PDIP Criticises Minister of Human Rights over Proposal for Human Rights Activists' Assessment Team

Member of the House of Representatives’ Commission XIII and PDIP Central Executive Board Chairman Andreas Hugo Pareira has criticised the proposal to establish an assessment team for human rights activists put forward by Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai. Andreas is concerned that this assessment team could potentially become a tool to protect human rights violators.

“The Human Rights Minister stated that the Ministry of Human Rights will form an Assessor to provide legitimacy for who is a human rights activist and who is not. This statement is somewhat odd and could potentially become a tool to protect human rights violators,” Andreas told reporters on Saturday (2/5/2026).

“An assessor for human rights activists is equivalent to the state becoming a protector of human rights violators,” he added.

Andreas said that human rights violators are usually people with power and money. Meanwhile, human rights activists, he said, come from ordinary society.

“We know that human rights violators around the world are usually people with power, people with a lot of money, people with weapons, or a combination of people who have two or three of those things. Meanwhile, human rights activists are usually born and grow from civil society with minimal access and affiliation to those three things: power, money, and weapons,” he stated.

Andreas emphasised that human rights activists defend based on humanitarian principles. He also questioned the government’s position regarding human rights protection.

“So when human rights activists defend against human rights violations, their capital is a sense of humanity and courage. Where is the government’s actual position?” he said.

Andreas hopes the government becomes a protector of society from threats of violations. Rather than becoming a ‘protector of human rights violators’, he said.

“The government should become a protector of society from threats of human rights violations, but if the government, which is part of those in power, then plays a role in determining and legitimising who is a human rights activist and who is not, then the tendency and possibility that will occur is that the government will not be a protector but rather become an ‘activist protector of human rights violators’,” he concluded.

Proposal to Establish Human Rights Assessment Team

Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai explained the government’s plan to form an assessment team for human rights defenders or activists. This Human Rights Assessor Team will operate under several national commissions (Komnas) after the new Human Rights Law is enacted.

“So, the point is, human rights activists, human rights defenders, human rights workers, some are paid, some are not. Paid meaning paid by partners, or paid by companies, or by certain individuals, or also purely working without pay. That’s clear first, so there’s no misunderstanding in determining whether they are working as human rights defenders or not, so there needs to be a team that selects based on criteria that are determined,” Pigai told reporters on Thursday (30/4).

This assessment team will be under the National Human Rights Commission up to the National Commission on Violence Against Women depending on the human rights case being defended by a human rights activist. Pigai said the Human Rights Assessor Team will select human rights activists under those Komnas.

“So if it’s a women’s issue case, then the selection or assessor team will be at the National Commission on Violence Against Women. If it’s children, then the National Commission on Child Protection. If it’s a disability case, then the National Commission on Disabilities,” Pigai stated.

“For human rights in general, then the National Human Rights Commission will determine it, with the existing criteria after there is a law stating that human rights defenders cannot be prosecuted, then everyone will claim to be human rights defenders, so there needs to be a selection of who is a human rights defender and who is not. That will be determined by the assessor team that will be at the National Human Rights Commission, National Commission on Violence Against Women, National Commission on Child Protection, National Commission on Disabilities,” he added.