Can human rights be guaranteed with decree?

Can human rights be guaranteed with decree?

By Vedi R. Hadiz

JAKARTA (JP): An interesting debate has ensued recently,
prompted by the formulation of a document by the National Defense
and Security Council (Wanhankamnas), about whether our People's
Consultative Assembly (MPR) should produce a decree on human
rights.

The most powerful factions in parliament, Golkar and the Armed
Forces, have rejected the notion, arguing that human rights are
already sufficiently enshrined in our Constitution. The Moslem-
oriented United Development Party (PPP) faction has been the only
one championing the cause so far, with the Indonesian Democratic
Party (PDI) faction, representing a party only a shadow of its
former self, basically not saying much at all on the subject.

Politicians like Abdurrachman Wahid and Marzuki Darusman of
the National Human Rights Commission have come out strongly in
favor of such a decree.

The fact that the most powerful political groupings have
rejected the idea, however, makes it highly unlikely that such a
decree will soon see the light of day.

So, do we need a decree on human rights, in spite of such a
lack of enthusiasm among some political groups?

I would argue that, yes, an MPR decree on human rights would
be helpful indeed. However, not having seen the document produced
by the Wanhankamnas, I'd rather refrain from advocating that the
particular document produced by this esteemed organization be
made the model.

But the idea of having an MPR decree on human rights is
essentially a good one.

Contrary to frequent official denials, we know all too well
that human rights are often too easily breached in this country
-- the victims usually being the poorest and weakest in society,
especially women.

This we can ascertain by simply having short conversations
with workers who have had the misfortune of incurring the wrath
of some members of the security apparatus during labor strikes,
farmers or slum-dwellers forcibly evicted from their lands or
homes in the name of development, or even a small number of
middle class student activists who'd rather forget about some of
their experiences in local police or military stations.

Or to make it more simple, we only need to read some of the
reports of the Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) or the government's
own Human Rights Commission, if we are disinclined to read the
reports of "outsiders", like Amnesty International or Human
Rights Watch.

Yes, it is true that we have all sorts of laws and regulations
which seem to guarantee some of the basic human rights. Its also
true that some of these are already enshrined within our
Constitution. But a decree by the MPR, reiterating that human
rights need to be upheld, can only be helpful to give greater
force to anything that currently exists that is supportive of
human rights, and maybe, as the impetus for newer, better laws in
the future.

Nevertheless, a decree is not a cure-all, for in essence,
guaranteeing human rights is not something which happens by
decree. Besides, we also know that there are so many rules and
regulations in Indonesia which, in the harsh reality of everyday
life, do not mean a thing.

So a decree on human rights by the MPR is not a cure-all, but
is still potentially helpful. A condition, however, is that the
formulation of the decree should involve as great a variety of
groups in society as is possible.

The document produced by Wanhankamnas, for example, if
acceptable at all, should only be one among a great number of
inputs to the MPR.

The views of independent intellectuals, for example, as well
as organizations like the Human Rights Commission, or YLBHI and
other NGOs, should also be somehow invited and accommodated.

Though many of these NGOs have had an uneasy relationship with
the government, the fact is that some of them are most intimately
acquainted with the common occurrence of practices which infringe
on human rights, particularly of the weak and poor.

Without their views, there is the danger that any decree will
only fall into the trap of codifying the dubious idea of
"authentically" Indonesian conceptions of human rights, which are
supposed to be incompatible with Western or any universal
conceptions.

For too long such an idea has been the justification for
practices that clearly infringe on any reasonable notion
of human rights.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an obvious
reference for any decree on human rights that the MPR might
produce.

The point to be made here is that an MPR decree on human
rights should be the product of a process which has been as
democratic as possible, to ensure relevance with problems
manifest in everyday reality.

Something which is simply decreed from above notwithstanding
by an institution of such high standing as the MPR may not do
this, and therefore be of little use to the noble struggle to
uphold human rights in Indonesia.

Of course the process would be much simpler and shorter if the
MPR just adopted a decree based on the Wanhankamnas document.
However, such a decree would be conceivably less useful than it
might have been.

Another point to be made is that decrees, laws, regulations
and even constitutions are of little value if the they are not
well-enforced.

It is of course incumbent on the institutions of the state to
see that they are indeed enforced. However, it is incumbent on
the society to ensure that these state institutions carry out
their functions in the appropriate way, including in the matter
of enforcing any law or decree which relates to the upholding of
human rights.

The reason that so many products of legislation in this
country are simply neglected or become irrelevant in everyday
life is that society is simply too weak and powerless to exert
any influence on the behavior and actions of these
institutions.

The writer is a research fellow of the Asia Research Center,
Murdoch University, Perth.