Jakarta.
Indonesia on Thursday (21/09) accepted 167 of the 225 recommendations it
received from international delegations during the 27th session of the United
Nations Universal Periodic Review, or UPR, earlier in May, but crucially
rejected the recommendation to abolish the death penalty.
Indonesia
said the remaining 58 recommendations, including ones on abolishing the death
penalty, addressing past human rights violations and ending prosecutions under
blasphemy laws, "were noted" but considered "not in line with
the priorities in Indonesia’s human rights agenda."
Indonesia
went through its third UPR cycle in May, and had straight away accepted 150
recommendations put forward by 101 delegations during the review while placing
the remaining 75 under further examination.
Indonesia
stated its final position on the pending recommendations during the 36th
session of the Human Rights Council last week.
During the
session, Indonesia reaffirmed its position that "the death penalty is
still a prevailing positive law in Indonesia."
"However,
the revision of the penal code had provided a more robust safeguard in due
process of law on the death penalty," Indonesia's deputy permanent
representative to the UN office in Geneva, Michael Tene, said.
The United
Kingdom said it "regretted that the recommendations on the moratorium on
the use of the death penalty had not been supported" and repeated its call
that no evidence suggests death penalty is a more effective deterrent than
alternative forms of punishment.
Other
delegations in the session also expressed concerns that the Indonesian
government had not addressed discrimination against minority groups in the
country, which include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons and
followers of religious minorities.
"Indonesia
took note of the remaining 58 recommendations with the consideration that they
are not in line with the priorities in Indonesia’s human rights agenda. Some of
the recommendations were also inaccurate and not based on facts," Michael
said, according to a statement released by the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
The
National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) urged the Indonesian
government nevertheless to take some measures to deal with the recommendations
it did not accept, including "measures to eradicate impunity, prioritize
the settlement of gross human rights violations, guarantee freedom of religion
and belief, ensure freedom of expression and abolish the death penalty.”
Komnas HAM
and Amnesty International also noted that Indonesia has yet to ratify several international
human rights accords, including the Optional Protocol on the Convention Against
Torture and Convention for the Protection of All Persons From Enforced
Disappearance.
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