Indonesian Gov't Has No Authority Over Activist Status, Minister Says

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's Minister of Human Rights and Justice, Natalius Pigai, stated that the government has no right to determine the status of human rights defenders, or activists. The determination of who qualifies as a human rights activist will be decided by civil society alongside independent commissions with authority.

"The criteria for who is a human rights defender and who is not, is determined by civil society with the National Commission on Human Rights, the National Commission on Women, the National Commission on Children, and the Commission on Disabilities, not by the government," he said in a press conference on Monday, May 4, 2026.

The discourse on determining this status emerged after Pigai proposed forming an assessment team for human rights activists. He argued that this idea is to filter claims of human rights activists and prevent the misuse of status in legal processes.

The assessment is based on criteria that evaluate the context of a person's actions during an event. According to Pigai, human rights activists are those who do not receive income for their activities. In the future, the state will provide protection to those who defend public human rights interests without payment.

"It is possible for a human rights activist, at a certain point, that the assessment team finds that he or she is working, even though their status as a human rights activist, at the time they were working for payment, they cannot be considered a human rights activist," he said in a special interview with Antara.

Pigai explained that according to the human rights protection system, the government is not allowed to regulate and intervene in civil matters, including determining the status of human rights defenders. "It is highly unlikely for the government to regulate, let alone decide whether you are a human rights defender or not, whether you are an activist or not. It is impossible for the government to do so," he said.

However, Pigai stated that the government is obligated to enact laws that ensure protection for human rights defenders. Through this regulation, he claimed, the state will protect human rights defenders.

He explained that the Ministry of Human Rights has proposed a clause that human rights defenders should not be prosecuted in the Draft Law on Human Rights. However, with specific criteria that must be met.

"Those who are present when providing assistance to those in need, by meeting specific criteria, without payment, for public interest, not by violent means, are guaranteed not to be prosecuted," Pigai said.

Read: Amnesty Slams Gov't Plan to Screen Activists: 'Repressive Tool'

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