten Guardians of Maritime Security.” The Diplomat, February 15, 2025.
Nurmawati, Made. “The Stateless Person in Indonesia: Consequences and Legal Protection.” Jurnal Mahasiswa Hukum Udayana 11, no. 1 (2022). https://doi.org/10.24843/JMHU.2022.v11.i01.p06.
Pornnapat, Suwalak, Noichim Chukeat, and Kanthawee Phitsanuruk. “Scoping the ASEAN and the ‘ASEAN Way’ on the Healthcare Policies for Stateless in ASEAN Member States During COVID-19.” Discover Health Systems 4 (February 2025): 2. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s44250-025-00193-y.
Pradityo, Rahmadanu. “Maritime Insecurities in the Sulu and Sulawesi Seas.” Jurnal Sosial Humaniora 17, no. 1 (July 31, 2024): 1–20. https://doi.org/10.12962/j24433527.v17i1.18051.
Pramana Syahla Ailani and Tedjabuwana Rosa. “Kedudukan Stateless Person dalam Pemenuhan dan Perlindungan Hak untuk Bekerja di Negara Transit Berdasarkan Hukum Internasional.” UNES Law Review 9 (October 3, 2025).
Pramana Syahla dan Tedjabuwana Rosa. “Kedudukan Stateless Person dalam Pemenuhan dan Perlindungan Hak untuk Bekerja di Negara Transit Berdasarkan Hukum Internasional.” UNES Law Review 7 (September 2024): 229. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.31933/unesrev.v7i1.
Razali, Rodziana Mohamed, ed. Safeguarding against Statelessness at Birth: International Law and Domestic Legal Frameworks of ASEAN Member States. Singapore: Springer Nature, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5371-2.
Rachman, Salim Hananda, and Widodo Hananto. “Perlindungan Hukum terhadap Stateless Person di Indonesia.” Novum: Jurnal Hukum 4 (January 15, 2017).
Safrin, Salam. “Perlindungan Hukum Hak Bermukim Suku Bajo di Indonesia, Salah Satu Bentuk Implementasi Hak Asasi Manusia.” Jurnal Bina Hukum Lingkungan 8 (2024). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.24970/bhl.v8i2.257.
Schiff, Jennifer S. “Masquerading as Compliance: Tracing Canada’s Policy Implementation of the Human Right to Water.” Journal of Human Rights Practice 8 (May 9, 2016). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/jhuman/huw006.
Suhakam. “SUHAKAM Calls for Immediate Suspension of Evictions and for Humane Solutions in Semporna.” Kuala Lumpur: Suhakam, August 14, 2024.
Supreme Court of the Philippines. “SC Approves Rule on Facilitated Naturalization of Refugees and Stateless Persons.” February 16, 2022.
Tempo. “Asal-Usul Suku Bajo yang Diusir Malaysia, Kerabatnya di Indonesia hingga Filipina.” Tempo, June 13, 2024.
———. “Malaysia Bakar Rumah dan Usir Ratusan Suku Bajo yang Jadi Inspirasi Film Avatar.” Tempo, June 9, 2024.
The Aquatic Ape. “Bajau Laut.” The Aquatic Ape, n.d.
UNHCR. “Citizenship Brings Hope to Stateless Minorities.” UNHCR, November 10, 2020.
Van Waas, Laura. Nationality Matters: Statelessness under International Law. Antwerp: Intersentia, 2008.
Wijayanti, Winda, and Ghoffar Abdul. Dinamika Dwi Kewarganegaraan 199 negara di Dunia. Depok: Rajawali Pers, 2022.
Yunos, Siti Salwa Mohd, Kevin Fernandez, and Gayathri Muruga Subramaniam. “Pandemic Borders Policy: Securitizing Stateless People during COVID-19 in Sabah, Malaysia.” Otoritas: Jurnal Ilmu Pemerintahan 15, no. 2 (August 30, 2025): 467–78. https://doi.org/10.26618/ojip.v15i2.18497.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Jurnal Ius Constituendum
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The journal holds the copyright for each article published with work licensed simultaneously under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the authorship and early publication of the work in this journal.
