Ministry of Law and Human Rights Focuses on Strengthening the System to Prevent Human Rights Violations

Bandung, West Java — The Ministry of Law and Human Rights (KemenHAM) is focusing on strengthening the system for preventing human rights violations through regulatory reform, mainstreaming human rights in national development, and strengthening institutional governance. Secretary-General Novita Ilmaris of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, in Bandung on Friday, said the ministry is tasked with assisting the President in governance matters related to human rights. “Among the roles of the Ministry of Human Rights is to build a system for developing and governing human rights so that they function optimally,” Novita said after a discussion with journalists. She explained that prevention efforts begin with evaluating various regulations that are no longer aligned with the needs of society and the dynamics of national law. “We push for regulations that have existed for some time. However, based on evaluation and study results, they indeed need to be improved or replaced soon,” she said. “We will ensure the preparation of regulations based on human rights, because we are starting from there,” she added. Novita added that prevention efforts are also carried out through strengthening institutional governance and cross-ministerial and cross-agency coordination, especially in fulfilling the economic, social, and cultural rights of the people. “Human rights will be part of development in the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. That is a concrete form of prevention,” she said. “The recommendations of Komnas HAM need to be strengthened. Therefore, their norms are set out in the draft law,” she said. She added that the drafting of regulations is currently at the public consultation stage before proceeding to harmonisation with the Ministry of Law and other related ministries/agencies.