Ezra Sihite & Camelia Pasandaran – Indonesia is the only country in the region that has not ratified a World Health Organization treaty to protect people from the harms of tobacco. But that could change if health advocacy groups get their way in an upcoming Supreme Court appeal.
A coalition of NGOs on Monday challenged a lower court ruling that allowed the government to veto the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which states the dangers of tobacco and sets universal standards to limit its use.
"The Indonesian government has yet to ratify the FCTC treaty or pass a draft law on it," said Tulus Abadi, coordinator of Civil Society for the FCTC.
The coalition – which includes the Indonesian Consumer Protection Foundation (YLKI), the Jakarta Residents Forum (Fakta), the Coalition for a Healthy Indonesia (KuIS), and the Institute for the Handling Smoking Problems (LM3) – had taken President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the House of Representatives to court in 2008 for what it said was their failure to ratify the international convention, but the court ruled against the groups.
In an appeal this month, the Jakarta High Court upheld the earlier verdict. Tulus called on the Supreme Court to annul the earlier verdicts because they were "not detailed and they wrongly translated the law."
He said that if Yudhoyono were to honor his legal obligation, he would ratify the tobacco-control treaty. "The president and the [House] have done nothing to protect the Indonesian public from the damaging impact of tobacco products," he said.
Tulus said that although the government was involved in discussing the treaty's draft, Indonesia was also the only Southeast Asian country not to sign it.
Data from the WHO shows that 174 countries have signed the FCTC so far. Of these, 120 have adopted the convention and enacted laws to strengthen tobacco control.
He said that Indonesia was currently the world's third largest nation of smokers, with about 68 million cigarette consumers. The country also produces 265 billion sticks a year.
"The president of the Republic of Indonesia did not perform his legal obligation," Tulus said. "And that is to protect the current generation and coming generations from the health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure."
Teuku Faizasyah, the president's aide for international relations, declined to comment. He said he needed to confirm information with the state secretariat first.
The NGOs have argued that in its failure to sign and ratify the FCTC, the government violated the 1945 Constitution, a health law, a law on human rights, and another on child protection.
It said the government also violated a law about ratifying international treaties for economic, social and cultural rights, as well as a law on excise.