Indonesia and human rights
Indonesia and human rights
The recent series of articles in The Jakarta Post from Geneva
on Indonesia's chairmanship of the UN Commission on Human Rights
contain statements that are simply not factual -- not to call
them wrong.
You state: "Indonesia has adopted many of the UN conventions
on rights and amended its laws accordingly to comply with the
international norms set out in those conventions." This is
clearly inaccurate, as there are several laws that are still not
amended to comply with the international norms set out in those
conventions.
To give one example, Indonesia in 1984 ratified the Convention
for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. However
several laws are still discriminating based on gender, including
the laws on citizenship and immigration. Furthermore, Indonesia's
Constitutional Court is not authorized to carry out judicial
review on these and other laws that don't comply with the amended
constitution since it can only carry out review on laws enacted
after the first constitutional amendments in October 1999, as
your newspaper reported in August 2003.
Thus Indonesia can have an amended constitution but at the
same time allow laws to be in place that are in conflict with the
constitution, with the UN conventions on rights, and with
international norms set out in those conventions. At the same
time, we have a Constitutional Court that can carry out judicial
review on laws but only limited in an arbitrary fashion, meaning
that it cannot touch certain laws that violate the constitution
and the UN conventions.
Your articles quote Ambassador Makarim Wibisono, the head of
Indonesia's Permanent Mission to the United Nations, as stating,
"You can't pick and choose which rights you want to protect and
promote. Human rights are indivisible." It would be a great irony
that the country he represents is doing just that.
This not only tarnishes the image of Indonesia in the World
Community -- which must have a negative effect on potential
donors and investors -- but also makes a mockery out of the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
KARINDRA SANTOSO, London