Komnas HAM to focus on sensitive issues

JAKARTA: The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) will focus on economic, social and cultural rights in 2010.

"We will especially focus more on sensitive issues which impact the most on people," Ifdhal Kasim, the head of the commission, told The Jakarta Post Tuesday.

One of the issues is the right to housing and the commission plans to take action on the many eviction cases occurring in urban areas.

It also intends to tackle the issue of natural resources by paying greater attention to the rights of indigenous peoples who face the massive exploitation of their resource-rich environments.

The commission will also handle economic issues concerning the right to employment and migrant labor protection.

Kasim said that it was important to promote a human rights-based approach to development programs to ensure the government consistently observed the people's economic, social and cultural rights. - JP