Member of the Indonesian Parliament: Human rights implementation must be tangible and felt by the people

A member of Commission XIII of the Indonesian DPR RI, Marinus Gea, stressed the importance of implementing human rights (HAM) programmes that are more tangible and address the needs of the people in Banten Province.

‘This human rights issue is part of President Prabowo’s Astacita. Therefore, its implementation must be tangible and felt by the people, and not merely a formal report,’ Marinus said in a statement in Jakarta on Friday.

He conveyed this at a meeting with the Regional Office of the Ministry of HAM for Banten Province, on Thursday (21 May). Marinus believes that HAM issues should not stop at administrative reporting, but should be a programme truly felt by the community.

He emphasised that the HAM issue is part of a national priority agenda that must be pursued seriously. Marinus reminded of the importance of implementation aligned with the government’s policy direction.

Marinus also highlighted the socialisation programme for 65 UMKM traders presented by the Kanwil KemenHAM Banten. According to him, the effectiveness of the programme needs to be reviewed given Banten’s status as an industrial region with a fairly complex labour dynamics.

He assessed that the protection of workers and workers’ rights should receive greater attention in strengthening HAM in the region.

‘Banten is an industrial region. There are many labour and workers’ rights issues that must be addressed. Therefore, the socialisation programme for UMKM needs to be reviewed to what extent it impacts HAM strengthening in the region,’ he said.

In addition, the parliamentarian from Banten III electoral district urged that the Regional Office of HAM be involved from the stage of drafting the vision and mission of the regional head candidates so that the policies that emerge later are more in line with HAM values.

‘Going forward, we must consider a mechanism so that the Regional Office of HAM can be involved from the process of drafting the vision and mission of regional head candidates. This way, when they are elected, their work programme is already in line with human rights values,’ he said.