Police Respond to Human Rights Certification Proposal for Promotions
The Indonesian National Police (Polri) has responded to a proposal put forward by the Minister of Human Rights, Natalius Pigai, regarding a policy to make human rights certification a prerequisite for promotion within the police force. Polri affirmed that human rights values have in fact long been an integral part of its education system and personnel performance assessments.
The Head of Polri’s Public Relations Division, Inspector General Johnny Eddizon Isir, explained that the current promotion mechanism is strictly regulated under the Chief of Police Regulation (Perkap) Number 3 of 2016 on Rank Promotion Administration. Within that system, aspects of ethics and professionalism are monitored through dedicated instruments.
“A member’s suitability is assessed implicitly through the Certificate of Research Results (SKHP) issued by the Professional Supervision Division as well as the Performance Management System (SMK), which measures the ethics and professionalism of law enforcement in the field,” Johnny said in his statement on Friday (17/7/2026).
Johnny emphasised that human rights material is not new within the police force. Since the early 2000s, human rights has been taught systematically as a standalone subject at various levels of police education.
Although the curriculum is already well established, Polri views the input from the Human Rights Minister as a strategic step for human resource development. Going forward, in-depth understanding or possession of a human rights certificate is expected to become an added advantage, particularly in selection for Development Education (Dikbang) such as the Staff and Leadership School (Sespim).
Earlier, Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai revealed during a working meeting with Commission XIII of the House of Representatives on Tuesday (15/7) that the government is preparing a legal instrument to make human rights certification a mandatory requirement for state officials occupying certain positions.
Pigai detailed that within Polri, this requirement would target strategic positions from the smallest territorial level up to provincial level. “From police precinct chiefs, resort police chiefs, to regional police chiefs — one of the prerequisites that will also be raised is certification,” Pigai asserted.
The primary aim of the policy is to create a human rights compliance system with a direct impact on the ground. By making human rights a job requirement, state actors are expected to have a high awareness to avoid violations in carrying out their duties.
At present, the Ministry of Human Rights is still finalising the various regulations and legal instruments that will underpin the policy, given that the ministry is a new nomenclature in the cabinet.