Indonesia moving ahead with human rights agenda

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Tue, 11/06/2007 5:11 PM | Opinion

Marty M. Natalegawa, New York

The promotion and protection of human rights are fundamental to the work and credibility of the United Nations. The UN Charter rightly starts with ""We, the peoples"", highlighting the determination to uphold human dignity in today's world.

Indonesia is firmly committed to remain fully engaged in our collective efforts for the promotion and protection of human rights, based on the fundamental principles that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interrelated and interdependent, and that all human rights must be pursued through genuine and constructive dialogue and cooperation.

Indonesia commends the Human Rights Council for its continued endeavor in this area. We are pleased to note that many accomplishments have been achieved by the Council in its first year, including the adoption of the Institution Building package. Yet, much remains to be done, and as a member of the Council, Indonesia will continue to take an active and constructive part in the work of the Council.

Indonesia welcomes the agreement on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a new and innovative mechanism of the Council that will place all States on equal footing and in a non-selective manner in the human rights review process. We are looking forward to the finalization of the guidelines for the UPR at this forthcoming resumed 6th Session of the Council in December. Indonesia is privileged to have been selected as one of the countries to be reviewed under the first round of the UPR in April 2008. We look forward to be engaged in fruitful exchange of views during the review process.

Indonesia's commitment for the promotion and protection of human rights also extends to our full cooperation with the UN human rights mechanisms. In the efforts to fulfill its obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), Indonesia recently presented its periodic reports before the relevant Committees in July and August this year, respectively.

The concluding observations of both Committees have already been issued and the Government is currently studying the recommendations therein very seriously, including through the dissemination of the observations to our domestic public.

Furthermore, Indonesia's report to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment has been submitted to the Committee and will be discussed in May 2008.

Indonesia has also been extending its full cooperation to the Special Procedures mechanism. During the last one year alone, Indonesia has welcomed the visit of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Migrants in December 2006 and the Special Representative to the Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders in June 2007. We also look forward to welcoming the visit of the Special Rapporteur on Torture, scheduled to take place on Nov. 10-23, 2007.

Indonesia has come a long way since the day we first embarked upon our comprehensive reform. This ongoing process is based on four pillars, namely democratization, respect for and protection of human rights as well as upholding the rule of law, wide-ranging decentralization, and economic rehabilitation.

The efforts have not been without challenges. Indeed, Indonesia's history in the last 10 years has been a history of pursuing and pushing, often painfully, for reforms and democratic transition. We have innumerable tests. But the Indonesian nation was born out of a great struggle. Today, Indonesians are enjoying hard earned democratic dividend.

Ten years into reformasi, we have transformed our self into a vibrant democracy, one of the biggest in the world. We are an open, inclusive, heterogeneous society, proud of its diversity, where fundamental rights of individuals are promoted and protected.

We have amended our Constitution as part of the reform process. One important result of the amendments is the constitutional guarantee for the promotion and protection of all human rights, guided by the universal Bills of Rights.

We have established a Constitutional Court to assure that the values and norms guaranteed in the amended Constitution are strictly implemented through a series of substantive and procedural national legislations, including through judicial reviews.

Through a Presidential Decree, we have also enacted the National Plan of Action on Human Rights 2004-2009.

At the regional level, together with our fellow Southeast Asian countries, Indonesia has been playing an active role to push for the integration of human rights provisions in the draft ASEAN Charter as well as the establishment of an ASEAN regional human rights mechanism. As stated by our President in an address on Aug. 7, 2007, ""...if we are going to have an ASEAN that is a ""community of caring societies"", then it must care not only about the livelihood and the social amenities but also about the fundamental rights of the human being...political cohesiveness should stem from a shared commitment to the fundamental values of democracy, human rights and the open market"".

We recognize our responsibilities. Last year, for example, we were elected for our second term as a member of the Human Rights Council. We take this as a vote of confidence in us, and in return, we will uphold our pledges and commitments for the promotion and protection of human rights at all levels.

In promotion of human rights, we have developed strong partnership with the civil society, including international human rights NGOs. Indeed, as a country which is today marked by a strong and vibrant civil society, Indonesia deems such partnership to be natural and essential.

Like other member states, we do still face many challenges. Most importantly, however, we choose to confront such challenges in directly in a transparent manner and with an open mind. We are convinced in the efficacy of the democratic solution.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Louise Arbour, on various occasions including last Wednesday in this very same room, has shared her positive impressions of her visit to Indonesia last July. Allow me to quote part of her interview with one of our leading media on July 16, 2007, ""(w)hen you consider the size of the country, the pluralism, the history of authoritarianism, the pockets of conflict, very severe armed conflicts, look at all these and look at where the country is...(t)his is a country that's coming across surprisingly as tolerant and already addicted to the features of democracy"".

Indonesia remains strongly committed to working together with other actors to advance human rights cause in Indonesia and worldwide. We also remain ready to continue to be actively engaged in our collective efforts to strengthen the effectiveness of the United Nations human rights machinery.

The article was excerpts of the statement by Marty M. Natalegawa, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Indonesia to the United Nations, before the Third Committee at the 62nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Agenda Item ""Promotion and Protection of Human Rights"", in New York on Oct. 30, 2007.

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