Lack of priority stifles rights implementation

JAKARTA (JP): A lack of priority remains a major obstacle to human rights implementation in Indonesia, a member of the National Commission on Human Rights says.

Commission deputy chairman Marzuki Darusman said trade and investment interests too often surpassed human rights concerns.

Marzuki was speaking yesterday after attending a meeting on the formation of the National Working Group on Human Rights.

"In the future, it (human rights) should be given the same priority," he said.

He pointed out that human rights were still connected to economic developments thus creating a limited human rights policy.

"Human rights should not be viewed from an economic perspective alone, but also from social, cultural and political perspectives," he told The Jakarta Post.

The National Working Group on Human Rights was designed to be part of an overall regional mechanism on human rights among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The idea to form national working groups was first introduced last year. So far, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia are countries which have established working groups.

It was hoped that the advent of a regional mechanism would facilitate more dialog in ASEAN on human rights issues. Marzuki said the dialog was expected to lay the foundation for more open discussions on human rights.

He expressed hope that it would overcome the present difficulties ASEAN faced when there were discussions on human rights. (10)