DPD urges preventive measures to curb human rights violations

The Regional Representative Council (DPD) has urged massive preventive measures to stop human rights violations, including by collaborating with universities. Muhdi, Deputy Chair of DPD Committee I, stated in Semarang on Thursday that prevention is crucial. “If possible, there should be no victims of human rights violations. Besides the perpetrators, we must also educate those who are likely to become victims,” he said. He made the remarks during a working visit to the Central Java Regional Office of the Ministry of Human Rights to inventory issues related to the planned revision of Law Number 39 of 1999 on Human Rights. According to Muhdi, the Ministry of Human Rights needs to intensively conduct outreach, strengthening, and education to prevent potential human rights violations. “Don’t just help when a case occurs, but rather ensure these things do not happen,” said Muhdi, who is also the Chair of the Central Java PGRI. He suggested that university students participating in community service programmes (KKN) could be trained as human rights educators to accurately convey information to the public. “The Ministry of Human Rights, with its limited resources, should not be left alone to provide socialisation and information about human rights,” he added. Head of the Central Java Regional Office of the Ministry of Human Rights, Mustafa Beleng, said his office is continuously internalising human rights principles across four clusters. “Namely the state civil apparatus, which includes civil servants, the military, and the police. The second is business actors. The third is communities, and the fourth is the general public,” he said. He explained that the general public cluster includes universities, schools, and communities that will be given understanding and strengthening regarding human rights. “When those in the four clusters understand their rights as well as their obligations, God willing, human rights violations will not occur,” he said. In addition, his office handles reports or allegations of human rights violations that are received. “Secondly, it is related to handling alleged human rights violations. Because in Central Java, we have also facilitated the handling of many human rights violations,” he said.