Govt urged to fix human rights legislation

Tony Hotland The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Human rights activists urged the government to provide better legislation for human rights protection in the country as it aims to ratify the International Bill on Human Rights.

Director of Indonesian Human Rights Monitor (Imparsial) Rachland Nashidik said that without such a measure, the move to ratify the international convention would only be seen as a mere cosmetic gesture to enhance Indonesia's image in the international community rather than to bring substantial progress in the protection of human rights here.

"Looking at our history (performance of past governments), I'm pessimistic that the government will enact (the necessary) laws immediately or even in the future due to strong political reluctance," he said over the weekend.

"The idea of ratifying the bill surfaced during the administration of Gus Dur (president Abdurrachman Wahid). But there's a question mark whether the plan to ratify it now is because we're elected to chair the United Nations Human Rights Commission last month," he said, referring to Makarim Wibisono, a senior Indonesian diplomat who has been appointed to the top post at the UN human rights body.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is said to have instructed the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights to prepare for the ratification of the International Bill on Human Rights, which came into being three decades ago.

The bill consists of two covenants: the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Culture Rights; and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Rachland said the government should also adopt two optional protocols contained in the bill. One is allowing individuals to submit petitions about human rights violations in Indonesia, and second is the abolition of the death penalty in all forms.

"If the government wants to be thorough and show that it takes the bill seriously, it should consequently enact implementing laws and adopt these two protocols. At least, the ratification allows the amendment of the current Human Rights Law, which still contains many loopholes," he said.

Indonesia has ratified a number of conventions in connection with human rights, such as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; or the Covenant on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

However, no laws have been enacted to follow up the ratified conventions to make them a part of Indonesian law, making the protection of these respective issues more discounted and more difficult to assure.

Makarim Wibisono also warned the government to be responsible with its plan to ratify the bill.

"What's worse than not ratifying the bill is ratifying it, but intentionally ignoring the responsibility it brings by not applying it. It means you need the implementing guidelines, such as laws and government regulations," he said.

He also said that the international bill should be able to address the issue of legal impunity enjoyed by certain groups of people, which many believe is the main reason why many human rights cases here have failed to bring justice to the victims.