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Indonesia - Second periodic reports of States parties due in 1997: Addendum [2003] UNCRCSPR 15; CRC/C/65/Add.23 (7 July 2003)
UNITED NATIONS
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CRC
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Convention on the Rights of the Child
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Distr. GENERAL
CRC/C/65/Add.23 7 July 2003
Original: ENGLISH
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COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
CONSIDERATION OF
REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER ARTICLE 44 OF THE
CONVENTION
Second periodic reports of States parties due in 1997
INDONESIA[*]
[5 February 2002]
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
Introduction 1 - 12 4
I. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION
(arts. 4, 42 and 44, para. 4)
13 - 49 5
II. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD (art. 1) 50 - 51 13
III. GENERAL PRINCIPLES 52 - 74 14
A. Non-discrimination (art. 2) 53 - 59 14
B. Best interests of the child (art. 3) 60 - 62 15
C. The right to life, survival and development (art. 6) 63 - 69 16
D. Respect for the views of the child (art. 12) 70 - 74 17
IV. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS 75 - 126 18
A. Name and nationality (art. 7) 75 - 98 18
B. Preservation of identity (art. 8) 99 - 101 22
C. Freedom of expression (art. 13) 102 - 109 22
D. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (art. 14) 110 - 113 24
E. Freedom of association and peaceful assembly (art. 15) 114 -
116 25
F. Protection of privacy (art. 16) 117 - 119 25
G. Access to appropriate information (art. 17) 120 - 121 26
H. The right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel,
inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment
(art. 37, para. (a)) 122 -
126 26
V. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE 127 - 246 27
A. Parental guidance (art. 5) 127 - 141 27
B. Parental responsibilities (art. 18, paras. 1 and 2) 142 - 156 33
C. Separation from parents (art. 9) 157 - 171 36
D. Family reunification (art. 10) 172 - 179 38
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
E. Illicit transfer and non-return (art. 11) 180 - 183 39
F. Recovery of maintenance for the child (art. 27, para. 4) 184 -
194 40
G. Children deprived of their family environment (art. 20) 195 -
205 41
H. Adoption (art. 21) 206 - 221 43
I. Periodic review of placement (art. 25) 222 - 231 45
J. Abuse and neglect (art. 19), including physical
and psychological
recovery and social
reintegration (art. 39) 232 - 246 47
VI. BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE (arts. 6; 18, para. 3; 3; 23;
24; 16; and
27, paras. 13) 247 - 317 50
A. Disabled children (art. 23) 248 - 264 50
B. Health and health services (art. 24), social security and
childcare services and facilities (arts. 26 and 18, para. 3)
and
standard of living (art. 27, paras. 1-3) 265 - 317 55
VII. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
(arts. 28, 29 and 31)
318 - 407 67
A. Education, including vocational training
and guidance (art. 28)
318 - 386 67
B. Aims of education (art. 29) 387 - 401 75
C. Leisure, recreation and cultural activities (art. 31) 402 - 407 77
VIII. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES (arts. 22; 38; 39; 40;
37 (b)-(d);
and 32-36) 408 - 655 78
A. Children in situations of emergency 408 - 443 78
B. Children involved with the system of administration
of juvenile
justice 444 - 536 83
C. Children in situation of exploitation, including physical
and
psychological recovery and social reintegration 537 - 616 105
D. Children belonging to minority or indigenous
groups (art. 30)
617 - 655 124
Introduction
- The
onset of the economic crisis in mid-1997, which was followed by political
upheaval and instability of the situation in Indonesia,
is the main reason why
this first periodic report, which should have been completed in October 1997, is
late. The political condition,
notably since May 1998, which has been
marked by a relatively rapid and swift change in government and a continued
search for a stable
cabinet line-up, has hampered the delegation of authority
for and coordination of the drawing up of the present report.
- Only
towards the end of 1999, when a legitimate and democratic government was formed,
could the planning for the compilation of the
report begin. With the full
support of UNICEF Indonesia, the drawing up of this first periodic report has
begun in April 2000.
