Human rights conventions must be advocated
Human rights conventions must be advocated
JAKARTA (JP): Experts are calling for greater efforts to disseminate the values contained in the various United Nations human rights conventions, despite the fact that the government has yet to ratify most of them.
The executive director of the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM), Abdul Hakim G. Nusantara, said in a discussion yesterday that as a country based on the Pancasila ideology, which also espouses the right to life, Indonesia should launch a bigger campaign to disseminate the values contained in the UN conventions.
The discussion, which focussed on the integration into national law of international standards on the protection of the right to life, was held by ELSAM.
"The norms contained within these international instruments are in line with our state ideology Pancasila," Hakim said.
One of the major points brought up by Hakim yesterday was the need for ratification of the UN convention against torture and extra-judicial executions.
To date, Indonesia has only ratified a three of the 25 UN conventions in existence: two on women and one on child protection.
Nur Hassan Wirayuda, the foreign ministry's director for international organizations, said there was a "political will" to ratify more conventions, but said the process was not simple.
He said delays sometimes occur as a result of "bureaucratic neglect". He said the adoption of UN conventions also requires a process of "harmonization" with local laws.
He said that the government's failure to ratify most of the UN conventions does not imply that there is no protection of such rights under Indonesian law.
Hassan said that, at present, one of the key elements for the implementation of such values was a campaign of dissemination and education.
He said hastily imposing the norms contained in the conventions could create a backlash.
Legislator Abu Hasan Sadzili of the ruling Golkar faction said that, while it might take Indonesia some time to adopt the conventions and turn them into legislation, the values contained in them should first be "socialized" so that in future people will be more receptive toward them.
Hassan Wirayuda said it was important to avoid the impression with the public that the conventions are being imposed from abroad.
"The key is how to internalize these values so that they don't seem foreign," Hassan said.
Abdul Hakim, in his campaign to disseminate the international conventions on civil rights, has produced a draft law on the ratification of the UN convention on torture.
He said the conventions are important, not only because they explicitly guarantee the protection of civil rights, but also because they provide a code of conduct for the authorities to abide by. (mds)