UNDP supports Indonesia in Strengthening Access to Justice through pioneering Strategy

Jakarta, 16 October 2009 – Today the Government of Indonesia launched an ambitious and action-oriented National Strategy on Access to Justice. Supported by the United Nations Development Programme, this strategy aims at improving the protection of people’s rights across Indonesia, with special emphasis given to legal empowerment of poor people and marginalised groups. The strategy puts forward a set of policy recommendations relating to eight themes that extensive surveys have shown link directly to the needs of vulnerable groups.  These are: Legal and Judicial Reform, Legal Aid, Local Governance, Land and Natural Resources, Women, Children, Labour and Poor and Disadvantaged Groups.

Concerted action across these eight ‘sectors’ by both government and civil society will bring real benefits to poor and marginalised people in Indonesia by empowering them to advance their own interests and to participate more fully in the country’s political, social and economic development. 

The strategy also acknowledges that the challenges faced by disadvantaged people in accessing justice are not merely caused by problems within existing judicial systems and law enforcement, but also by people’s lack of awareness of their rights, poor public service delivery, inefficient public complaints mechanisms, as well as unaffordable legal assistance.

As in other parts of the world, the lack of legal and human rights protection for poor people is a huge challenge for poverty eradication in Indonesia. For example, the lack of a legal residence permit or land title mostly results in forced evictions of poor people from their homes, often with violence. Unequal access to basic services, such as education, health, clean water and sanitation, make it difficult for poor people to meet their basic needs. In addition, petty corruption in the provision of public services also creates many difficulties for underprivileged people in obtaining basic legal documents such as birth certificates, identity cards (KTP) and marriage certificates.

The following recommendations are thus made: (a) legal development and education should adopt a social justice perspective; (b) legal services should be made affordable and equally available for all, and paralegalism recognised and promoted; (c) laws and regulations that strengthen access to justice should be developed; (d) minimum standards for public services delivery should be developed and implemented in line with Indonesia’s newly endorsed Public Services Law; (e) public complaints mechanisms should be developed in all sectors relevant to poor and marginalised people; and (f) community-based dispute resolution systems, including Adat (customary) structures, should be improved and empowered.

Mr. El-Mostafa Benlamlih, United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative said that poor people will obtain equal opportunities to improve their lives when the State ensures equal protection of their rights. “Through the National Strategy, Indonesia will increase the capacity of individuals to protect and advance their legal rights, and to improve the capacity of duty-bearers to meet their obligations under the Indonesian Constitution and laws and its international human rights commitments,” he said.

The National Strategy has been integrated into the draft National Mid-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) for 2010-2014, and will be implemented by relevant line ministries. The Strategy’s detailed action plans will officially be adopted within the Government Work Plan and Government Ministries/Agencies Work and Budget Plan (RKAKL) for 2010 onwards.

For further information about the event, please contact:  

• Regi Wahono (regi.wahono@undp.org), Communications Officer, LEAD Project, UNDP;
  mobile: 0817 990 0712
• Yunety Tarigan (yunety.tarigan@undp.org), Strategy Development Facilitation Assistant, LEAD Project, UNDP;
  mobile: 0811 155 0210