Pigai pushes for strengthening the independence of human rights commissioners

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Human Rights Natalius Pigai is pushing for the strengthening of the independence of human rights institutions through regulations that prevent potential conflicts of interest in the process of appointing national human rights commissioners. Speaking in Jakarta on Monday, Pigai stated that within the national human rights protection system, implemented by human rights institutions, human rights bodies must be filled with independent figures to deliver objective justice to those in need of protection. “In the National Human Rights Protection System, which is carried out by human rights institutions, actors with potential [for conflict] must not become members of the national commission,” he said. “The aim is for the good, so that the commissioners who emerge are truly independent in delivering justice to those who need assistance,” he added. Pigai explained that Indonesia’s human rights protection system consists of legislative instruments along with their derivatives, human rights institutions under the executive, and independent state institutions such as Komnas HAM and other national human rights bodies. “That is part of the human rights protection system. It is best that actors with potential or positioned by law as violating actors should not become members to avoid conflicts of interest,” he said. In his earlier presentation, Pigai assessed that there needs to be an affirmation of the requirements for human rights commissioners so that they are filled with independent civil elements. He highlighted the importance of maintaining distance between human rights oversight institutions and state actors who historically have authority to use armed force. According to Pigai, past experiences and collective societal trauma are reasons for the need to strengthen the independence of national human rights institutions. The government, he said, wants to ensure that institutions like Komnas HAM, Komnas Perempuan, and the National Disability Commission can work objectively and focus on protecting civil rights.