- The
economic crisis, social tension, and the threat of national disintegration,
never before experienced, have absorbed a large part
of the Government’s
attention, and has meant that some information and supporting data needed to
draw up this report are not
yet available. The refugee problem, for instance,
including the problem of internally displaced children, is a new issue never
before
encountered. Lack of experience in dealing with this problem, and
arising as it does right in the midst of national economic difficulties,
meant
data concerning this issue could not be properly collated.
- The
prolonged economic crisis has also meant that a number of set targets directly
related to the implementation of the rights of
the child were not achieved. In
particular, the situation regarding immunization, iodization, and clean water
supply, which, having
almost achieved World Summit goals prior to the crisis,
could have been described as normal, following the onset of the crisis suddenly
and unavoidably stagnated or even declined. The number of people living below
the poverty line, previously under control, suddenly
rose dramatically, bringing
new problems and challenges regarding, for instance, continuity of life and
development of the child.
- At
least, however, every effort has been made to respond to the crisis, including
the reallocation of development funds to counteract,
or to be more precise,
abate, the negative impact of the crisis. With international support,
programmes such as the Social Safety
Net, education aid for children of
elementary school age, and primary health care have been set up.
- Meanwhile,
political reform towards a more democratic system of government, along with new
awareness regarding the importance of respecting
human rights, has created a
situation far more conducive to recognizing, respecting, and fulfilling human
rights in general, including
the rights of the child. At the same time,
appreciation of the role of civil society has also improved, which is why
compilation
of this report involved NGOs and higher education establishments.
They were invited not only to provide input to and comments on
a draft of the
report, but from the outset were actively involved in the drawing up of the
report itself.
- This
draft report was drawn up by a team comprising:
- − Government
representatives: Office of the Coordinating Minister for Social Welfare,
Department of Social Affairs (now the
Ministry of Health and Social Affairs),
Department of Religious Affairs, Department of Health, Department of National
Education,
and Department of Manpower;
- − NGOs,
including Komisi Perlindungan Anak, Yayasan Komite Pendidikan Anak Kreatif
Indonesia (Jakarta), and Yayasan Sekretariat
Anak Merdeka Indonesia
(Yogyakarta);
- − Higher
education establishments: University of Indonesia (Faculty of Psychology and
Faculty of Sociology and Politics, Criminology
Department) and Atma Jaya
University, Jakarta;
- − The
then Office of the State Minister for Human Rights (observers).
- The
draft report drawn up by these team members was then disseminated for feedback
from a wider audience, including representatives
of central and regional
government, approximately 35 child-focused NGOs, including provincial child
protection agencies, professional
associations and other sectors of civil
society, in a consultative workshop held in Jakarta on 9-10 May 2000. Feedback
from this
consultative workshop was then used to complete the draft report,
which was subsequently consolidated into this final report.
- This
final draft, before being translated into English, was published and distributed
to all parties involved in the consultative
workshop, and is accessible to the
general public.
- A
new era of reform began in May 1998 bringing several fundamental changes to the
nation. For the first time in Indonesian history,
legal recognition of human
rights, including rights of the child, was realized in the form of national
legislation (Act No. 39 of
1999 concerning Human Rights). Several other
national laws in concord with the spirit of United Nations Conventions and
international
instruments on human rights have also been and will continue to be
adopted.
- The
1999 general election, which produced a new, legitimate and democratic
Government, helped propel these fundamental changes in
the nation. At the time
this report was completed, the Indonesian Parliament (People’s Legislative
Assembly) had approved
amendments to the Constitution, which involved adopting
certain clauses concerning human rights, including the rights of the child.
This means that several provisions
concerning human rights and the rights of the
child have a constitutional guarantee.
- Notwithstanding
the various crises facing Indonesia today, it is hoped that the changes that
have taken place, are taking place and
will continue to take place will provide
a positive contribution to the advancement of the cause of peace, and respect
for and promotion
of human rights in the international community.
I. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION
(arts. 4, 42 and 44,
para. 4)
Introduction
- In
addition to being guided by the general guidelines of reporting prepared by the
Committee on the Rights of the Child, the drawing
up of sections I, II and III
of this report will, as far as possible, take into consideration the suggestions
and recommendations
of the Committee regarding the initial report of Indonesia,
as discussed in the concluding observations (CRC/C/15/Add.25) including,
relevant to this section, the following:
18. The Committee
encourages the Government of Indonesia to complete the review of child-related
laws so as to ensure their conformity
with the provisions of the Convention and,
in that regard, draws attention once again to the activities developed by the
Programme
of Advisory Services and Technical Assistance of the United Nations
Centre for Human Rights ...
21. The authorities should undertake all appropriate measures to the maximum
extent of their available resources to ensure that sufficient
resources are
allocated to children, particularly children living in poverty, children living
and/or working in the streets and children
belonging to minority groups and
other vulnerable children.
25. The Committee recommends that the provisions of the Convention should be
widely publicized among the general public and, in particular,
among teachers,
social workers, ...
26. The Committee recommends that the initial report and additional
information along with the relevant summary records and the preliminary
and
concluding observations adopted thereon by the Committee, be made widely
available to the public at large, including non-governmental
organizations.
- These
suggestions and recommendations will, as far as possible, be integrated into the
report narrative, without any specific pointers
being provided.
On reservations
- On
ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Indonesia issued the
following declaration:
The 1945 Constitution of the Republic of
Indonesia guarantees the fundamental rights of the child irrespective of its
sex, ethnic origin or race. The
Constitution prescribes those rights to be
implemented by national laws and regulations.
The ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the Republic
of Indonesia does not imply the acceptance of obligations
going beyond the
constitutional limits nor the acceptance of any obligation to introduce any
right beyond those prescribed under
the Constitution.
With reference to the provisions of articles 1, 14, 16, 19, 21, 22 and 29 of
the Convention, the Government of the Republic of Indonesia
declares that it
will apply these articles in conformity with its Constitution.
- This
declaration sparked criticism at both national and international levels, because
in essence it was seen as a reservation. Consequently,
Indonesia declared its
willingness to review its declaration, and, at that time, gave serious
consideration to revoking from the
declaration, not only the third paragraph,
but also the second paragraph, which was also frequently criticized as a blanket
reservation.
- A
further issue related to this ratification is that the instrument of
ratification is a Presidential Decree. The use of a Presidential
Decree as the
instrument to ratify CRC has prompted much criticism within Indonesia,
particularly in the recent past, because in
terms of its legal position a
Presidential Decree is ranked fourth below an Act. In regard to this problem,
Indonesia is earnestly
considering and exploring ways of raising the instrument
of ratification from a Presidential Decree to an Act.
On measures to bring national legislation and practice into
conformity with the principles and provisions of CRC
- To
a certain extent this has already been done, most extensively perhaps over the
past two years. However, it must be appreciated
that a comprehensive review of
national legislation will take quite a considerable amount of time and
effort.
- At
the time this report was being prepared, the Indonesian Parliament
(People’s Legislative Assembly) was in the process of
making changes
and/or amendments to the 1945 Constitution, in which clauses concerning
human rights, including the rights of the child, would be integrated into the
Constitution. It is hoped that these amendments and/or changes to the 1945
Constitution will provide a constitutional basis for review of legislation and
other regulations, in particular review of conformity with criminal
and civil
law.
- In
the meantime, several new acts have been introduced recently. While embodying
several constraints and limitations, several of
the new laws and regulations
that have come into effect while this report was being drawn up, in particular
those introduced over
the past two years, appear to be very accommodating
to provisions concerning human rights, including the rights of the child, as
set
forth in a number of international instruments. These new national laws and
regulations will be described in more detail in
sections IV-VIII. However,
following is a broad outline of some of these instruments:
Those
generally relevant to all sections:
Act No. 39 of 1999 concerning Human Rights.
Those relevant to section IV:
Act No. 9 of 1997 concerning Freedom of Public Expression;
Act No. 40 of 1999 concerning the Press.
Those relevant to section VI:
Act No. 4 of 1997 concerning the Disabled, accompanied by Government
Regulation No. 43/1998 concerning Measures to Raising the Welfare
of the
Disabled, and Decree of the Minister of Public Works No. 468/1998 concerning
Accessibility Requirements for Public Buildings
and their Environments.
