Minister Pigai urges acceleration of human rights protection regulation discussions
Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai is pushing for the accelerated deliberation of various regulations to strengthen the authority of the Ministry of Human Rights in carrying out the protection and fulfilment of human rights for the public.
Pigai said the acceleration of regulations is necessary so that the Ministry of Human Rights can take various concrete steps in addressing human rights issues occurring in society.
“The important thing is that all proposed regulations, whether laws, presidential regulations or presidential instructions that we submit to the institutions, are processed quickly. How can I carry out a human rights revolution if there is no legal basis,” said Pigai during a visit to Sumedang, West Java, on Friday.
He said a number of regulatory proposals have been submitted to the Ministry of Law, the Ministry of State Secretariat and the House of Representatives in the form of laws, presidential regulations and presidential instructions.
Pigai cited his desire to issue warnings and even revoke the permits of companies that commit human rights violations, but such steps require a clear legal basis.
“Companies in Indonesia commit many violations. I want to issue warnings. I want to revoke the permits of those that violate human rights. But where is the legal basis?” he said.
He also highlighted the limited authority of the Ministry of Human Rights in providing assistance for humanitarian needs, including for communities in conflict areas.
“The Ministry of Human Rights has no legal basis for fulfilling human rights needs. There is not a single article that instructs the ministry to fulfil needs,” he said.
Pigai said this condition also limits his ministry in providing emergency humanitarian assistance because the use of state budget funds must have a clear legal basis.
In addition, he said the lack of an adequate legal basis also hampers assessments of the business world, officials, the state civil apparatus, as well as provincial, district and city governments.
“I have proposed a law. I have proposed a presidential regulation, a presidential instruction, I have proposed them. If they have not been issued, if the presidential instruction and the presidential regulation have not been issued, what can I do?” said Pigai.
He expressed hope that the House of Representatives, the Ministry of State Secretariat and the Ministry of Law will immediately process these various proposals so that the Ministry of Human Rights can carry out its duties and make various breakthroughs with a clear legal foundation.