Acting Secretary-General Heru Setiawan (second from left) attending a meeting to finalize the Government of Indonesia’s position on the recommendation of the 4th Universal Periodic Review, Monday (2/6/2023) in the diplomacy room, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Photo by MKRI.

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Monday, February 6, 2023 | 12:42 WIB

JAKARTA (MKRI) — Acting Secretary-General Heru Setiawan attended a meeting in the diplomacy room of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to finalize the Government of Indonesia’s position on the recommendation of the 4th Universal Periodic Review on Monday, February 6, 2023. Director for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs Achsanul Habib opened the meeting by explaining the five recommendations on human rights, which are related to gender equality, strengthening the and institutional framework, vulnerable and minority groups, civil space, and cooperation with international human rights instruments.

Of those categories, 269 detailed recommendations need to be responded to by the Government of Indonesia. The Government’s response is divided into 3: support, which is a sign that it agrees to follow up on the recommendations; partial acceptance; and take note, which is a sign that it has acknowledged said recommendations but has not yet made it a priority for immediate action.

Habib also said that some of the foundations used as a general framework in responding to the UPR recommendations must be in line with the Constitution, laws and government policies, and Indonesian conditions, including the country’s development priorities and Indonesia’s position in the 3rd UPR in 2017.

Responding to this presentation, Acting Secretary-General Heru Setiawan emphasized that, in essence, the Constitutional Court will always be in a position to safeguard the integrity of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. “For [the Court], protecting the Constitution is an important foundation for upholding human rights in Indonesia, and it is necessary to understand that our country adheres to particular human rights, which are adapted to the specifics of the Indonesian people and nation,” he said.

During the discussion session, the head of the AACC Permanent Secretariat and International Relations Department Sri Handayani and head of the International Affairs Division Immanuel Bungkulan Binsar Hutasoit also emphasized several points regarding the death penalty. They asserted that the Constitutional Court Decision No. 2-3/PUU-V/2007 explained the Court’s position on the implementation of the death penalty, which is considered constitutional, especially for serious crimes such as premeditated murder, genocide, human rights violations, and drug trafficking. However, it should also be noted that the implementation of the death penalty should also take into consideration several aspects as explained in said decision.

Before concluding the meeting, Achsanul Habib stated that the meeting’s agreement would be forwarded to the United Nations Secretariat through the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Indonesia in Geneva, Switzerland.

Writer        : NL
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Translator  : Azzahra Salsabilla/Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 2/10/2023 20:42 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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