Those relevant to section VIII:
Act No.12 of 1995 concerning Corrections;
Act No. 3 of 1997 concerning Juvenile Courts;
Act No. 22 of 1997 concerning Narcotics.
- In
addition, relevant international instruments ratified during this period
include:
(a) Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment (with Act No. 5 of 1998);
(b) International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination (with Act No. 29 of 1999);
(c) ILO Convention No. 138 concerning Minimum Age for Admission to
Employment (with Act No. 20 of 1999);
(d) ILO Convention No. 182 (through Act No. 1 of 2000).
- Finally,
still with regard to this issue, it can be reported that Indonesia is currently
in the process of preparing a Child Protection
Act, which, it is hoped, will
provide more adequate recognition of protection for children. In addition, it
is planned that several
other international instruments will be ratified,
including:
(a) International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights;
(b) Slavery Convention of 1926;
(c) International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant
Workers and Members of Their Families;
(d) Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the
Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others;
(e) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
On the status of CRC in domestic law
- Up
to the end of this reporting period, the Indonesian Constitution (1945
Constitution) did not explicitly provide for recognition of the rights of the
child, but it should be noted that the Indonesian Parliament (People’s
Legislative Assembly) is currently planning changes and/or amendments to the
Constitution, into which recognition of human rights, including the rights of
the child, would be integrated.
- Regarding
national legislation, the Child Welfare Act (1979) mentions several of the
rights of the child, although the scope is limited.
Adoption of the Human
Rights Act (1999) marked a new era with regard to legal recognition of human
rights, including the rights
of the child, in Indonesia. In the Human Rights
Act, the rights of the child are set forth in greater detail (compared to the
detail
given in the Child Welfare Act), in chapter III (Human Rights and
Freedoms), Section Ten, articles 52-66. Aside from the Human Rights
Act, legal
recognition of the rights of the child is also provided in, for example, the
Juvenile Court Act (1997) and the Corrections
Act (1995). Meanwhile, in other
acts, particularly those adopted over the past three years, various clauses
regarding human rights
are also set forth, although details concerning the
rights of the child are not specifically mentioned.
- In
judicial practice in Indonesia, provisions set forth in international
conventions are not normally directly applied. Commonly
they are applied first
by integrating the provisions into relevant national legislation. If there is a
contradiction between the
provisions set forth in a Convention and national
legislation, in their application in court, national legislation prevails. So,
it is necessary to “translate” the Convention provisions into
national law.
- In
this context, the ratification instrument effectively determines its position.
If it is ratified by an Act, the instrument ratified
can be used as a reference
for drawing up national law. But if it is ratified by a Presidential Decree,
which in terms of national
law ranks number four below an Act, the instrument
ratified cannot be used as a reference for drawing up or amending national law.
Therefore, Indonesia plans to change the instrument of ratification of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child from a Presidential
Decree to an
Act.
On steps taken to adopt a national strategy for
children
- Several
steps can be mentioned, including:
- − Establishing
a section on Child and Youth Development in the Basic Guidelines on State Policy
(1993);
- − Presidential
declaration of the National Child Protection Movement in 1997;
- − Declaration
of the Second Decade of the Child, 1997-2006;
- − Issue
of Presidential Instruction No. 3/1997 on improving the quality of the child as
a part of child development during the
Second Decade of the Child;
- − Decree
of the People’s Legislative Assembly No. XVII/MPR/1998 of
13 November 1998 concerning Human Rights.
- Strategic
steps of significance have been taken since 1996 with the establishment of the
Child Protection Agency (Lembaga Perlindungan
Anak or LPA) under which a board
known as the National Commission for Child Protection was formed. The
government sectors, NGOs,
higher education establishments, the press, the
Supreme Court all participated in the setting up of the Child Protection Agency,
which became operational in 1998. Unfortunately, up to the end of this period,
the legal status of the Child Protection Agency is
a foundation, the legal
entity of which is legalized by a notary
public.
- Strategic
programmes implemented by the Government include conducting a
situation analysis of children in need of special protection,
including
child workers, street children, and sexually exploited children (Department of
Social Affairs in cooperation with UNICEF,
1997).
