INDONESIA PASSES ANTI-TRAFFICKING BILL

UNCLAS JAKARTA 000778 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR G/TIP,G,INL,DRL,PRM,EAP/RSP ALSO FOR USAID ANE/SPOTS, AME/SEA, IGAT/WID,DCHA/DG DEPT OF JUSTICE FOR ICITAP AND OPDAT DEPT PASS TO DEPT OF LABOR FOR ILAB E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB KCRM KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL ID SUBJECT: INDONESIA PASSES ANTI-TRAFFICKING BILL REF: A. JAKARTA 590 ¶B. 06 JAKARTA 13324 ¶1. (U) On March 20, the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) passed a comprehensive anti-trafficking bill during a morning plenary session. The bill enjoyed the full support of all ten political factions in the DPR and was ratified without a vote. Muhaimin Iskandar, the Deputy Chairman of the DPR and Chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB), presided over the plenary session. The Minister for Justice and Human Rights Minister, Hamid Awaluddin, as well as the Minister for Women's Empowerment, Meutia Hatta, also attended the plenary. Both their ministries figured prominently in the drafting of the law and advocated forcefully for its speedy passage. The bill will become law either as soon as the President signs it, or in 30 calendar days, whichever comes first. The bill's passage represents the culmination of over two years worth of intense anti-trafficking collaboration between Post, its NGO partners, and the GOI. NEVER OVER UNTIL IT'S OVER IN THE DPR -------------- ¶2. (SBU) As reported in Ref A, the special parliamentary committee drafting the anti-trafficking legislation completed its work in the middle of February and cleared what appeared to be the last major obstacle to its passage. However, despite assurances from the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and key parliamentarians involved with the legislation that the bill would reach a plenary session on March 20, the Chairman of the parliamentary body charged with scheduling legislation for plenary sessions - FX Soekarno - told us as recently as March 2 that it would not reach plenary on March 20; he offered only that "it should happen this year." In the wake of this highly discouraging assessment, we intensified our already extensive bill advocacy efforts. The Charge d'Affaires and other Mission personnel met with or talked to the President's office, every ministry involved with the legislation, the Chairman of the DPR's office, and other key decision makers. By March 9, FX Soekarno had reversed course and called us to say the bill would be considered before a plenary by March 20. A SOLID, WELL RESPECTED LAW -------------- ¶3. (U) Indonesian and international anti-trafficking NGOs were actively involved in the drafting of the bill and have expressed satisfaction with its scope and authority. The drafters worked assiduously to craft the bill so that law enforcement officials could easily understand and enforce the regulations. The special parliamentary committee that drafted the legislation garnered praise from across the civil society spectrum for the lengths to which it sought out and accepted input from anti-trafficking experts. The bill gives law enforcement personnel the tools and the mandate to combat all forms of trafficking, including debt bondage and sexual exploitation. ¶4. (U) By the standards of Indonesian law making, the TIP bill moved from start to finish at a respectable clip. The fact that the administration and dedicated parliamentarians worked as vigorously as they did to push the trafficking bill through a notoriously languorous DPR reflects the strong level of political support that exists for the anti-trafficking fight. HEFFERN