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Rights body to monitor, guide administrations on religious freedom
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Sindangbarang girls hold bamboo containers used for storing water. They collect water from seven springs and later place it in a larger container, before religious leaders bless the water in the hope it will bring good fortune to the people of the village. (JP/Theresia Sufa)
T
he National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has vowed to intensify communications with regional administrations in an attempt to proliferate rights principles and curb the escalating number of religious freedom violations.
Komnas HAM chairman Imdadun Rahmat said many problems related to religious freedom were caused by ignorance and negligence from regional administration officials in properly handling the issue, hence his commission would increase direct involvement with cities and regencies thought to have difficulties dealing with the matter.
“In the future, we will strengthen the roles of regional leaders in protecting religious freedom. We will not only conduct monitoring, but also mentoring,” Imdadun said at his office on Tuesday during the release of a year-end report on religious freedom.
He said that based on his experience, many regional leaders were reluctant to discuss problems of religious freedom in their respective areas and considered the topic taboo. Therefore, many religious freedom violations went unsolved and undetected.
“We, nonetheless, praise regional administrations that have made efforts to promote tolerance. We will continue to show appreciation to administrations that establish interfaith forums or conduct interfaith discussions and trainings,” he said.
Komnas HAM has recorded a steady increase of violations of religious freedom in the last three years. Throughout 2016, the commission received 97 reports related to violations of religious freedom. The figure was higher than in 2014 and 2015, when the rights body received 74 and 87 reports, respectively. (dmr)
