Pigai Insists Human Rights Ministry Never Proposed New Office Construction

Minister of Human Rights Natalius Pigai has firmly stated that his ministry never proposed a budget allocation for the construction of a new office during discussions on the 2027 fiscal year requirements. The clarification follows remarks by House Commission XIII Chairman Willy Aditya after a working meeting between the Ministry of Human Rights and the commission regarding the ministry’s budget proposal. The statement suggesting the ministry had requested a new office building is inconsistent with official documents and the presentations delivered during the hearing with Commission XIII. Pigai emphasised that all budget discussion materials had been officially distributed to council members prior to the meeting. “We from the Ministry of Human Rights distributed the official materials before the meeting, so all factions were already aware,” Pigai asserted in a written statement on Monday. Pigai addressed Willy’s comment that the ministry’s budget proposal was solely for constructing a new office building. He reiterated that the 2027 budget allocation is focused on supporting institutional strengthening, implementing programmes for the advancement and enforcement of human rights, and enhancing the organisation’s capacity to carry out its constitutional mandate. “The Ministry of Human Rights is focused on the task of realising respect, protection, fulfilment, enforcement, and advancement of human rights across various sectors,” Pigai explained. He also stressed that human rights are intangible values, yet their impact must be tangibly felt by the public. Therefore, the success of human rights development is not measured by physical construction alone, but by the increased protection of citizens’ rights in political, economic, social, cultural, educational, health, and even defence and security spheres. In executing this mandate, the ministry acts as a driver of cross-ministerial, institutional, and regional government coordination. Pigai further explained that the proposed organisational strengthening includes establishing new regional offices in several areas and boosting the capacity of existing offices with high workloads. This measure aims to expand service reach and reinforce the state’s presence in resolving various human rights issues in the regions. Additionally, the ministry is strengthening human resources by preparing mediators and functional human rights analyst positions to improve public access to human rights services and protection. “If the Chairman of Commission XIII has integrity, his statement should be retracted because it lacks evidence and is not credible. His remarks during the recent working meeting were erroneous and misled the public,” Pigai stressed. Pigai is confident the budget proposal is directed at strengthening human rights services, protection, and enforcement, not for constructing a new office as perceived by some parties.