The rights-based approach ensures basic service provision<\/p>\n
UNSFIR, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government in Indonesia has in the past organized public
\nservices with a centralized command structure that distributed
\nnational resources according to central priorities.<\/p>\n
The national 2004 Human Development Report argues for a
\ndifferent, \"rights-based\" approach that would empower people
\nacross the country to demand the services to which they are
\nentitled and to join in decisions on how and where these should
\nbe delivered.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has now held two successful elections since the end
\nof the New Order regime -- a clear sign of how much Indonesians
\nvalue their right to express their opinions and to choose their
\nown leaders. But a functioning electoral system is only one
\naspect of freedom.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's 2004 National Human Development Report argues that
\nin a democracy people should have a more comprehensive set of
\nrights, not just to select their political leaders but also to
\nlive full and healthy lives, and to acquire the knowledge and
\nskills to maximize their capacities.<\/p>\n
The report is a joint publication of the national planning
\nagency, BAPPENAS, the statistical agency, BPS, and the United
\nNations Development Programme (UNDP). It says: \"Democracy in
\nIndonesia should be seen not as an end it itself but rather as a
\nvehicle that carries the country to a new era of opportunities.
\nIndeed if it does not do so there is a danger that many people
\nwill become disillusioned with democracy and hanker for the false
\nsecurity of autocratic rule\".<\/p>\n
The report argues that the responsibility has to be shared
\nvery broadly. But Indonesians can also look for strong support
\nfrom the state. Indeed they have a right to expect such support
\nsince they employ thousands of public servants and elect
\nthousands more political representatives, at both central and
\nlocal levels, who should be working on their behalf.<\/p>\n
Though this sounds like a new idea the basic principles are
\nwell established.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has ratified both the Convention on the Elimination
\nof all forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention
\non the Rights of the Child. Indeed in 1993 Indonesia even
\nendorsed the principles of an overall Right to Development which
\nestablishes that people have not just political rights but also
\nsocial and economic rights.<\/p>\n
Much of its responsibility is simply to create the conditions
\nin which the rights can be fulfilled, by upholding the rule of
\nlaw, for example, and building the kind of infrastructure that is
\nessential to development in a market economy.<\/p>\n
However the government will also have to make direct provision
\nfor essential items such as basic education and health care as
\nwell as physical security that many people would not be able to
\nget from the market.<\/p>\n
To a significant extent the Indonesian government already does
\nthis. It does after all provide public schools and hospitals, and
\nduring the economic crisis stepped in to construct a social
\nsafety net for the poorest. What is different about looking at
\nthis same activity from the perspective of rights? The report
\npoints to a number of key elements.<\/p>\n
One is the central principle of equality. Human rights are
\npossessed equally by everyone, from the occupant of the
\npresidential palace, to inhabitants the most remote village in
\nPapua. This means achieving the same standards of service
\ndelivery across the country which demands constant efforts to
\nmeet the rights of those who have been marginalized and excluded.<\/p>\n
Another crucial component of the rights approach is
\nparticipation. The rights approach pays close attention not just
\nto the fulfillment of rights but also to the way in which they
\nare fulfilled. People should be able to participate fully in
\ndetermining rights and setting priorities. This also implies
\nempowerment.<\/p>\n
The rights approach also implies performance standards --
\nsetting targets and monitoring their achievement. This is the
\nphilosophy behind the United Nations Millennium Development Goals
\n(MDGs), for example, which set targets on issues like poverty
\nreduction, on school enrollment and on gender equality. Indonesia
\nhas produced its own report on the MDGs which shows that the
\ncountry should be on course to meet many of these goals by the
\nyear 2015.<\/p>\n
It might be argued, however, that despite Indonesia's
\ncommitment to the rights-based approach this is not the most
\nappropriate time to try to deliver on it -- given that the
\ncountry is still recovering from one of the worst economic crises
\nin its history, is undergoing a systemic transition and faces
\ntight budgetary constraints.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile it also faces the hugely complex process of
\ndecentralizing much of its public administration to hundreds of
\ndistricts across a vast archipelago.<\/p>\n
In fact these are precisely the circumstances when the rights
\napproach is particularly appropriate because it offers a new
\nimpulse for human development.<\/p>\n
For seven years Indonesia has been focusing largely on
\nsurvival, and on moving from a corrupt autocracy to a more modern
\nand democratic, rules-based society. The rights approach offers a
\nroute to the future -- carrying with it aspirations and a sense
\nof entitlement. This is not just rhetorical; it is also a process
\nof imagining -- of enabling people to envisage the future.<\/p>",
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