Jakarta – The government should upgrade its ratification of the Convention of Rights of the Child (CRC) from a presidential decree to a law in order to better protect children, says a r

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – The government's compensation for the victims of the 1998 May riots is useless without a concrete settlement of the tragedy, a human rights group says.

Jakarta – Twelve years have passed, but Karsiah, 47, and Hiratetty Yoga, 59, still do not know who shot their son to death on the day of the Trisakti shootings on May 12, 1998.

Dianing Sari, Jakarta – Without an amendment to the Criminal Code, it is impossible for female victims of May 1998 to get justice.

Ulma Haryanto – The May 1998 riots that devastated the capital during the fall of former President Suharto, leaving more than 1,500 people dead and widespread reports of gang rapes, hav

Jakarta – Some say time and distance will heal any wound, but not, it would seem, the trauma of watching thousands of enraged people bearing down on you and your family with destruction

Ulma Haryanto & Zaky Pawas – The National Commission on Human Rights will conduct a special investigation into the recent spate of vandalism targeting places of religious activities

Heru Andriyanto – It appears that no one knows for sure when a criminal trial should end.

Jakarta – Three days after the unruly Islam Defenders Front (FPI) stormed a human rights training workshop for transgender individuals in Depok, West Java, police seem reluctant to purs

Purwokerto – In a country were illegal logging and forest conversion is rife, a central Java teenager is facing the prospects of 10 years behind bars after he was arrested for allegedly

Dessy Sagita – An Indonesian transsexual organization has criticized the Depok public order agency for failing to prevent dozens of hard-line Islamic activists from charging into a civi

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – Police have not arrested any members of a hardline Islamic group who stormed a human rights training session for transgender individuals, but instead plan to

Ronna Nirmala – In the latest outburst by the Islamic Defenders Front, dozens of hard-liners charged into a civil rights training session for transsexuals held by the National Commissio

Enraged members of the militant Islamic Defenders Front raided a human rights workshop for ladyboys in Depok on Friday in the mistaken belief there was a lingerie contest taking place.

Erwida Maulia and Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – The historic freedom of information law comes into force today with most state institutions, mired in a decades-long culture of secrec

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – Experts have argued that certain exemptions contained within the new freedom of information law, particularly those on state defense and strategies, will hin

Jakarta – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is calling for the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission to resolve the lingering problems over past gross

Taufik Darusman – Sometime in mid-1998, in the aftermath of the fall of the Suharto regime, a number of kidnapped antigovernment activists suddenly found themselves freed as they were d

Jakarta – The ongoing Judicial Commission examination team review of the Munir assassination case trial of former National Intelligence Body deputy Muchdi Purwopranjono indicates the ju

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Nurfika Osman – Amid human rights activists' demands for it to face justice, the Army's elite force marked its 58th anniversary on Friday by calling for t

Ulma Haryanto – The area where the violence took place on Wednesday was also the site of massive human rights violations on Sept.

Eko Ari Wibowo/Joniansyah, Jakarta – Indonesian NGO activist monitoring police performance reported on Friday (9/4) abuse sent at his private residence following series of telephone thr

Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin – Authorities in Dili have appealed against the acquittal of the Australian Angelita Pires on charges of conspiring to kill East Timor's top two political leader

Jakarta – A survey conducted by the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation (YBHI) recently found that about 80 percent of detainees in the country suffered from acts of violence unde

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Experts argued that the minimum criminal prosecution age of eight years is too young and must be amended, during a judicial review of the controversial juven

An Darwin woman found not guilty of trying to assassinate East Timor's president two years ago says the country needs to review its judicial system.

Jakarta – Military Police have arrested four officers from the Army's Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) over accusations that they had physically abused four minors last week.

Jon Afrizal, Jambi – Farmers in Teluk Rendah, Tebo Ilir district in Tebo regency, Jambi, have planned to report a shooting incident to the National Police after a clash with the Mobile

Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – Relatives of rights abuse victims have protested a presidential decree appointing Lt. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin as deputy defense minister.

Jakarta – On Monday April 5 the victims and families of victims of the abduction and forced disappearance of activists in 1997-1998, Semanggi I and II and Trisakti filed a suit with the

Nurfika Osman – The National Commission for Child Protection on Tuesday condemned the alleged beating of four minors by Army soldiers.

Ismira Lutfia – Human rights activists on Sunday criticized last week's inaugural meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' human rights body in Jakarta for failing to prod

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – Anti-death penalty activists welcomed Tuesday that the Indonesian government did not carry out executions in 2009, the first year it has not exercised the death

Hasyim Widhiarto, Jakarta – The National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA) found Tuesday that several army officers abused four minors in Depok, West Java, for stealing a bicy

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – An activist from a leading Indonesian rights group on Wednesday called for a comprehensive investigation into the recent finding of sacks full of bones in an

Jakarta – Thousands of prisoners have been denied copies of their verdicts, a top official said on Monday.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Victims of human rights abuses on Sunday called for thorough investigations into serious cases as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' new rights body

Jakarta – Four Indonesian organizations are calling for the public to support a seafaring community known as Bajau Pela'u, whose members are being held at a shelter in Berau, East Kalim

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – The military should conduct an independent investigation to prove its personnel were not involved in the killing of political activists in Aceh as accused by

In Indonesia, investigative journalist Allan Nairn is facing possible arrest for exposing that US-backed Indonesian armed forces assassinated a series of civilian activists last year.

H.E. Jose Ramos-Horta
President, Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
Dili, Timor-Leste

Dear Mr. President,

Jakarta – The Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) said the governments's plan to clear the country's urban streets of children was too ambitious and might lead to repression.

It's Thursday afternoon, March 18, and dozens of family members of victims of human rights violations are holding another "Kamisan" (Thursday Action), a silent protest in which they hol

AI number: ASA 57/004/2010

Tokyo – East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta said Tuesday that Indonesia still needs to apologise for its brutal occupation of the half-island even if relations between the neighbour

Heru Andriyanto – The attorney general's plans to challenge the Supreme Court's acquittal of retired Army Gen.

Putri Prameshwari & Ismira Lutfia – The National Commission on Human Rights has dismissed as "too optimistic" a US report released on Thursday that praised Indonesia's progress in p

Sara Everingham – The President of East Timor says it is embarrassing for Australia that Northern Territory police took five years to test remains believed to be those of the country's

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Human rights activists on Thursday asked that the closure of the Guantanamo camp and the return of terrorist suspects to their countries for trial be a priori

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) will seek an explanation from the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) for its refusal to approve a bro