KontraS Demands Govt to Approve Enforced Disappearances Law

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) and the Civil Society Coalition Against Enforced Disappearances demand the government ratify the bill on the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

"The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance bill needs to be issued this year by the House of Representatives as a guarantee that enforced disappearance is non-recurrent," said the coordinator of KontraS Dimas Bagus Arya in his written statement on Wednesday, August 30, 2023. 

KontraS emphasized that the bill has been put on hold since 2010, as proven by its absence in the agenda for the National Legislative Program. 

In addition, the bill has been included in the national human rights action plan for two periods, the 2011-2014 period and the 2014-2018 period.

"It is not without reason that the Civil Society Coalition Against Enforced Disappearances demands the ratification [of enforced disappearances bill] to be discussed this year," Dimas said.

Dimas explained that oftentimes, the bill is misrepresented as a politically charged law to tackle specific figures. However, he believes that the issue has passed along with the issuance of a Presidential Letter concerning the problem.

"The ratification of this bill is part of the preventive and corrective measures by the state to avoid the recurring issue of enforced disappearances in the future," Dimas stressed. 

AKHMAD RIYADH

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