(UN HUMAN RIGHTS INVESTIGATOR'S VISIT)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001647 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/13/2017 TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV ID SUBJECT: (UN HUMAN RIGHTS INVESTIGATOR'S VISIT) REF: A. JAKARTA 1223 (PROGRESS IN THE MUNIR CASE) ¶B. JAKARTA 754 (JUSTICE CONTINUES TO ELUDE VICTIMS OF 1998-1999 KILLINGS) Classified By: Charge d'Affaires John A. Heffern, Reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Hina Jilani, UN Special Representative of the Secretary General for Human Rights Defenders, was given open access to human rights activists from across the country during her June 5-12 stops in Jakarta, Papua and Aceh. Jilani noted at the end of her visit that while the situation for human rights defenders has improved significantly in Indonesia, resistance to eliminating impunity for past human rights violations persists. However, she also praised the GOI's political will to recognize gaps in human rights protection and to pursue reforms. Human rights activists working on violations dating from the September 1965 pogrom up to this year presented Jilani dozens of detailed cases of violations in open and private hearings. Human rights groups expressed surprise and optimism that Jilani was allowed to travel to Papua and Aceh and that she was given such open access, due in part to Foreign Ministry efforts to gain interagency GOI permission for these visits. This visit is just one of severa l visits planned to Indonesia by high-profile UN human rights observers this year, with the High Commissioner on Human Rights scheduled to attend a July conference and the Special Rapporteur on Torture planning to visit in November. Indonesia appears to be making special efforts to open its own closets to outside scrutiny in pursuing outstanding issues such as TNI accountability, via UN and other multilateral contacts, as part of its responsibility as a member of the UN Human Rights Council. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) During her June 5-12 visit to Jakarta, Papua and Aceh, Hina Jilani, the UN Special Representative for Human Rights Defenders, was given open access to hear the stories of human rights activists from across Indonesia. She held both public and private hearings, getting detailed testimony from dozens of human rights defenders who reported various incidents of harassment and abuse going back many years. Defenders ranged from those pursuing injustices towards descendants of the 1965 massacre to the 1997-98 disappearances and East Timor violations; from the 2002 murder of human rights activist Munir to incidents in 2007. Defenders included not only political activists but also those defending the rights of women who complained of religious-based gender discrimination, of homosexuals and of people with HIV/AIDS. At the open hearing we attended in Jakarta, some of the defenders broke down in tears or raised their voices in anger as they vented before Jilani. ¶3. (C) Raffendi Djamin of the Human Rights Watch Group told us that it was very significant that Jilani was given access to Papua and Aceh, although permission came just a day or two before her departure for these sensitive areas. Dicky Komar from the Foreign Ministry's Directorate of Human Rights told us that the ministry had to struggle to realize these visits but that this type of openness is very important to Indonesia as it sets an example on the Human Rights Council. He acknowledged that cooperation with other government bodies in opening the books on human rights violations is a struggle. In her press statement at the end of her visit, Jilani said lack of interagency cooperation is a hindrance to human rights advocacy. ¶4. (SBU) Jilani said in a press statement that from what she has observed the prospects for the promotion of human rights had considerably improved in the recent past. She cited the work of the ad hoc Human Rights Court, National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM),National Commission on Women (Komnas Perempuan) and the adoption of the National Plan of Action. She also cited the human rights law of 1999, constitutional amendments in 2002 that guarantee human rights, and the victims' protection law of 2006. She noted positive developments in efforts to bring about justice in the Munir murder, with the caveat that defenders remain concerned that the course of justice may be influenced to protect the perpetrators of the crime. She also commented on an institutional culture that resists fully committing to eliminating impunity for human rights violations. She said the government needs to pay more attention to the situation of human rights defenders in West Papua where security agencies continue activities to harass and intimate defenders. ¶5. In her press statement, Jilani strongly recommended that the GOI set up mechanisms to investigate complaints of violations against human rights defenders, and that the JAKARTA 00001647 002 OF 002 police, judicial and prosecutorial officials be sensitized so that human rights activities are not criminalized. She also said she is encouraged by the willingness of many within government to acknowledge the gaps and to continue efforts to "remove obstacles in implementing human rights as well as the systematic problems that have prevented a faster pace of progress in achieving objectives of the reforms." ¶6. (C) Jilani expressed concern that some human rights defenders she has met have received threats, but said the government told her these defenders will be protected. Still, her visits to Papua and Aceh concluded successfully without major incidents. A human rights activist who traveled with Jilani reported to PolOff that after she parted company with Jilani in Jayapura, her car was hit by another car whose occupant identified himself as a member of the intelligence services. Another activist in Papua forwarded anonymous e-mails he had received threatening him because he spoke with Jilani. Police broke up a rally in front of the Papua Legislative Council, the media reported. In Manokwari, West Papua, a rally of hundreds protested against the 1969 referendum joining Papua with Indonesia. Human rights activists in Aceh and Papua reported to us that they did meet with Jilani both publicly and in private, although Papuans complained that because official meetings took up most of the day, they only had a few hours. However, based on documents these groups sent us, they were able to report a wide range of violations to Jilani in great detail. ¶7. (C) Jilani met with several ministers in Jakarta and with senior government officials in Papua, although the governor was traveling on the day she visited so could not meet with her. Human rights sources in Papua told us that she met with religious leaders at the Jayapura Diocese in a closed-door session convened by Bishop Leo, at which four protestant pastors and two Catholic priests delivered testimony. Intelligence agents were not allowed in but five government officials from Jakarta attended, sources told us. A private meeting held at a church with NGOs also went smoothly, and included student groups, women's groups, NGOs, grassroots organizations, civil society organizations from most of Papua, the tribal council and labor unions, human rights activists at the meeting told us. No one from the government was allowed into that meeting. ¶8. (SBU) In Banda Aceh, human rights NGO Imparsial reported to us that Jilani held very productive meetings with NGOs, during which a large number of severe human rights abuses against human rights defenders was presented. No incidents were reported from Aceh. In her press statement, Jilani noted the improvement for human rights defenders in Aceh although intelligence agencies' surveillance and restraints for women human rights defenders continue to cause concern. ¶9. (SBU) This visit is the first of several from UN human rights observers, as Indonesia tries to prove its accountability to the world as a member of the Human Rights Council. The UN High Commissioner on Human Rights will attend a July meeting of the Asia Pacific Regional Forum on Human Rights that Indonesia is hosting, the Foreign Ministry's Dicky Komar told us. In November, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture plans to visit, according to a copy of a November 2006 letter to Indonesia's Permanent Representative that Imparsial provided to us. The UN has provided the Foreign Affairs Ministry with a thick stack of 154 cases they want to investigate, Imparsial told us. HEFFERN