Ministry of Law and Human Rights Holds Public Consultation on Revisions to the 1999 Human Rights Act with Civil Society

Jakarta — The Ministry of Law and Human Rights (KemenHAM) held the inaugural public consultation on revisions to Law No. 39 of 1999 on Human Rights with civil society in Yogyakarta. The move is intended to update human rights regulations to be more relevant to current issues and challenges. Deputy Minister of Human Rights Mugiyanto in a statement received in Jakarta on Wednesday said civil society involvement is an important part of the process of drafting the revised Human Rights Act so that the resulting regulations are more participatory and address the needs of the people. ‘Because it is the people who will benefit or be affected by the enshrinement of the human rights law,’ Mugiyanto said at the public consultation in Yogyakarta. He said the revision of the Human Rights Act is an urgent requirement because the regulation has not been updated for about 27 years, while the dynamics of human rights issues continue to develop. He assessed that developments in technology, business relations, and new challenges in civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights require stronger regulations that are more adaptive. Mugiyanto expressed hope that discussions on the revision with the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) can be conducted in a participatory manner in 2026 by involving civil society through various public consultation forums. The public consultation was also attended by Head of the Central Java Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights Mustafa Beleng, the Head of the Bureau of Human Resources, Law, Organisation, and Administration Edwin A Purba, the ministry’s expert panel, and several representatives of civil society organisations. After the public consultation, the Ministry will proceed with the administrative stages through the Inter-Ministerial Committee mechanism before the draft revision is submitted to the Ministry of Law of the Republic of Indonesia for pre-harmonisation and harmonisation. Next, the draft revision of the Human Rights Act will be submitted to the President for a Presidential Letter before being discussed with the DPR in a hearing that also involves civil society.