- As
a consequence of the economic crisis, one strategic measure adopted since 1997
is the social safety net (SSN) programme, which
allocates funds among others for
child education and health. This social safety net programme is implemented in
cooperation with
the World Bank, ADB, UNDP, USAID and others.
On existing or planned mechanisms for implementation of the
Convention
- Authority
to monitor and implement the Convention is vested in the Coordinating Minister
for People’s Welfare, who is charged
with the task of coordinating the
national and integrated design of policy, programmes, and activity plans for
improving the welfare
of the child, and with monitoring their implementation,
which at a functional level is undertaken by the department and other
non-departmental
agencies both independently and in cooperation with the
public.
- In
addition, as referred to above, the Child Protection Agency - an independent
body to promote and protect the rights of the child
- has been set up. At the
end of this reporting period, in addition to a national secretariat in Jakarta,
the Child Protection Agency
has five regional offices in Medan (North Sumatra),
Makassar (South Sulawesi), Bandung (West Java), Semarang (Central Java), and
Surabaya (East Java).
- Unfortunately,
at the end of this reporting period, no measures have been taken to guarantee a
systematic collection of data on the
situation of the rights of the child or
periodic evaluation of progress achieved.
On initiatives taken in cooperation with civil society
- At
the end of December 1995, the Government (Office of the Coordinating Minister
for People’s Welfare) which is vested with
the authority to coordinate
activities related to responsibilities set forth in the Convention, facilitated
by UNICEF, organized
a national conference involving several NGOs, in Bogor,
West Java. The conference was followed by a special meeting for NGOs held
in
June 1996 in Solo, Central Java. At this most recent meeting, 10 action
plans were drawn up to be followed up on by NGOs themselves.
- Since
then, there have been a number of initiatives from several other departments,
including the Department of Social Affairs, in
cooperation with NGOs and other
components of civil society, particularly with regard to setting up the Child
Protection Agency.
Currently, particularly since reform towards a more
democratic society, there are an increasing number of government initiatives
to
forge cooperation with NGOs in designing programmes related to the rights of the
child.
On measures to ensure the implementation of the economic,
social and cultural rights of children to the maximum extent of available
resources
- During
this reporting period (1993-2000), budget allocation for the education sector
averaged around 6 per cent of the total development
budget, and the allocation
for the health sector, around 3.9 per cent.
- Allocation
of the development budget for Education, National Culture, Belief in
God
Almighty, and Youth and Sports in 1989-1999 amounted to Rp 4.740 trillion of a
total budget of Rp 171.205 trillion; and in 1999-2000
amounted to Rp 6.045
trillion of a total budget of Rp 137.155 trillion. The allocation for
Social Welfare, Women’s Role, and
Children and Teenagers in 1998-1999
amounted to Rp 0.70 trillion, and in 1999-2000 to Rp 0.83 trillion.
- In
addition, several international cooperative programmes were developed over this
reporting period, aimed particularly at high-risk
children. Those developed
since the onset of the economic crisis in Indonesia include:
- − 1992,
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided financial
aid for the Reaching Street Children in
an Urban Environment Project (RESCUE),
which was subsequently followed up by RESCUE II;
- − The
Department of Social Affairs with the support of UNDP provided US$ 362,000 to
develop a model for protection of street
children in need of special protection
(1994-1998);
- − UNICEF
played a major role in the establishment and development of national and
provincial child protection agencies by providing
US$ 732,000, as a part of
Special Protection Measures for Children and Mainstreaming Child Rights in
Indonesia;
- − Following
the onset of the crisis, in 1999-2000, UNICEF also provided funds of more than
US$ 230,000 towards the protection
of street and working children through NGOs
and local government in selected provinces;
- − Since
1999, ADB has provided loans amounting to US$ 2.7 million for a Social
Protection Sector Development Programme (SPSDP)
and US$ 276.3 million for a
Health and Nutrition Sector Development Programme;
- − In
1999, the Australian Agency for International Development supported the
Prevention and Health Services for Prostituted
Children programme implemented in
cooperation with higher education institutes and NGOs;
- − In
addition to this aid, other aid was provided by the International Labour
Organization, the Japanese Embassy, the British
Embassy, Canadian International
Development Assistance, UNHCR, Swiss Contact, and International Planned
Parenthood Federation.
