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Human rights conference aims to promote tolerance
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A protester wearing a mask of the face of the late human rights defender Munir stands before police officers during the weekly Kamisan silent protest in front of the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Sept. 7. (The Jakarta Post/Ibrahim Irsyad)
A national conference aimed at promoting tolerance at the regional level is set to be held in Jakarta next week.
The conference, titled the "Human Rights Friendly City Conference," is a collaborative event held by the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID), the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the presidential office. The event, held from Dec. 6 to 7 in Manhattan Hotel in Jakarta, will focus on the regional administrations’ roles in preventing intolerance and extremism.
Around 150 people from home and abroad will be invited to the event including regents, mayors, regional administrators, civil society organizations and private groups.
The conference is being held to urge local administrations to be responsible in actively promoting tolerance and human rights in their area, said Komnas HAM commissioner Amiruddin Al Rahab. The Human Rights Friendly City program, he said, would open community participation to contribute to development that pays attention to human rights aspects.
“Recently, intolerance is worrying -- local administrations must be more active in in preventing the spread of the sentiment before it turns into a bigger problem. Regional administrations cannot just sit still and wait for the government’s instruction,” Amiruddin said on Friday.
The executive director of INFID, Sugeng Bahagijo, said the conference will produce a declaration as a symbol of the commitment from the local administration to prevent intolerance and extremism in Indonesia. (rin)
