Government Targets Completion of Human Rights Law Draft This Year

The government is targeting the completion of the draft revision of Law Number 39 of 1999 concerning Human Rights, or the Human Rights Bill, this year before it is submitted to the House of Representatives (DPR) for deliberation. Deputy Minister of Human Rights Mugiyanto dismissed the notion that the drafting of the legislation lacked public participation. According to him, the government has repeatedly involved Komnas HAM, other national human rights institutions, civil society organisations, and academics in the drafting process. “The important thing is that we in the government complete the draft this year. This means the government’s responsibility will be fulfilled. Once it is in the DPR, it is up to the DPR,” Mugiyanto said during a discussion with journalists in Jakarta on Wednesday (22/7). Mugiyanto explained that the Human Rights Bill has been included in the 2026 National Legislation Programme and is expected to be discussed and passed by the DPR this year. However, he acknowledged that the government does not have the authority to control the legislative process once the draft is officially submitted to parliament. Responding to criticism from several civil society groups who consider public participation to be minimal, Mugiyanto asserted that this assessment does not reflect the process that has been ongoing. He stated that discussions on the revision of the Human Rights Law have been taking place for a long time, involving various parties. “This Human Rights Law has been discussed for a long time and there are many documents. Komnas HAM from previous periods has already had proposals for changes. The desire to improve Law Number 39 has been going on for a long time,” he said. He also denied claims that the government did not provide space for Komnas HAM to express its views. According to Mugiyanto, the government has repeatedly invited Komnas HAM and other national human rights institutions to discussion forums and requested written input. “Many of our friends (national human rights institutions) are active, some are not. In the end, they do not come when we invite them, and they do not provide written input when we ask. But later they say they were not involved,” he said. Mugiyanto also ensured that the revision of the Human Rights Law is not intended to reduce the independence of Komnas HAM. The government, he said, actually has an interest in maintaining the institution’s independence so that it continues to meet international standards, including maintaining the ‘A’ accreditation status held by Komnas HAM. “The government does not want Komnas HAM to be non-independent or to have its independence reduced. We will not intervene, we will not weaken it. If necessary, we can explicitly reinforce this in the formulation of the law,” he stressed.