TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
UN expert supports civil lawsuit on Jakarta air pollution
Change Size
Smog blankets Jakarta’s skyscrapers on Aug. 19, 2019. Air pollution in the city is among the worst in the world. (JP/Donny Fernando)
A
United Nations expert has weighed in on a civil lawsuit brought against a number of Indonesian officials for their failure to improve poor air quality in the capital Jakarta.
David R. Boyd, the UN special rapporteur for human rights and the environment, recently submitted an amicus curiae brief to the Central Jakarta District Court in support of arguments that officials have violated a constitutional right.
Read also: New partnership tackles Jakarta's air pollution
The Coalition for the Capital on Tuesday confirmed that the court had received the amicus brief, which is presented by someone interested in influencing the outcome of a lawsuit but who is not a party to it.
Boyd said that protecting people from the harmful effects of air pollution is a constitutional and legislative obligation of the Indonesian government, and not an option.
“The failure of Indonesian [officials] to improve substandard outdoor air quality in Jakarta, especially when they have failed to act with the requisite degree of urgency and diligence in the face of prolonged and persistent exceedances of air quality standards, is a violation of the constitutional right to a good and healthy environment,” he concluded in the 19-page document submitted last month.
Having served more than 25 years as an environmental lawyer, Boyd said he decided to submit the brief to address this particular case in Jakarta because of its global importance.
