Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government has been criticized for establishing a new national human rights committee directly under the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, with activists saying it would be open to political interference.

Human rights campaigners said on Saturday the committee, which will have regional branches nationwide, was likely to be biased toward to the government.

Indonesian governments had often committed rights abuses in the past and the establishment of this new committee would mean they would continue to go unchecked, they said.

"It's stupid the government is now setting up a committee that is tasked with dealing with its wrongdoings," said Johnson Pandjaitan of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI). He said as the committee would handle human rights cases involving government officials, the new structure would likely mean perpetrators would walk free from courts.

Johnson said the government should strengthen the role of the existing National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) instead of forming a new committee. "Under the administration of [President] Megawati [Soekarnoputri], I have seen hope for justice increasingly fading. With the establishment of the committee, the government will now be able to politically control all human rights cases," he told The Jakarta Post.

He said if the government was serious about promoting human rights, it should ratify international human rights conventions, such as those on women and children's protection and those on civilian, political and economic rights protection.

Similarly, National Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) chairman Ori Rahman questioned whether the role of the committee would not overlap with Komnas HAM's.

"Because of political interference from both the executive and legislative bodies, Komnas HAM has so far faced difficulties deciding whether rights violations have occurred or not. I wonder what Komnas HAM will be able to achieve following the government's decision to establish the new committee," he said.

High-profile incidents such as the Trisakti, Semanggi I and Semanggi II killings were declared only as common crimes by the House of Representatives, despite the recommendations of Komnas. Komnas said it had found evidence of human rights abuses in those cases and had recommended they be brought to an ad hoc human rights tribunal.

Megawati signed a decree on May 11 to establish the new national committee that would coordinate human rights activities throughout the country. Based on the decree, the committee is chaired by the minister of justice and human rights with members comprising representatives of both the government and national human rights institutions.

The committee's tasks will include establishing and strengthening institutions that enforce the National Action Plan on Human Rights (RANHAM), preparing the ratification of international human rights instruments, disseminating human rights information and monitoring, evaluating and submitting human rights reports to the president.

As the committee chairman, the minister of justice and human rights along with governors across the country will form provincial RANHAM committees, which will be accountable to the governors and the national committee.

Members of provincial committees will comprise government representatives, experts and public figures. Similar committees will also be set up at the regental/municipal levels across the country.