Ratification of the 2010 National Legislation Program

Ratification of the 2010 National Legislation Program

The Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) is disappointed that the 2010 National Legislation Program fails to include several important draft laws and conventions on the agenda for debate, despite their place in debates by government and civil society over the past several years.     

We call for the following regulations to be considered in the National Legislation Program: 
1. Revisions to the Draft Law on Military Courts (RUU Peradilan Militer)

The revision of the Law on Military Courts is the main priority in military reform. The ineffectiveness of the Indonesian military’s accountability mechanisms has left cases of past human rights violations unresolved. This problem is compounded by the wall of impunity surrounding the Indonesian military (TNI). The Special Parliamentary Committee in the 2004-2009 period reached an impasse on these issues. This should not happen again in 2010. 

We ask that Commission III of the Parliament immediately continue discussion of the draft plan to change the existing law, Law Number 31/1997 on Military Courts, that had been worked on previously by the Special Committee. 

2. Revisions to the Draft Law on Truth Commissions (RUU Komisi Kebenaran)
The Truth Commission mechanism is one of the mandates included in the Parliamentary Decision No. 5/2000 on National Unity and Law No. 26/2000 on human rights courts. This mechanism is complementary to the Human Rights Courts that are currently in effect. It is urgent this legislation be passed to resolve past human rights cases other than those investigated by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM). The Truth Commission mechanism is also a mandate included in the special autonomy laws for Aceh and Papua. The Truth Commission is a way to institutionalize the principles of human rights, especially fulfilling the long-delayed rights of victims. 

We ask the Department of Law and Human Rights to pay attention to the needs of the victims of human rights violations, especially in Aceh and Papua, in the new Draft Law. These revisions cannot repeat the mistake of the old law on Truth Commissions which limited the basic rights of victims.

3. Ratification of the International Convention against Forced Disappearances
Families of the victims of forced disappearances are in a most difficult position. Apart from waiting to know the fate of their family member, they also have to confront the confusing government administration on population. The government has committed itself to ratifying the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance as stated by the Minister of Law and Human Rights in the 2006 High Level Forum in the Human Rights Council. This commitment was also affirmed in meetings between victims of human rights violations with the National Commission on Human Rights, the Foreign Affairs Department, and the Department of Law and Human Rights itself. At the end of the 2004-2009 parliamentary period, the Parliamentary Special Committee on the Disappeared also recommended the ratification of the Convention, and also signaled the urgency of its ratification. 

We call on the government to immediately sign the Convention and officiate it within Indonesian law as a form of protection for all people against forced disappearances in the future.

KontraS asks that the government and the Parliament not ignore the requests above. Based on previous experiences, important draft laws can be discussed even if they are not included within the National Legislative Program.  Discussion of these important regulations in 2010 is a measure of the commitment and consistency of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s government along with the members of the Indonesian Parliament to create pro-human rights and democratic policies in the year 2010.
 
Jakarta, 14 Desember 2009

Indria Fernida
Deputy Coordinator