Ministry of Human Rights Inserts Protection for Human Rights Defenders
The Ministry of Human Rights (HAM) has stated that it has completed the draft revision of Law No. 39 of 1999 on Human Rights. The draft will soon be submitted to the House of Representatives (DPR) for discussion.
Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai said that internal discussions would still be held over the next two days before the official draft is submitted. One of the points included in the revision is protection for human rights defenders. “We have included the protection of human rights defenders in the revision of the Human Rights Law,” said Pigai when met at the DPR, MPR, and DPD Complex on Tuesday, 7 April 2026.
Pigai has not detailed the substance of the regulation. He only mentioned that the provisions refer to the United Nations declaration on human rights defenders. “So, in the revision of the Human Rights Law, we request that human rights defenders or those fighting for justice cannot be prosecuted criminally or civilly,” said the former National Human Rights Commission Commissioner.
Previously, proposals for the protection of human rights defenders also emerged in discussions on the Witness and Victim Protection Bill. Member of Commission XIII of the DPR, Rieke Diah Pitaloka, was one of the proposers. She assessed that this expansion of protection is important to address practices of intimidation and criminalisation against justice fighters.
“This must be a momentum to strengthen the anti-SLAPP system, anti-criminalisation against justice fighters,” said Rieke on Monday, 30 March 2026. Anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) is a legal protection mechanism for citizens or activists from civil lawsuits or criminal charges aimed at silencing public participation, especially on environmental issues.
In that meeting, Rieke proposed that human rights defenders, including their families, could receive protection from the Witness and Victim Protection Agency without having to be witnesses or victims. She also proposed that they cannot be prosecuted criminally or civilly for their actions or testimonies. “In the event of serious threats, the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) is obliged to provide protection without waiting for an application,” she said.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International Indonesia noted a trend of increasing attacks on human rights defenders throughout 2025. In the January–June period, there were 104 human rights defenders who became victims in 54 cases, ranging from criminalisation, arrests, intimidation, to physical violence. For the entire year so far, the number has increased to 283 victims, with journalists and indigenous communities being the most affected groups.
Similar findings were also conveyed by Imparsial, which recorded 226 incidents of attacks on human rights defenders throughout 2025, including physical violence, terror, to murder. The data shows a systemic pattern, from weak legal guarantees, low state commitment, to impunity practices in handling human rights violation cases.