Reflecting on rights body's success

Reflecting on rights body's success

Hak Asasi Manusia Dalam Persepektif Budaya Indonesia (Human

Rights in the Perspective of Indonesian Culture)

PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama in cooperation with the National

Commission on Human Rights and The Asia Foundation, 1997

xx and 313 pages

JAKARTA (JP): Many people greeted with cynicism the birth of
the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnasham) in late 1993.
They doubted its independence because its establishment was based
on a presidential decree.

The presumption has proven wrong. The commission showed in its
first two years of existence that it could be critical not only
of the executive which had given birth to it, but also of the
security authorities. It exposed several controversial incidents
and brought cases to the military tribunal of those "acting
beyond the military operational procedures".

Liquisa in East Timor and Amungme in Irian Jaya, to name just
two cases, have shown that the commission is one of the places
where people can register complaints about human rights
violations. The commission has in a relatively short time taken
over the advocacy function usually identified with non-
governmental organizations.

This book is a compilation of reports from a seminar held by
the commission in late 1995. As far as the papers published in
the book are concerned, discourses on human rights have not shown
any new development. They place human rights as part of the
history of thoughts of Indonesia's nationalist movement, viewed
from cultural and religious perspectives.

The elements of human rights are studied as far as they are
recorded in Indonesian law. Human rights are also viewed from the
economic viewpoint. A discussion like this has repeatedly taken
place here through scientific and popular writings in several
mass media.

The last section of the book holds its own attraction. It
deals with the presentation by the commission's secretary-
general, Baharuddin Lopa, on the organization's performance in
its first two years. A senior non-governmental organization
figure, Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara, comments on this
presentation.

Lopa said the commission received 2,360 letters of complaints
in 1994 and 2,918 in 1995. The commission handled 343 cases in
1994 and 421 in the next year.

Commission members acted as speakers or resource advisers in
241 forums in Indonesia.

The figures say a lot. The presence of the commission has been
a godsend to many people, and its members are considered helpers
who assist people out of their trouble.

The table above shows that the commission's implementation of
its advocacy function has risen by more than 10 percent on
average. The commission's administrative response to the
complaints through case handling had risen by only 3.31 percent.

Should this be taken as an indication the commission's
potential is untapped in handling of this administrative matter?
While complaints lodged went far above 10 percent, the commission
could only handle 3 percent of the total.

The commission has recently encountered several difficulties
in settling cases of human rights violations. It is not clear,
however, what criteria is used to say the handling of a case is
completed. Take for example the Marsinah case, which is still
under police investigation, or the violent takeover of the
headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI). The
authorities have apparently turned a deaf ear on the
recommendations.

This is a dilemma for an institution like Komnasham. It has no
authority to execute a decision on a particular case, or at least
bring a case of human rights violation to court. At best, it can
come up with recommendations, which the executive or security
branches are free to heed or ignore.

This suggests that it is still difficult for the Commission to
find solutions to problems of human rights violations as they
relate to the existing political structure.

Nevertheless, the commission has turned to be a new control
institution. It is still a moot point whether it can serve as the
most effective institution for the settlement of human rights
problems. It has put itself in the ranks of other institutions
assigned to exercise control over such a huge executive power:
the press, the legislature, non-governmental organizations,
political parties and others.

Despite its limitations, Komnasham will likely contribute
towards the creation of a more transparent political structure,
and perhaps even democratization, although this may be too high
an ideal. Whether the public will continue to place its trust in
the commission in future will largely depend on its own
performance.

-- Ignatius Haryono

The reviewer is chairman of the Institute of the Study of the
Press and Development, Jakarta.