Essay Example on Torture in Indonesian Justice System: Stoning to Death & Human Rights

Introduction

Historically, Torture was firmly embedded in the Indonesian justice system to the extent of severe violations of human rights. In 2009, the Aceh province, which is predominantly Islamic, inaugurated a law that legalized the stoning to death of women found committing adultery and other people engaging in such prohibited activities. Reliable sources have indicated that thousands of people fell victims of the atrocities such as the judicial killings, inhuman treatment, unlawful detention, Torture, and many more such crimes (Press, 2015). The government of Indonesia ratified the Convention Against Torture (CAT) with the United Nations to help curb the practice. In that connection, this paper seeks to highlight the fundamental obligations towards the convention against torture Act (CAT) on inhuman and other degrading activities. The paper equally analyzes the constitutionality of the stoning to death laws of the Aceh province and whether the government of Indonesia should take responsibility for violating the terms of CAT.A review of the Indonesian obligations under the (CAT)

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As an appointee of the president of Indonesia, Yoko Widodo, it is imperative to take a keen review of the Convention Against Torture Act and the level of compliance Indonesian has committed towards the course. The Convention Against Torture was a treaty ratified by both the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and the Government of Indonesia to help eradicate the blatant human rights abuses of Torture (Carver & Handley, 2017). According to the UN, Torture is any action that that inflicts severe pain, suffering or injury, either physically or mentally. Such acts are deliberately inflicted upon people to oppress them or compel them to give information against their will. The document containing the Convention Against Torture highlighted specific issues and obligations of the Government of Indonesia to help eradicate the violence against women. In 1984, The United Nations General Assembly adopted the document, and Indonesia became a member State in 1985 (Carver & Handley, 2017). Despite the commitment and obligation to implement the conditions in the record, the Government of Indonesia seemed to have compromised the process.

The document stated specific obligations for the Government of Indonesia to obey in the quest to end violence against women. Some of the critical responsibilities include:

• Proper definition of rape by the Criminal Code of Indonesia, which at the time was obsolete and could not meet the standards of the international justice systems.
• That the Indonesian Law 26/2000 regarding human rights must adopt the principles of the Rome Statute on matters of gender sensitivity and define crimes against humanity. The crimes against humanity included gender-based violence, and sexual servitude or slavery. However, given that Indonesia had not ratified the Rome Statutes in totality, women who fall victims of sexual and gender violence still could not access justice as required.
• The GOI was also necessary to pass laws with the witness protection body that enforce protection for women against sexual harassment and other insubordinate activities.

In the year 2009, after the Islamic rebel-controlled Province of Aceh inaugurated the stoning to death of women found in adulterous activities, the GOI equally succumbed to the pressure (Carver & Handley, 2017). The government agreed to entrench the anti-human law under the Indonesian Constitution in a compromise deal to end the perpetual civil war in Indonesia.

Determining the Constitutionality of Chapter 10 of the Constitution

In the year 2009, the government of Indonesia agreed to entrench in its constitution the anti-human laws that still promote violence on women. The obligations that Indonesia ratified under the United Nations human rights demanded that all manners of violence against women to be stopped. However, the president of Indonesia through the government seemed to have compromised the essential human rights against women to end the civil war. Violence against women is equally severe as any other form of abuse or inhumane and degrading act. The dream and vision of the CAT Act were to ensure that all women's rights are fully protected under the same. The point is, the constitutionality of chapter 10 of the constitution remains under question. The Convention against Torture obligations dictated that the government had the mandate and responsibility to define what rape is and the penalties that come with it. On the other hand, the government seemed to have failed to protect that fundamental right of women by allowing blackmail from rebels.

Political stability requires a political approach. The Islamic rebels had been under constant attack on the government and even to the extent of taking control of the southern Aceh province. However, international laws on human rights are more superior to any other political interest. Therefore, the action by the government to succumb to pressure from the rebels to water down the constitution was purely political. That brings forth the question of whether fundamental human rights should be sacrificed for political gains.

