Chief Justice Anwar Usman giving keynote speech and opening the constitution awareness program for citizens (PPHKWN) for Majelis Adat Kerajaan Nusantara (MAKN), Monday (9/19/2021). Photo by MKRI/Panji.

---

Tuesday, September 20, 2022 | 10:25 WIB

BOGOR (MKRI)—The Constitutional Court (MK) held a constitution awareness program for citizens (PPHKWN) for Majelis Adat Kerajaan Nusantara (MAKN) at the Pancasila and Constitution Education Center (Pusdik), Cisarua, Bogor on Monday evening, September 19, 2022. Chief Justice Anwar Usman opened the event.

In his speech, the chief justice said Indonesia is composed of over 17 thousand islands and isles, over 700 ethnicities, and over 400 active languages. It had been indigenous peoples separate from one another, long before the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia was formed, even before Indonesian kingdoms were formed.

“Internationally, the United Nations has long held discussions on the protection of indigenous peoples’ rights in order to provide recognition and protection of their rights. In 1989, the International Labor Organization adopted the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention. This convention was a follow-up to a study mandated by the United Nations to explore issues of indigenous peoples,” said the Bima-born justice.

The study, he added, found that internationally, indigenous peoples had always been vulnerable groups whose rights had often been disregarded, when in fact they had inhabited the regions for so long. Many violations of human rights were done against them, such as depriving them of their rights to their lands.

“Other forms of violation against indigenous peoples can also be economic, political, social, and cultural, or even hinder the implementation of the religious traditions and cultural customs of these peoples due to restrictions imposed by the state or majority community groups who do not like such traditions and customs,” he said.

Protection of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights

Protection of the rights of indigenous peoples (MHA), Chief Justice Anwar Usman said, is the consequence of the constitutionalism that the constitutional drafters had chosen. The Constitution must live in the nation and state and its values and norms continue to develop and be enriched by new values and systems in daily life.

“Therefore, the Constitution must be understood not only textually, but as a living document that continues to grow and develop from time to time following the needs and values in society,” he stressed.

He concluded hi speech by saying that even though normatively the Constitution has provided guarantee and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples, its manifestation in laws and regulations encourages society to keep following its development.

“So, prevent the protected rights of indigenous peoples, which has been guaranteed by the Constitution, from being disregarded. It takes our attention and cooperation to protect constitutional values that we are committed to safeguard,” he emphasized.

The PPHWKN, with 120 participants in attendance, will take place for four days on Monday-Thursday, September 19-22, 2022 on site at Pusdik. Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat, law professor of Hasanuddin University Aminuddin Salle, Secretary-General M. Guntur Hamzah, and other speakers will talk about the implementation of Pancasila values, the role of indigenous peoples in judicial review in the Constitutional Court, the guarantee of constitutional rights, the Constitutional Court’s procedural laws, etc.

Writer        : B. Panji Erawan
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 10/31/2022 08:41 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.

---