Human rights body beefs up legal status<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The National Commission on Human Rights is
\nworking to strengthen its status to be a more independent and
\nauthoritative institution, its chairman said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Marzuki Darusman said the commission was negotiating with the
\ngovernment and the House of Representatives to make a law on the
\ninstitution and its authority in promoting the implementation of
\nhuman rights in the country.<\/p>\n
\"We hope we can complete negotiations by the end of this year
\nand then we will would work to design a draft law to be proposed
\nto the House to be endorsed,\" he told The Jakarta Post after
\ndelivering a speech at a seminar on human rights sponsored by the
\nInstitute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM) here.<\/p>\n
Marzuki said a strong legal basis would give the rights body
\nthe authority to investigate human rights violations on their own
\ninitiative and follow up on the findings, instead of just making
\nrecommendations.<\/p>\n
\"With the law, we will have the authority to carry out
\ninvestigations, including bringing forward witnesses to testify
\nwithout fear of being intimidated, abducted or tortured.\"<\/p>\n
The rights body, which was established in 1993 based on a
\npresidential decree, has been permitted only to make
\nrecommendations from results of its findings in the field. It has
\nno authority to carry out investigations on its own or to compel
\nauthorities to follow up on their findings on human rights
\nviolations.<\/p>\n
Military culture<\/p>\n
Marzuki also said the restrictive military culture that
\npervades the bureaucracy was not conducive to the true protection
\nof human rights in the country.<\/p>\n
\"The past government issued too many restrictions and
\nlimitations, instead of playing role as a facilitator, so that
\nmany actions it took were against human rights,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that former president Soeharto's regime had
\nratified several United Nations conventions but it had a hollow
\ncommitment to comply with them.<\/p>\n
\"The ratifications of the convention were symbolic actions,\"
\nhe said, citing the practices of intimidation and repression
\nwhich prevailed for many years.<\/p>\n
Marzuki hailed President B.J. Habibie's recent decision to
\nlaunch a national human rights campaign, saying it should be
\ncounted as an advancement in the effort to promote rights
\nprotection.<\/p>\n
ELSAM chairman Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara urged the public
\nto be more active in pressing the government and the House to
\nratify conventions and to fully comply with them.<\/p>\n
He said the torture of land owners who refused to sell their
\nland to businesspeople, the recent abductions of student
\nactivists and the use of repressive approaches in police and
\nmilitary investigations were evidence of the urgent need for the
\ncountry to immediately ratify the UN conventions.<\/p>\n
Up to now, of 25 UN conventions on human rights, only four
\nhave been ratified by Indonesia. The country has yet to ratify
\nthe prime convention, the International Bill of Human Rights, and
\ntwo main covenants, the International Covenant on Civil and
\nPolitical Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social
\nand Cultural Rights, he said. (rms)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/human-rights-body-beefs-up-legal-status-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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