Rights draft fails to focus on basic tenets

JAKARTA (JP): A member of the National Commission on Human Rights has criticized the People's Consultative Assembly's draft decree on human rights protection for failing to focus on the basic tenets of human rights.

Marzuki Darusman said a number of more essential rights should have been included rather than those which are currently contained such as the right to development, to worship, and to have a family.

"They are the right to live, to individual protection and to humane treatment," he told journalists in his office here yesterday when asked what basic rights should be included in the draft.

Marzuki maintained that a decree on human rights should focus on these basic rights. "These rights could not be denied and compromised under any circumstances."

A People's Consultative Assembly team completed Thursday a draft decree on human rights protection to be incorporated in the 1998/2003 State Policy Guidelines.

The seven-point draft reaffirms the recognition and commitment of rights for the people, which includes the right to development, to worship and to have a family.

Marzuki said that the right to worship was not necessary since it is already guaranteed by the 1945 Constitution.

Article 29 of the 1945 Constitution stipulates that the state shall guarantee freedom to adhere to his or her respective religion and to perform his or her religious duties.

Despite its shortcomings, Marzuki still praised the draft as it urges the government to ratify the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other related international covenants and enforces laws to ensure its rights protection.

"Acknowledgement of the importance to ratify the international covenants is somewhat of a progress, although they still seem to be very selective in adopting articles of these covenants," Marzuki said.

In 1966, the United Nations endorsed two covenants and one optional protocol on human rights to be ratified by its member countries.

They are the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Optional Protocol for the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. (10)