More call for govt to ratify UN pack

JAKARTA (JP): A legal expert on Saturday joined the chorus of people who are calling on the government to ratify the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Prof. Mardjono Reksodiputro, former dean of the School of Law of the University of Indonesia, said it is imperative for Indonesia to ratify the convention but "not because there are many violations of law or tortures, which are cruel and inhuman."

The convention should be ratified because it is in accordance with the spirit of the state ideology of Pancasila, especially its second principle of "Fair and Civilized Humanitarianism."

"As a civilized nation, it is clear that we are against any forms of torture. Cruel treatment is inhumane and violates human rights," he was quoted by Antara as saying.

Several other experts, including Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara of the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy, and Baharuddin Lopa, the secretary general of the National Commission of Human Rights, have also underlined the need to ratify the convention.

The second national workshop on human rights had earlier recommended that the government ratify three or four UN conventions a year, leaving the rest to be finished within about five years.

The UN has produced 25 conventions on human rights, but only four have been ratified by Indonesia: Convention of the Rights of the Child, Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Convention on the Political Rights of Women and International Convention Against Apartheid in Sports.

Mardjono said that on Oct.23, 1985, Indonesia signed the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Thus, there is no reason for Indonesia now not to ratify the document.

He denied the allegations made by some human right activists that torture is commonly practiced by Indonesian law enforcement in extracting confessions.

"I don't think that has been happening here because according to the Criminal Code (KUHAP), investigators must not use force or torture," he said.

Meanwhile, A. Baramuli, a member of the National Commission of Human Rights and a legislator, said on Saturday that it was time for Indonesia to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

"According to the 1945 Constitution, all citizens are equal before the law and the government, regardless of their ethnicity," he said.

Baramuli, who is also a businessman, said that it was a "public secret" that in some private companies, especially in banks, employees of a certain ethnics are better paid than the others. "The ratification of the convention is expected to eliminate discrimination in pay," he said. (sim)