Coalition Responds to Pigai Questioning YLBHI's Credibility

The Coalition for Law Enforcement and Human Rights in Papua has responded to Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai, who questioned the credibility of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) for criticising the revision of Law Number 39 of 1999 on Human Rights. Coalition member and Director of LBH Papua, Festus Ngoranmele, stated that YLBHI, along with 18 Legal Aid offices spread from Sumatra to Papua, has been established since the 1970s. He noted that this age is older than the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), which was only formed in 1994. “Moreover, the Ministry of Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia is still in its infancy,” he said in an official statement on Saturday, 4 July 2026.

According to the coalition, the difference in age reflects a difference in the work of protecting, respecting, upholding, and advancing human rights. The coalition stated that YLBHI was formed to fight for human rights in economic, social, cultural, civil, and political spheres. “The approach involves litigation advocacy, non-litigation advocacy, and policy advocacy, which have been carried out at both national and regional levels from Sumatra to Papua,” he said. Therefore, the coalition considers it inappropriate and unethical for Pigai to question the credibility of organisations criticising the Human Rights Bill, particularly YLBHI. The coalition stated that Pigai has forgotten that since its inception, LBH-YLBHI has worked to address various human rights violation issues in Indonesia.

YLBHI has also contributed to the creation of various human rights policies, including policies for establishing state institutions in the human rights sector such as Komnas HAM RI, the National Commission on Violence Against Women, and others. Due to Pigai’s peculiar stance, YLBHI, together with over 46 civil society organisations, issued a press release titled “Problems with the Revision of the Human Rights Law: Rejection and Critical Notes from the Civil Society Coalition,” presenting ten demands. One of the demands calls for meaningful participation in the drafting of the Human Rights Law revision. The coalition argues that civil society organisations are a direct part of the implementation of Article 14, paragraphs (1) and (2) of Law Number 39 of 1999 on Human Rights. The article states that every person has the right to communicate and obtain information necessary for their personal and social development, and to seek, obtain, possess, store, process, and convey information using all types of means. “On that basis, any restriction on the above demands is a direct violation of Article 14, paragraphs (1) and (2) of Law Number 39 of 1999,” he said.

The coalition also assessed that Pigai’s attitude shows the Human Rights Minister is neglecting the mandate in Article 5 of Law Number 12 of 2011 on the Formation of Legislation. The article states that legislation must be based on the principles of good legislative formation, which include clarity of purpose; appropriate institutional or official formation; conformity between type, hierarchy, and content; enforceability; efficiency and effectiveness; clarity of formulation; and openness. Furthermore, the coalition urged Pigai and the House of Representatives to immediately accept and follow up on the ten demands from civil society organisations. The coalition also requested that Pigai meaningfully involve individuals, civil society organisations, grassroots women’s groups (indigenous women, farmers, fishers, migrant workers), gender minority groups, persons with disabilities, and survivors in every stage of drafting the Human Rights Bill.

The coalition consists of LBH Papua, PAHAM Papua, ALDP, KPKC Sinode Tanah Papua, JPIC OFM Papua, Elsham Papua, Yadupa, the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, LBH Papua Merauke, LBH Papua Pos Sorong, Kontras Papua, and Tong Pu Ruang Aman. Pigai previously responded to critical notes from several civil society organisations regarding the revision of Law Number 39 of 1999 on Human Rights. He claimed that no one had protested the Human Rights Bill after its draft was opened to the public for two months. “The Human Rights Bill has been released for almost two months, and not a single article has been protested,” he told reporters at his office on Monday, 29 June 2026. Pigai claimed that “almost all” elements of society had been involved in the bill’s discussion, including disability groups. He even stated that 17 ministries and agencies had been involved and approved the bill. Pigai then questioned the credibility of organisations criticising the Human Rights Bill, particularly YLBHI. He commented that legal aid foundations should criticise in the field of law, not human rights. “This LBH, what is the abbreviation? LBH stands for legal aid foundation. Oh, I thought it was HAM,” he said. According to Pigai, legal aid foundations have the right to criticise in the field of human rights, but they are not suitable for the field. “They have the authority but are not reliable, not compatible. It’s like if you have a Samsung phone, you must charge it with a Samsung cable, not an iPhone cable,” he said. “Know your place, a legal aid foundation commenting on human rights.”