Jakarta – Rights group the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has filed a report with the Indonesian Ombudsman complaining about the poor performance of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).

Kontras chairman Haris Azhar said that the internal conflict within Komnas HAM had prevented the commission from carrying out its functions. Haris said that Komnas HAM had not made any decisions regarding some high-profile cases.

"So far, Komnas HAM has not completed dossiers of past human rights abuses after they were returned by the Attorney General's Office," Haris said as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Komnas HAM commissioners recently voted for Siti Noor Laila to become the body's chairperson replacing Otto Nur Abdullah, whose term was cut short following a revision to an internal regulation that allowed for an annual turnover of leadership.

Rights groups have suspected that the decision was the result of a political bargaining process between the commissioners and powerful individuals who were linked to human rights abuse cases, including cases that related to the deprivation of economic rights or gross violations of human rights.