Indonesia welcomed Wednesday a report by Hina Jilani, the special representative of the UN secretary general on the situation of human rights defenders, and said the government was strengthening the network of rights defenders as part of the national blueprint on human rights.

Speaking in Geneva during the seventh session of the Human Rights Council, Indonesia said it was setting up commissions in 476 regencies and cities to carry out the blueprint, and was establishing a witness protection body.

Jilani visited Indonesia June 5-12 last year and went to the abuse-prone provinces of Nanggroe Aceh Darusalam and Papua. She said in her report that Indonesia had taken considerable measures to protect rights defenders, but noted a lack of coordination among rights commissions as well as resistance to changing attitudes toward the elimination of impunity were slowing down progress.