Armando Siahaan, Jakarta – Activists have asked the House of Representatives to speed up the ratification of a legal instrument that protects people from enforced disappearances.

Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa signed the UN Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances last week in New York.

Adopted in December 2006, the convention forbids states from subjecting their people to enforced disappearances in times of war, political instability and other state emergency situations.

Priyo Budi Santoso, a House deputy speaker from the Golkar Party, said on Thursday that the House "greatly welcomes" the signing. "This is not simply the demand of the international community. The House is committed to eradicating outdated practices in this era of democracy." He said the House would wait for an official letter from the government, and then "immediately process [the ratification]."

The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said it was important the House ratify the convention as soon as possible. "With the signing, the government is politically tied to key regulations in the convention, but a ratification would bind the country legally," it said in a statement.

Chrisbiantoro, from Kontras, welcomed Priyo's support but said he would not rest until "the political will" resulted in ratification. "We do not have a single legal instrument that punishes enforced disappearances."

He said he did not expect much political resistance to the ratification because the convention was not retroactive, meaning that past cases could not be prosecuted under the convention.

According to Kontras, 13 political activists were victims of enforced disappearances by the military between 1997 and 1998, in the dying days of the Suharto regime.

The UN convention has been signed by 86 countries, but only 19 have ratified it. Indonesia would be the third Asian country to ratify the convention, after Japan and Kazakhstan. Its ratification would be crucial because the instrument can only come into force after being ratified by at least 20 signatories.

Nasir Jamil of House Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, also lauded the signing of the convention. "This shows that the government is making progress in its commitment to human rights," he said. He added, however, that signing the convention was just the beginning and the government also had to set up an ad hoc human rights court.

He said the House could pass a law on a human rights court, if necessary. Otherwise, he said, the government could integrate it into the existing court system.

In Sept. 2009, a House special committee came up with a four-point recommendation urging the government to play a greater role in resolving the problem of enforced disappearances.