Activists propose revised law on citizenship

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A group of activists proposed on Thursday the implementation of the principle of jus soli (citizenship by birth) in the revision of existing laws on citizenship, regardless of the nationality of the parents.

Under this principle any new-born child in Indonesia, where one of the parents is an Indonesian citizen, would become an Indonesian citizen regardless of the citizenship status of their parents, one of the activists said.

"We suggest the enforcement of the principle of citizenship by birth to help settle the citizenship problems of a new-born children of mixed parentage," said Indradi Kusuma of the Forum of Communication for National Unity (FKKB) at a hearing with the House of Representatives here.

Representatives of FKKB, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the Indonesian Antidiscrimination Movement as well as several other activists met legislators on Wednesday to submit their ideas on the revision of Law No. 3/1946 on citizenship and population and Law No. 62/1958 on citizenship.

The meeting was held with the aim of enabling legislators to gain inputs from the public to upgrade their work on the revision of the two laws.

Law No. 62/1958 adopts the jus sanguinis system, in which the place of birth is irrelevant and every child acquires the nationality of his or her parents -- mostly the father if the parents are of different nationalities.

Under the enforcement of the jus soli system, Indradi said, the parents could make a statement of rejection of their baby's citizenship, if they wanted to. However, when the child has reached the age of 18 years, he or she would have the right to determine his or her own status.

According to the activists, the enforcement of the jus soli system constitutes moral responsibility and appreciation of the identity of children, as adopted in the International Declaration of Children's Rights.

This demand is significant in assuring the status of the new- born baby of an Indonesian woman married to a man of foreign citizenship.

The lack of clear explanation in the laws in effect forces the mixed family to adopt the jus sanguinis principle which may result in the child having a different citizenship from his or her Indonesian mother.

Article 8 of Law No. 62/1958 stipulates that an Indonesian woman married to a foreigner will give up her Indonesian citizenship after one year of her marriage, if she declares that she wishes to.

The activists consider Article 8 as gender discrimination, because the status of a wife and her child is linked to the legal status of her husband.

This discrimination contradicts Law No. 7/1984 on the ratification of the convention concerning the eradication of discrimination toward women.

Apart from proposing the enforcement of the jus soli system, the group also questioned some items in Law No. 62/1958, including ethnic discrimination and discrimination against disabled persons.

Indriadi emphasized that there was no need for Indonesian citizens to show certificates validating their citizenship. He said Indonesians of Chinese descent had been the target of discrimination.