Members of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM)
confirmed by the House on Tuesday say they need more power to do their
jobs.
“The existing law that deals with Komnas HAM doesn’t
completely compel state institutions to follow our recommendations,”
commission member Sandrayati “Sandra” Moniaga said in Jakarta on
Tuesday.
Sandra was referring to Law No. 39/1999 on human rights, which gives the
commission the authority to issue non-binding recommendations to
government institutions to resolve human rights violations.
Fellow
commissioner Roichatul Aswidah said that Komnas HAM needed the
authority to ensure human rights were upheld across the nation.
“Human
rights commission in other countries such as South Korea have the
authority to publicize when government agencies do not follow their
recommendations,” Roichatul, an activist from the Center for Democracy
and Human Rights (Demos), said.
Sandra and Roichatul were among
13 Komnas HAM commissioners selected by House Committee III overseeing
human rights on Monday and endorsed by a House plenary meeting on
Tuesday.
Critics have questioned lawmakers for rejecting
candidates forwarded by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono with better
track records in human rights, instead appointing candidates such as
Maneger Nasution, a former secretary of the Indonesian Ulema Council
(MUI); and Siane Indriani, a former television journalist.
The
incoming commissioners vowed to push the President, the Attorney
General’s Office (AGO) and the Law and Human Rights Ministry, among
others bodies, to take action on the commission’s findings, such as its
recently released report that called the 1965 communist purge a gross
violation of human
rights.
“We will strengthen our
communications with relevant parties so that they are willing to follow
up our recommendations,” Roichatul said.
The incoming commissioners also vowed to investigate human rights violations in Papua.
Meanwhile, several NGOs have urged the commissioners to demonstrate their commitment to human rights enforcement.
“We
hope that they will fight for universal human rights. They should side
with victims of human rights violations. They should not fight for the
interests of their own groups,” Yati Andriyani from the Commission for
Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said.
Another
activist agreed that Komnas HAM should be given more authority. “Komnas
HAM is supposed to be given authority to give input on any planned
regulations that is related to human rights issues,” Zaenal Abidin from
the Institute for Research and Advocacy (Elsam) said.
Separately,
Bathara Ibnu Reza from the human rights group Imparsial said that the
diverse backgrounds of the commissioners would hopefully allow them to
bridge gaps between majority and minority groups.
“We will always be ready to cooperate with the commission. But we will also always act as its watchdogs,” Bathara said.