Jakarta – Activists and legislators said Friday that the state has acknowledged human rights at the policy level but has failed to implement its values in practice, especially in relation to protecting human rights defenders.

"Political change in 1998 has pushed succeeding governments to give more attention to human rights issues. However, it appears that the government monopolized all activities relating to human rights by allocating more of the budget to the state institution than to the community," House of Representatives legislator Beny Harman told a seminar on human rights defenders on Friday.

Matt Easton from Human Rights First said many existing laws still threatened human rights. He listed the Criminal Code with its criminal defamation and bills on intelligence and state secrets that restrict the freedom of speech and access to information.

The term "human rights defender" has been used increasingly since the adoption of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders in 1998. Up till then, terms such as human rights "activist", "professional" and "worker" were most common.