Human Rights in Indonesia - Annual Reports of Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and The US Department of State

Annual Reports of Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and The US Department of State

In its 2012 World Report, Human Rights Watch stated :

Over the past 13 years Indonesia has made great strides in becoming a stable, democratic country with a strong civil society and independent media. However, serious human rights concerns remain. While senior officials pay lip service to protecting human rights, they seem unwilling to take the steps necessary to ensure compliance by the security forces with international human rights and punishment for those responsible for abuses. In 2011 religious violence surged, particularly against Christians and Ahmadiyah, a group that considers itself Muslim but that some Muslims consider heretical. Violence continued to rack Papua and West Papua provinces, with few effective police investigations to hold perpetrators accountable.

Amnesty International, in its 2012 Report for Indonesia, stated:

Indonesia assumed the chair of ASEAN and in May was elected to the UN Human Rights Council for a third consecutive term. The government strengthened the national police commission but police accountability mechanisms remained inadequate. The security forces faced persistent allegations of human rights violations, including torture and other ill-treatment and use of unnecessary and excessive force. Provincial authorities in Aceh increasingly used caning as a judicial punishment. Peaceful political activities continued to be criminalized in Papua and Maluku. Religious minorities suffered discrimination, including intimidation and physical attacks. Barriers to sexual and reproductive rights continued to affect women and girls. No executions were reported.

The 2011 US State Department Country Report on Human Rights Practices for Indonesia stated:

Indonesia is a multiparty democracy. In 2009 Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was reelected president in free and fair elections. Domestic and international observers judged the 2009 legislative elections free and fair as well. Security forces reported to civilian authorities. Major human rights problems included instances of arbitrary and unlawful killings by security forces and others in Papua and West Papua provinces, societal abuse against certain minority religious groups, and abridgement of the rights of particular religious minorities to freely practice their religion by regional and local governments. Official corruption, including within the judiciary, was a major problem, although the Anticorruption Commission (KPK) took some concrete steps to address this. Other human rights problems included: occasionally harsh prison conditions; some narrow and specific limitations on freedom of expression; trafficking in persons; child labor; and failure to enforce labor standards and worker rights. The government attempted to punish officials who committed abuses, but judicial sentencing often was not commensurate with the severity of offenses, as was true in other types of crimes as well. Separatist guerillas in Papua killed members of the security forces in several attacks and injured others. Nongovernment actors engaged in politically related violence, including murder, in Aceh Province.