Debate over Daycare Abuse Case in Yogyakarta: Sahroni Says There Is a Clear Human Rights Violation, Full Stop

Jakarta, VIVA – Commissioner of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), Amiruddin Al Rahab, said that the case of abuse and mass neglect of children at the Little Aresha daycare in Yogyakarta did not fall into the category of gross human rights violations. Although it does not count as a gross human rights violation, Amiruddin stressed that the violence against toddlers at the daycare constitutes a serious violation of children’s rights protected by national law.

In response, Ahmad Sahroni, Deputy Chairman of Commission III of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), said that categorising human rights violations in this case was not the substantive issue. The focus of the state should be on ensuring justice for the victims.

“All parties must agree that there is a clear human rights violation there, full stop. Do not let the victims’ injuries be discredited by debates over whether this constitutes a gross violation or not; that is not the point. Rather, in the name of human rights, all agencies should agree to punish the perpetrators severely and conduct a national evaluation of the daycare’s licences and SOPs. Besides, is human rights only for adults? It cannot apply to babies? Human rights are intrinsic,” Sahroni said in a statement in Jakarta on Tuesday, 19 May 2026.

Moreover, Sahroni argued that this incident is not a normal criminal case, because of intentionality and systemic violence taking place at the daycare.

“So this is not a normal criminal case. The victims number in the tens of babies and toddlers; this is systemic. Children under two years old were physically abused by their caregivers, in a place that should protect them. So I urge all parties to show empathy for the victims and to hand down heavy punishments to the perpetrators,” Sahroni said.