REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has urged the government to employ all available instruments to settle various cases of gross human rights violations in the country.

"The state has the obligation to use all accountability instruments to solve cases of gross human rights violations," Kontras Coordinator Haris Azhar remarked in a press statement released on Wednesday (10/12).

The political pledges made to settle cases of gross human rights violations must not be merely lip service but must be realized soon by issuing policies to respect, protect, and uphold human rights in accordance with the principles of international law, he affirmed.

Kontras is of the viewpoint that the agenda of law enforcement, which is closely related to state accountability, has not been high on the list of the government's priorities, he claimed.

"Immunity in the areas of civil, political, social, economic, and cultural rights is still rife," he remarked.

He further noted that political constraints at the state institutional level to solve cases of human rights violations are not new in Indonesia.

It will be far wiser for President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to make breakthroughs that go beyond his political pledge, he said.

"Jokowi must realize the pledge he made during the commemoration of the Human Rights Day to protect the people's rights in the economic, social, and cultural fields by adopting a road map for the settlement of conflicts and violent acts in business and agrarian fields," he emphasized.

On Tuesday, President Jokowi reiterated his government's commitment to settle past human rights cases that have so far been awaited by rights activists.

"The government is committed to settle past human rights cases based on the law," he stated during the commemoration of Human Rights Day at the state palace in Yogyakarta.

The president said he has to abide by the country's 1945 Constitution that clearly states to uphold human rights as the reference in the life of the nation and state.

President Jokowi explained that gross human rights violations in the past can be settled through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which has yet to be established or through an ad hoc human rights court.

Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika