Commission to push govt for harmony

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 11/07/2009 1:03 PM  |  National

The 15 new members of the National Commission on Violence Against Women have outlined a new agenda for their 2010-2014 administration.

New commissioner Neng Dara Affiah said Friday she and the other commissioners would continue the efforts of past commissioners in upholding the rights of women and minorities by pushing the government to "harmonize the implementation of laws and bylaws".

"We will work together with related institutions to make this happen," she told The Jakarta Post.

"The government has been unable to control the passage of bylaws that go against the Constitution."

A recent study published by the commission shows there are 154 bylaws that discriminate against women and minorities.

The study singles out West Java and West Sumatra as the two provinces that had issued most of the discriminative bylaws.

Of the 154 bylaws, 134 were issued at the provincial level, 19 at the regency and municipal level, and one at the village level.

Neng, a sociology and philosophy professor from Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, said many communities across the country continued to maltreat women from minorities, including lesbians, disabled women and those from the Ahmadiyah sect.

The Indonesian Ulema Council has declared the sect heretical.

Neng said the commission would urge the government to facilitate continuous dialogues between the commission and ministries such as the Coordinating Public Welfare Ministry, the Justice and Human Rights Ministry and the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry.

She added the new commissioners would also keep monitoring the government's performance.

"I think the government should improve its human rights performance," she said.

"There's a widely held public perception that the government is unable to protect its citizens' rights. The government has often been blamed for inadequate protection."

She added the government had not addressed many rights-abuse cases, including domestic violence.

The number of domestic violence cases increased by 213 percent to 54,425 cases in 2008, up from 25,522 a year earlier, the commission says.

Neng also called on the government to ratify the 1990 UN Convention on Migrant Workers.

Commission chairwoman Kamala Chandrakirana said the government's continued refusal to ratify the convention had left migrant workers in limbo.

"Many of them face physical and mental abuse," she said.

"As a result, when they return home, many of them suffer permanent disabilities." (nia)

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