On measures to make the principles and provisions of the
Convention widely known
- During
this reporting period, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, although
translated only into Indonesian and not yet into
regional languages, was widely
publicized and socialized not only to the various government sectors and NGOs,
but also to sectors
of civil society, including the religious community in
Indonesia. Tens of seminars, consultancies, training sessions, workshops
and so
on were held during this reporting period at national, regional and local
levels, both sectoral and cross-sectoral, including
with the police, mass media,
Family Welfare Movement (PKK), production houses, NGOs, and professional groups
such as the Association
of Indonesian Doctors and the Association of Indonesian
Paediatricians. For NGOs, training of trainers was also provided, sponsored
by
UNICEF in cooperation with the Office of the Coordinating Minister of
People’s Welfare. In addition, a number of activities
were organized to
publicize the principles and provisions of the Convention to the mass
media.
- NGOs
played a central role in making the Convention widely known. In many cases,
NGOs took a leading role by implementing a number
of initiatives, including
organizing training sessions, consultancies, and workshops.
- Although
no specific measures have been adopted to make the Convention widely known among
children, several publications (in Indonesian)
have taken the initiative to do
so, and these are available to the public at large, in particular to those
concerned about or working
with children.
- The
Child Protection Agency has attempted to develop a professional code of conduct
based on the principles and provisions set forth
in the Convention, which was
ultimately approved for inclusion in its Rules of Association.
On measures to make the reports widely available to the
public at large
- This
report was drawn up jointly by components of the Government, NGOs and higher
education institutes. This is a step forward considering
that the initial
report was drawn up by the Government alone. Facilitated by UNICEF, the process
of drawing up this report began
with the formation of a report design team
(April 2000) responsible for drawing up the initial draft report.
- Components
of the Government included on the team came from:
- − Office
of the Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare;
- − Department
of Social Affairs (now the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs);
- − Department
of Religious Affairs;
- − Department
of Health;
- − Department
of National Education;
- − Department
of Manpower.
- Components
from NGOs came from:
- − Child
Protection Agency (Lembaga Perlindungan Anak);
- − Yayasan
Komite Pendidikan Anak Kreatif Indonesia;
- − Yayasan
Sekretariat Anak Merdeka Indonesia.
- Components
from higher education institutes came from:
- − University
of Indonesia (Faculty of Psychology and Faculty of Sociology and Politics,
Department of Criminology), Jakarta;
- − Atma
Jaya University, Jakarta;
- − Yayasan
Kesejahteraan Anak Indonesia, Jakarta.
- In
addition, acting as observers were other components of the Government
from:
- − Office
of the State Minister of Human Rights Affairs;
- − Department
of Foreign Affairs;
- − People’s
Representatives, Commission VII.
- The
draft report was then disseminated for discussion and input from a wider
audience, comprising representatives of the Government
(central and regional)
and NGOs, as well as other sectors of civil society, at a consultative workshop
held in Jakarta on 9-10 May
2000. Feedback from this consultative
workshop was then used by each team member to finalize the draft report, which
was subsequently
consolidated into a comprehensive report.
- The
final draft report, before being translated into English, will be published and
distributed to all those participating in the
consultative workshop, and will be
made available to a wider public.
II. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD (art. 1)
- In
general, definition of the child in national legislation follows the standard
set forth in the Child Welfare Act (1979); that is,
a person under the age of
18. Definition of the child is also set forth in several other pieces of
national legislation, as follows:
- − Universal
education: no agelimit is determined, but universal education applies to the
nine years of elementary education
(National Act on Education System,
1989);
- − Admission
to employment: 15 years; admission to employment in hazardous work: 18 years
(Employment Act, 1995);
- − Marriage:
16 years for women and 19 years for men, in both cases with the legal consent of
the parents, up to the age of 21
(Marriage Act, 1974);
- − Sexual
consent: 12 years (penal law);
- − Voluntary
enlistment in the armed forces: 17 years (Defence and Security Act, 1982);
- − Conscription
into the armed forces: 18 years (Defence and Security Act, 1982);
- − Criminal
responsibility: 8 years (Juvenile Court Act, 1997);
- − Capital
punishment and life imprisonment: 18 years (penal law, Juvenile Court
Act);
- − Legal
age of inheritance, to conduct property transactions: 21 years (Presidential
Instruction, 1991).
