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April 30, 2026 | 10:26 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Amnesty International Indonesia slams Indonesia's Ministry of Human Rights proposal to assemble a team to determine the status of human rights defenders. The organization sees this policy as potentially limiting civil space and deviating from the principles of human rights.
Deputy Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, Wirya Adiwena, deems the plan a dangerous step backward that violates the basic principles of human rights.
"The state lacks moral or legal legitimacy to determine who can or cannot be called a human rights defender," said Wirya in a written statement on Thursday, April 30, 2026.
Wirya believes that the state is obligated to protect human rights defenders, rather than putting a label on them.
Wirya argues that "human rights defender" is an action-based status, rather than government recognition. The proposal, he said, contradicts the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.
According to him, the plan to establish an assessment team paves the way to potential conflicts of interest as the state reviews parties that oversee its own performance. "If implemented, this assessment team will certainly become a tool of administrative repression," said Wirya.
The policy risks not recognizing critical activists as human rights defenders, subsequently leading to increased vulnerability to criminalization and intimidation.
Amnesty also rejects the sidelining of professional human rights defenders who receive payment, citing journalists, lawyers, and legal aid workers. Wirya likens the proposal to New Order-era screening practices against Indonesian citizens.
Previously, Minister of Human Rights Natalius Pigai revealed the plan to form an assessment team in an interview with Antara. The team would consist of state officials, civil society, and law enforcement officers.
Pigai mentioned that the team would determine whether someone can be categorized as a human rights activist. He also dismissed individuals who receive payments from defending human rights, deeming them ineligible to state protection.
Read: List of Intimidation Acts Targeting Indonesian Activists, Influencers in 2025
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