Given that the law came into force, many women continued to suffer under the inhuman treatment and Torture in the name if indecent sexual behavior. The proposal seemed to have only focused on the religious and cultural aspects than universal human rights. Professionals have argued that the universality of human rights cannot be compromised for any form of cultural or selfish interests. The thinking behind this argument is that laws are made for posterity and in the best interest of all. Human rights equally apply universally to all persons regardless of their political affiliations, geographical extractions, color, gender, or sex. That is precisely why the government of Indonesia has been viewed as having minimal commitments to serve the obligations of the CAT laws to end violence on women. The government of Indonesia could have exhausted and followed other political avenues to solve the perennial political crisis in the country. The International Criminal Court, though, seemed incapacitated to deal with the matters at the time since Indonesia had not fully ratified the Rome Statues. However, the government had the option of establishing a reliable and credible criminal justice system to try these rebels. The province of Aceh is entirely under Indonesia, and any actions of the insurgents should not have caused the government to lose its ground on such a fundamental legal issue. Political insurgents are the same as terrorists and extremists. Their political or religious agenda is always to blackmail the government into complying with their selfish demands. Politically speaking, the government of Indonesia still had the option of seeking the support of the international community to help contain the rebels. As such, the GOI failed to address such a potential political system and implicated a universal human right of women.

Should the GOI be Held Liable for the Violations of the CAT Treaty?

As the current president, Yoko Widodo is seeking another term in office, and it is imperative to let him know that the government needs to repeal chapter 10. According to political commentators, the government is solely responsible for failing to implement the CAT laws following the ratification of the United Nations (Carver & Handley, 2017). The universality of the human rights laws cannot be replaced with any cultural or religious ambitions in the 21st century. Therefore, the government has to commit to ensure that the implementation of the United Nations treaty on human rights becomes a success. If the government of Indonesia fails to repeal the sharia laws that legalize canning on women, it will remain liable to the abuses and insubordinate treatments. Canning and any other form of physical punishment that inflicts pain and embarrassment all amount to torture (Carver & Handley, 2017). As mentioned back, torturous activities can cause physical, mental, or emotional distress to humanity. The government of Indonesia has to be strategic to politically triumph over the Aceh Province's enforcement of the physical canning and other indecent treatment on women.

Political power and impunity have led to potential violations of fundamental human rights around the world. Cultural, traditional, and religious values and doctrines have equally undermined the rights of women in various parts of the world. Indonesia must work round the clock to ensure that it goes beyond such political bondage. It is with a shock that same Indonesia has always been enjoying unfair protection from some of the world's most powerful countries to serve their selfish economic interests. The government needs to start serious engagement with the civil society and other like-minded organizations to implement adequate protection on women (Lamchek, 2018). The universality of rights must go beyond gender, sex, minority, or disability discriminations. Therefore, it requires a holistic approach by all the rights stakeholders to amplify the voices of women not to be subjected to such unfair treatment again.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Indonesia has been known for perennial human rights abuse and violations for a long time. Even after its ratification of the Convention Against Torture laws (CAT), the government has not lived up to the expectations of its commitment to the obligations. Because of political reasons, the government succumbed to pressure from the Islamic rebel factions from the province of Aceh. After inaugurating the inhuman laws that severely expose women to violent and disrespectful treatments, the government still backed the rebel groups by entrenching the unconstitutional laws under chapter 10 of their constitution. It is imperative to observe that the United Nations provided a framework to help Indonesia implement the CAT laws to end the rampant violent treatment on women. In that context, it is entirely accurate to argue that the government of Indonesia GOI has failed to honor its obligation to create an environment that supports the promotion of women rights. Even as President Yoko Wododo is seeking another term in office, it is highly recommendable to make him understand that the world expects more from his government to help prioritize the universal human rights as opposed to religious and political interests. The world today is looking forward to a firmly established human rights protection and ratification of any other supportive documents. Indonesia has a responsibility to implement full compliance with the United Nations treaty on torture. The international community must come up to support Indonesia in any campaign that will set the country free of the perennial religious and social oppression.

References

Press, R. M. (2015). Ripples of Hope: How Ordinary People Resist Repression Without Violence. Amsterdam University Press. https://www.oapen.org/download?type=document&docid=611225

Carver, R., & Handley, L. (Eds.). (2017). Does torture prevention work?. Oxford University Press. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14754835.2017.1372734

Lamchek, J. S. (2018). Human Rights-Compliant Counterterrorism: Myth-making and Reality in the Philippines and Indonesia. Cambridge University Press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=JlR-DwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=Indonesian+Compliance+with+the+Treaty+on+Torture&ots=O7iCpPyJmZ&sig=JBc9nmi8i6PV0JYaHkLKjZR36J4