Assembly may drop draft on human rights charter
Assembly may drop draft on human rights charter
JAKARTA (JP): The People's Consultative Assembly came closer
yesterday to reaching a decision to reject motions for human
rights protection sponsored by minority factions.
All of the body's five factions agreed yesterday to jointly
draw up fundamental principles of human rights protection, and
incorporate them in the draft 1998/2003 State Policy Guidelines,
according to Wiranto, chairman of the Assembly's ad hoc committee
in charge of affairs outside of state policy.
"We haven't reached any agreement on whether or not to adopt
human rights protection as a separate decree because we have to
work together with the committee in charge of the State Policy
Guidelines," Wiranto said.
The State Policy Guidelines is being deliberated by another
committee led by R. Hartono.
Wiranto said a special team led by his deputy chairman Akbar
Tandjung would give the draft a finishing touch before offering
it to the Hartono-led committee.
The United Development Party (PPP) and the Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI) have demanded that the Assembly establish
a human rights charter which could serve as a legal basis for a
review of laws which are prone to rights abuses.
Dominant faction Golkar and its traditional allies, the Armed
Forces and regional representatives, opposed the minority
factions' motion. The three factions insisted on incorporating
human rights protection in the legal development section of the
State Policy Guidelines.
Debate on the necessity of a human rights charter has loomed
outside the Assembly. The National Commission on Human Rights and
the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation are persistent supporters of
a separate and more powerful decree on human rights.
Wiranto said yesterday that all the five factions in the
Assembly shared a great concern for the improvement of human
rights protection and promotion.
"Each of us has taken the right stance on human rights
protection and how to enhance its implementation in society,"
Wiranto said.
He failed to decide on a date for a meeting with
representatives of the ad hoc committee in charge of policy
guidelines, but said he could arrange the joint deliberation at
any time.
The committee in charge of non-state policy guidelines will
move on with deliberation of the last motion on sociopolitical
organizations proposed by PPP and PDI, starting today.
The committee deliberating policy guidelines resumed the
debate on nondenominational faiths. PPP insisted on excluding
nondenominational faiths from religious affairs.
A PPP representative, Muhammad Buang, predicted, however, that
a compromise would be reached after the committee recognized
yesterday that it was religion, not nondenominational faiths,
that played a key role in efforts to enhance harmony within the
community. (amd)