KontraS Slams Indonesia's Lacking Answers in ICCPR's Human Rights Committee Session in Geneva

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) regrets the Indonesian delegation's response to various criticisms and questions from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Committee in Geneva, Switzerland.

"The government is not fully successful in proving the progress of human rights and democracy in Indonesia in international forums," said KontraS Coordinator Dimas Bagus Arya, in his written statement on Thursday, March 14, 2024.

The ICCPR Committee (the Human Rights Committee) is one of the treaty bodies of the UN Human Rights Office that specifically oversees the implementation of the ICCPR by its country members, including Indonesia.

In the Human Rights Committee session held on March 11-12, 2024, the committee inquired about several human rights issues including the murder of Munir Said Thalib, violence in Papua, the delayed resolution of past grave human rights violations including the Wamena, Wasior, and Paniai tragedies, as well as the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (OP-ICCPR) related to the abolition or moratorium of the death penalty.

Dimas assessed that several questions were not answered optimally. In fact, Dimas said, some of the facts conveyed by the Indonesian delegation were twisted. The Indonesian government delegation present during the session included the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, the National Police, the Presidential Staff Office, and the State Secretariat.

Dimas cited an example where the Indonesian government boasts about the progress of democracy in Indonesia but does not recognize the militaristic approach in Papua. The government instead calls the amendment of the Criminal Code a form of human rights progress in Indonesia. 

"It is also very unfortunate when the Indonesian Government boasts of the compensation given to families of victims of past grave human rights violations with scholarships and ease of visa when the families of victims want justice for the perpetrators instead," Dimas said in a written statement quoted on Thursday, March 14.

Dimas also said that several questions were not answered straightforwardly, such as the ethical violations of Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the strengthening of the KuPP in Indonesia regarding the issue of torture, and the excessive use of violence against civilian protestors.

"This reflects a country that is not even ready to bear the status of a member of the UN Human Rights Council when the fulfillment of fundamental human rights is largely neglected, as well as recognizing its readiness as a member of the OECD where business and human rights are quite alarming notes in the committee," Dimas concluded.

YOHANES MAHARSO JOHARSOYO

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