Detik.com
- September 1, 2009
Rachmadin
Ismail, Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence
(Kontras) visited the Directorate General of Human Rights at the Department of
Justice and Human Rights on Tuesday September 1.
Together
with family members of missing people, they demanded the fulfillment of a
promise to deal with missing persons cases by ratifying the international
convention on missing persons.
“Kontras
along with the families of victims hope that the Department of Justice and
Human Rights will soon ratify the international convention for the protection
of all persons from enforced disappearances,” said Kontras coordinator Usman
Hamid at the department’s offices on Jl. HR Rasuna Said in the Kuningan area of
South Jakarta today.
Usman
demanded the fulfillment of a promise made during the era of Justice and Human
Rights Minister Hamid Awaludin who declared his commitment to sign the
Convention Against Enforced Disappearances in 2007. To this day however, the
convention has not yet been signed.
According to
Usman, the ratification of this convention is important primarily in dealing
with cases of missing persons in Indonesia, which was rampant prior to the reformasi
era. “If the convention was ratified victims could report to the United Nations
and request protection through international conventions in order that
Indonesia can be reprimanded,” he explained.
Aside from
Usman, Tuti Koto, the mother of a victim of the 1998 abductions of student
activists also hopes that the government will ratify the convention that has so
far only been signed by 13 countries. This is because she has given up seeking
legal assistance from institutions within Indonesia.
“My child
has been missing for 12 years now. Although I’m a person who doesn’t understand
the law and doesn’t understand politics I ask that the government not treat me
like a fool. Sign it now”, she said.
In response
the Director for Reinforcing Human Rights at the Department of Justice and
Human Rights, Rusdiyanto pledged to prioritise a program to sign and ratify the
convention. He asserted that it has already been designated as a human rights
national action plan and would be implemented soon by the incoming government.
“We have
been coordinating with various parties, however because of the large number of
programs, it's likely that it will not be implemented until the next government
[takes office],” asserted Rusdiyanto. (anw/iy)
[Translated
by James Balowski.]
