Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) is seeking the Constitutional Court's (MK) support in the fight against legislation considered to hinder civil rights.
Komnas HAM commissioners on Wednesday held a meeting with the court's justices and asked them to considered a human rights perspective in their rulings.
Commissioner Nur Kholis said the commission could state its opinions during court hearings on whether a law was in line with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but that was not enough to make the law annulled.
"We can only put our opinions into our reports and recommendations. Some perceive those to be merely interpretations from our side," he said.
The commission cited the failures of rights activists in challenging the 1965 Blasphemy Law, which has often been used to persecute religious minority groups. In 2010, the court upheld the law to the chagrin of human rights defenders.
The government is now seeking to pass into law a number of bills that activists said would curtail freedom and bring the country back to the authoritarian era of former president Soeharto.
One of the most controversial pieces of legislation is the national security bill. The government is keen on passing the bill into law despite objections from civil society groups.
Commissioner Natalius Pigai said Law No. 39/1999 on human rights stipulated that the commission could issue non-binding recommendations to government institutions to resolve human rights violations. However, most of the time they fell on deaf ears, he argued.
"Support from other elements, including from the Constitutional Court, will make us stronger," he explained. "It's important that human rights are upheld within the Constitutional Court."
MK Justice Mahfud MD said that the court believed it was important to protect human rights and that it would hold more meetings to discuss the matter. Mahfud, however, stressed the role of the MK.
"Sometimes provisions of regulations are bad, but we can only judge them on whether they are constitutional or unconstitutional. Sometimes we don't like them, but they are still constitutional."
Komnas HAM has been visiting several institutions for advocacy reasons. Recently, representatives of the commission came to the National Police headquarters to raise concerns about the way the authorities were dealing with security issues in restive regions such as Poso.
The commission called on the police to uphold human rights, especially in dealing with suspected extremists, most of whom have been shot dead during police raids.