MP Criticises Formation of Human Rights Activists Assessment Team

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Member of DPR RI Commission XIII, Marinus Gea, has criticised the discourse surrounding the Ministry of Human Rights’ plan to establish an assessment team to determine the status of human rights activists who might potentially disrupt the basic principles of civil freedom.

“Human rights activists primarily function to monitor power, including the government. If the government steps in to select who qualifies and who does not as a human rights activist, this is logically flawed. It gives the impression that the government wants to select who monitors it,” said Marinus in his statement in Jakarta on Friday.

He explained the primary function of human rights activists as overseers of power, including the government itself.

True human rights activists, he said, emerge from individual awareness and freedom of expression, not from state selection. According to him, if the state determines who qualifies as an activist, there is a shift in meaning from a right to something limited.

Marinus assessed that this approach could create conflicts of interest, as the government is in the position of being monitored yet wants to determine its monitors.

He stressed that becoming a human rights activist does not require state legitimisation. He also warned that if the process requires selection, the state could unilaterally limit citizens’ rights.

“The state does not need to grant permission to become a human rights activist. If the government’s logic requires selection, it means the state is changing a right into a privilege. So, it’s up to the government’s whim—grant it today and revoke it tomorrow,” he stated.

Furthermore, Marinus also voiced criticism regarding the potential restriction of space for critique. According to him, the state lacks moral or political legitimacy to filter critical voices from society.

In his view, if this policy is enforced, it would not foster development but rather suppress freedom of expression and commit human rights violations as stipulated in Articles 28A to 28J of the 1945 Constitution, which obliges the state to respect, protect, and fulfil human rights for every citizen.

Marinus stated that democracy requires citizens’ courage to correct power. Without criticism, he believes, power risks losing direction.

“We do not need activists who obey power. We need activists who dare to correct power, because without criticism, power will lose direction, and without citizens’ courage, democracy is just a slogan,” he said.