Why ratify the civil rights covenant?<\/p>\n
Ridarson Galingging
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
The government is expected to ratify the International
\nCovenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The ratification
\nwill make the ICCPR a binding legal instrument that can be
\nenforced domestically.<\/p>\n
But what is it that makes it crucial for the current
\ngovernment to ratify it? Indonesia in fact already has human
\nrights laws, a Human Rights Commission, and apparently, is the
\nonly country in the world to establish a human rights (ad hoc)
\ncourt.<\/p>\n
The ICCPR, which was adopted by the UN in 1966, is one of the
\nmost important international legal instruments for human rights
\nprotection. This covenant regulates how states should treat their
\nown citizens by applying a single global standard of human rights
\nnorms.<\/p>\n
The ICCPR is a basic "human rights code" and some of its
\nprovisions have become international customary law referred to by
\njudicial bodies worldwide when human rights are being discussed
\nor cases decided.<\/p>\n
This human rights treaty contains fundamental rights ranging
\nfrom the right to life, freedom of thought, conscience and
\nreligion, due process rights, protection of the family and
\nchildren, rights of political participation and minority rights,
\namong many others.<\/p>\n
Ratification will reflect a strong commitment by the
\ngovernment that Indonesia is serious in its effort to promote and
\nprotect human rights domestically and internationally.<\/p>\n
Ratifying the ICCPR will mean that when the country talks
\nabout human rights, Indonesia will join the rest of the world and
\nuse a "universal human rights language", not its own version of
\nhuman rights, often used in the past by Indonesian state
\nofficials and judicial bodies.<\/p>\n
The government will also show its readiness to face legal
\nclaims from its own citizens and the international community
\nwhenever it fails to obey and enforce the ICCPR provisions.<\/p>\n
Thus the ICCPR will be complementary to the incomplete rights
\ncontained in the 1945 Constitution, and it also provides
\nalternative forums for Indonesian citizens who can claim that
\ntheir constitutional rights have been violated by the state.<\/p>\n
If the government wants the country to have stronger human
\nrights mechanisms, it should also ratify the Rome Statute of the
\nInternational Criminal Court (ICC) that criminalizes individuals
\nwho commit war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.<\/p>\n
The ratification will not bring all the legal changes needed
\novernight. Human rights are complex, and violations involve the
\nmilitary, entrenched power interests, and an existing anti-human
\nrights culture.<\/p>\n
Indonesia still has a lot of work to do in order to integrate
\nthe values and norms contained in the ICCPR into the country's
\ndomestic legal system and institutions.<\/p>\n
Many laws and regulations need to be amended. ICCPR training
\nshould be provided to judges, prosecutors, attorneys, and the
\npolice. The state also needs to allocate funds from its already
\nlimited budget to support all these programs that will promote
\nthe ICCPR.<\/p>\n
A further consequence of the ratification is that the
\nIndonesian judiciary and judges need to familiarize themselves
\nwith the decisions and jurisprudence of the world's leading
\njudicial bodies such as the European Court of Human Rights, the
\nInter American Court of Human Rights, and the Human Rights
\nCommittee, which is the ICCPR monitoring body.<\/p>\n
To make the ratification impact be felt directly by every
\nindividual citizen, the First Optional Protocol to the ICCPR
\nshould also be ratified. The ratification of this Protocol will
\nmake it possible for individual citizens to file a direct
\ncomplaint to the Human Rights Committee if they feel that a
\ndomestic judicial body's decision violates ICCPR provisions.<\/p>\n
The government will be required by the ICCPR to submit
\nperiodic reports to the Human Rights Committee on how far the
\ncountry has put into practice all its commitments to bring all
\nits laws and regulation in line with ICCPR provisions.<\/p>\n
There are certain issues that will be the focus of the Human
\nRights Committee later if Indonesia ratifies the ICCPR. A
\nrelevant example that would be the subject of scrutiny would be
\nthe imposition of flogging as punishment in Aceh.<\/p>\n
Indonesia needs to justify its consent to the imposition of
\nflogging as a punishment by Aceh local authorities. The
\njustification is required because in 1997 the UN Commission on
\nHuman Rights stated that "corporal punishment [such as flogging]
\ncan amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment, or even
\ntorture."<\/p>\n
The practice of "freedom of religion" in Indonesia would also
\nbe questioned, related to the application of Article 18 of the
\nICCPR. Indonesia only recognizes five "official religions". The
\nexistence of other religions outside of these five official
\nreligions is not tolerated. How then will the government respond
\nto the ICCPR provision that recognizes every individual's right
\nto freely practice his or her religion or beliefs whatever that
\nreligion may be, even if it is not an "official" or "recognized"
\nreligion?<\/p>\n
Despite all the above-mentioned obstacles that will certainly
\nnot be easy to overcome in the short term, Indonesia,
\nnevertheless, will gain several legal and political advantages by
\nratifying the ICCPR.<\/p>\n
Ordinary Indonesians will get access to alternative forums to
\naddress their human rights problems when domestic laws,
\ninstitutions and procedures fail to guarantee and protect their
\nICCPR rights.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian judiciary and judges will be challenged to
\nproduce pro-human rights decisions and jurisprudence if they
\ndon't want to see their decisions scrutinized and reviewed by the
\nHuman Rights Committee.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian legal system will be challenged and forced to
\nconform to the ICCPR provisions and the system's image will thus
\n(finally) be improved at home and abroad.<\/p>\n
The writer (r-galingging2004@law.northwestern.edu) is a
\nlecturer in law at Yarsi University in Jakarta and a doctoral
\ncandidate at Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago.<\/p>",
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