Fighting poverty involves human rights
Kamala Chandrakirana, Indonesian Working Group for Poverty Alleviation (KIKIS), Jakarta
More debt in the name of the poor, but how much of it will really benefit the poor? The fight against poverty must address the structural constraints that systematically marginalize the poor from sources of power and decision making on the allocation of national assets, resources and laws.
A nationwide dialogue among more than 200 people from around the country who are part of or working with marginalized communities, namely, the urban poor, labor, micro entrepreneurs, farmers, fishing communities and forest dwellers, has produced a common agenda to fight structural poverty. Under the network name of KIKIS (Kelompok Kerja Indonesia untuk Penanggulangan Kemiskinan), an anti-poverty agenda has been developed that includes: changing, and even eliminating, national laws that limit poor communities' access to assets and resources; securing the people's right to assembly, including prohibiting violent and repressive responses to public protests and demonstrations; reorienting education and research institutions to meet the needs of the poor and build their ability to contribute to the development of alternative policies that would benefit them.
How does the new debt funding support the current initiatives, which the poor have so far carried out independently? Many poor farmers have begun to reclaim land previously seized from them, but policy makers make no attempt to engage in a constructive dialogue with them that would address their need to secure access to land. Agrarian reform continues to be omitted from any serious discussion on national policy reform.
Will the new debt money be used by government officials to create more "JPS-like" disasters in the future? JPS, the Indonesian acronym for the social safety net crash program sponsored by the World Bank and other multilateral organizations, proved to be a breeding ground for corruption and mistargeting that, until this day, no one is prepared to say has truly benefited the poor.
How do we ensure that the new loans are not used to chase street vendors away from the source of their livelihood, to attack becak (pedicab) drivers who dare to continue their profession in the big cities, or to imprison and torture farmers and laborers who are fighting for their voices to be heard? How do we guarantee that this money is not used in a way that makes the lives of over a million people displaced by violence and conflict even more difficult?
In short, how and who will make sure that the new debt money being channeled to the Indonesian government in the name of "working together to reduce poverty" is not used in a way that directly opposes the interests of the poor?
Addressing structural poverty requires a rights-based approach. This means that all the basic rights of citizens must be respected as part of the commitment to fight poverty: the political, economic, social and cultural rights of all citizens. Anything less than this is not a viable strategy against poverty.