National Human Rights Institute

 By  Akhmad Zamroni

Source: statik.tempo.co

What is a national human rights institution? What is the role of national human rights institutions in efforts to uphold and protect human rights? Why is it necessary to establish a human rights institution? Doesn't the government already have law enforcement officers tasked with protecting human rights?

Efforts to protect and improve human rights are seen as insufficient if only relying on laws and regulations. The day after the proclamation of independence, our country already has a legal basis for human rights, namely the 1945 Constitution, but in reality for decades under the Old and New Order regimes, the Indonesian people still experience human rights violations. The improvement of human rights by relying solely on laws and regulations has not produced optimal results –– at least this is the case in Indonesia.

For this reason, the existence of statutory regulations is deemed necessary to be equipped with other instruments. Other instruments referred to, among others, are human rights institutions. A human rights institution is an institution specifically formed to undertake efforts to address human rights problems, especially efforts to uphold, protect and defend (advocate) human rights. It is hoped that such an institution can become the infrastructure for improving and advancing the condition of human rights.

In order to maximize its performance, specialized human rights institutions themselves must also meet certain, stringent requirements. The requirement is that the institution must be independent (neutral) and consist of qualified people who have great concern in the protection and enforcement of human rights. It should be added, that independence means that it is free from interference and influence from all outside (external) parties, especially the government.

It is assumed that the involvement of government officials who are still active in human rights institutions will reduce the performance of the institution. This is because government officials who are still active are generally bound by the influence and interests of the government. Evidence shows that gross violations of human rights in Indonesia –– and also in almost all countries in the world –– have been mostly perpetrated by government officials; for the future the situation is predicted as well. That is why, if human rights institutions consist of people who are still active in the government bureaucracy or are influenced by the government, it is feared that the institution will fall into a government institution that will never be able to make efforts to protect, enforce, improve and promote human rights as it should be.

Therefore, efforts to improve and promote human rights, apart from relying solely on laws and regulations, also cannot rely solely on the government. Legislation is only an inanimate and frozen "object" that cannot respond directly to human rights violations and problems without the role of humans, namely law enforcement officials. Meanwhile, the government and its ranks of law enforcement officials (police and prosecutors) generally find it very difficult to be neutral in efforts to address human rights violations and problems because serious human rights violations and problems are generally committed or caused by government officials.

The existence of a special independent human rights institution, thus, is very important in the efforts to improve and promote human rights in Indonesia. If it is protected by a valid legal umbrella and given adequate duties and powers, we can rely on institutions like this to make efforts to improve and promote human rights in our country. However, such an institution cannot work alone. The role of other institutions or agencies is still very much needed to support the performance of human rights institutions. Law enforcement agencies or agencies, such as the police, prosecutors and courts, have a role to play in carrying out legal settlement of cases of human rights violations discovered by human rights institutions.

Then, what human rights institutions currently exist in Indonesia? What duties and powers does this institution have in dealing with human rights issues? And what are the functions and roles of these institutions in the efforts to improve and promote human rights in our country?

It can be said that currently in Indonesia there are many human rights institutions. Some of these institutions actually do not claim to be human rights institutions. However, seen from their progress and concrete performance in the field, these institutions are classified as human rights institutions. For example, they actively assist and defend victims of human rights violations.

In general, human rights institutions in our country can be divided into two groups, namely state human rights institutions and non-governmental human rights institutions. State human rights institutions are established and financed by the state based on statutory regulations. The objectives, duties, powers, membership and position of state human rights institutions are clearly regulated by law. Meanwhile, non-governmental human rights institutions were formed and financed purely by and on the initiative of some members of the community. These institutions are commonly known as non-governmental organizations (abbreviated as NGOs) or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) whose membership, objectives, vision, mission, and work programs are usually regulated by a statute/by-laws.

The need for the establishment of a state institution that specifically has the duty and authority to deal with human rights issues in our country has actually been felt for a long time, especially since the rampant violations of human rights that occurred during the Orde Lama (Old Order) and Orde Baru (New Order) administrations. The human rights violations committed by the Orde Lama and Orde Baru regimes aroused the awareness of many circles of society –– especially figures and groups who care about human rights issues about the need for the establishment of human rights institutions by the state. On various occasions there have been many calls on the government to form a state human rights institution.

Source: statik.tempo.co

Against various appeals and exhortations that have emerged from the community, the government finally cannot continue to remain silent. In 1993 the desire to form a state human rights institution was finally realized with the establishment of the Komisi Nasional Hak Asasi Manusia (Komnas HAM –– National Commission on Human Rights). This is the first human rights institution in Indonesia's modern history. Five years later, in 1998, following the formation of the Komisi Nasional Anti Kekerasan Terhadap Perempuan (Komnas Perempuan –– National Commission on Violence Against Women). In 1998 the Komisi Nasional Perlindungan Anak (Komnas PA –– National Commission for Child Protection) was also formed. To complement the duties and responsibilities of the National Commission on Human Rights, in the early 2000s the initiative to establish a human rights commission (to be) called the Komisi Kebenaran dan Rekonsiliasi (KKR –– Truth and Reconciliation Commission) was initiated.

Human rights issues in our country are very complex and are often difficult to handle and resolve only by official state human rights institutions. It seems that there is a need for other institutions outside the official state human rights institutions to strengthen efforts to protect and enforce human rights in Indonesia. Nowadays, non-governmental human rights organizations (NGOs) or non-governmental human rights organizations (NGOs) are needed as partners to the state's official human rights institutions.

From the history of its birth, non-governmental human rights institutions were even formed far earlier than state human rights institutions. Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Indonesia  (LBHI –– The Indonesian Legal Aid Institute), for example, was formed in 1970 when the government and the general public had not thought about the importance of human rights institutions. To add to the ranks of non-governmental human rights organizations community, following the establishment of new institutions, such as the Lembaga Studi dan Advokasi Masyarakat (ELSAM –– Institute for Community Studies and Advocacy), the Perhimpunan Bantuan Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia Indonesia (PBHI –– Association of Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights), the Komisi untuk Orang Hilang dan Korban Tindak Kekerasan (Kontras –– Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence), and Imparsial (Impartiality).