Deputy Chief Justice Aswanto speaking at the National Paralegal Training by the Lembakum Anak Negeri (LAN) Batch X organized by the executive board of LAN, Saturday (3/19/2022). Photo by Humas MK/Hendy.

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Saturday, March 19, 2022 | 22:03 WIB

JAKARTA, Public Relations—Deputy Chief of the Constitutional Court (MK) Justice Aswanto spoke at the National Paralegal Training by the Lembakum Anak Negeri (LAN) Batch X on Saturday, March 19, 2022. The program was organized by the executive board of LAN.

Justice Aswanto, who joined the event online, said that human rights are different from basic or constitutional rights. Human rights are inherent in all humans. “So, as humans we are all given human rights,” he said. Meanwhile, basic rights, which turn into constitutional rights, are the rights one obtains for being a citizen of a country.

He added that there are three fundamental things that differentiate the two types of rights. First, human rights are God-given. Meanwhile, basic or constitutional rights come from the state. “So, our constitutional rights as citizens are different from those of a citizen of the United States or other countries,” he said.

Justice Aswanto added that human rights are universal. No discrimination should exist, such as based on citizenship, ethnicity, and religion. Meanwhile, basic or constitutional rights are domestic and depend on the country. “Even if the basic rights or constitutional rights of the citizens in country A and country B are the same, it must be mere coincidence,” he said.

The second difference, he said, is the government’s function as the guardian of human rights. The government must protect human rights and guard it so that the people have them in daily life.

Justice Aswanto also explained a little about the rule of law. Indonesia, he said, is a law-based state that upholds two principles: rechtsstaat and the rule of law. To be a law-based state, protection of human rights must be guaranteed.

Writer        : Utami Argawati
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 3/21/2022 09:42 WIB

Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian versions, the Indonesian version will prevail.

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