- The
minimum age of admission to employment as determined in the Employment
Act (1995) has a positive correlation with universal education
for the
nine years of elementary education, since in practice, the minimum age for
acceptance into elementary school is 7 years,
which means that a child will have
completed his or her basic nine years’ education by the age
of 15.
III. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Introduction
- In
the concluding observations on the Initial Report of Indonesia, the Committee on
the Rights of the Child gave several suggestions
and recommendations
(CRC/C/15/Add.25), including the following:
18. ... Principles
relating to the best interests of the child and prohibition of discrimination in
relation to children should be
incorporated into domestic law, and it should be
possible to invoke them before the courts.
22. The Committee recommends that urgent measures be adopted to combat
discrimination against children belonging to the most vulnerable
groups, in
particular children living in poverty, children living and/or working in the
streets, children living in remote parts
of the country, and children belonging
to minorities, including measures to eliminate and prevent discriminatory
attitudes and prejudices
such as those based on gender.
A. Non-discrimination (art. 2)
- The
principle of non-discrimination, particularly in regard to the rights of the
child, has yet to be incorporated into the Constitution or into national
legislation. It is hoped that the principle of non-discrimination will be
included in the Child Protection Act,
which is currently being prepared.
- “Discriminative”
provisions in national legislation, if they can be called thus, in fact
originate from criminal law adopted
from the criminal law that was in force
during colonial times. This criminal law set forth different provisions for
different groups,
i.e. those who embraced the European legal system, and Foreign
Orientals (Chinese and non-Chinese). At that time, people were classified
into
these groups according to the respective provisions governing their civil
registration. Indigenous peoples were subject to
provisions set forth in their
respective traditional laws. These discriminatory provisions gave rise to
certain discrimination in
a number of areas, for instance in civil registration
and/or registration of births which today, even after Indonesia has gained
its
independence, could be perceived as discriminative.
- Thus,
possible “discriminative practices” arise not as a result of
discrimination based on race, religion or skin colour
or other differences, but
rather solely on the historical discrimination of the system of civil
registration for each group. Also,
it should be noted that discriminative
provisions in civil law have begun to diminish with the coming into force of
legislation related
to certain data registration, such as the Marriage Act
(1974).
- Review
and harmonization of national legislation, in this regard primarily concerning
civil law, will continue, but it must be recognized
that this kind of work is
very timeconsuming. Also, in future it is necessary to take into consideration
new developments related
to nondiscriminative clauses concerning indigenous
groups living in Indonesia.
- In
this regard, special consideration will also be given to the recommendations of
the Committee, particularly in regard to drawing
up national legislation in the
future, in particular legislation concerning the child and the family.
- In
the meantime, several campaigns have been implemented both by the Government and
by non-government components in an effort to focus
on discrimination, in
particular on discriminative practices against girls. The Planned Parenthood
campaign, for instance, socializes
the equality of the sexes. So does the
campaign for equal education.
- A
new problem that requires serious consideration emerging during this period is
the problem of child refugees (internally displaced
children), arising as a
consequence of the referendum in East Timor and as a consequence of social
and political conflict in several
regions of Indonesia since 1998. According to
data from the Office of the Coordinating Minister of People’s Welfare,
since
December 1999 a total of 256,098 residents of East Timor evacuated to East
Nusa Tenggara (NTT) following the referendum in August
1999. It is estimated
that 40 per cent of these refugees are children under the age of
18. In the light of this new phenomenon,
efforts to integrate the principle of
non-discrimination into national legislation, in particular legislation
concerning child rights,
need to be considered in the future.
B. Best interests of the child (art. 3)
- The
principle of the best interests of the child has yet to be integrated into the
Constitution or into national legislation. However, in day-to-day life it can
be assumed that this principle, to a certain degree, is put into
practice.
Nevertheless, it must be recognized that over time this principle appears to be
eroding.
- With
regard to future strategy, serious consideration will be given to this
principle, particularly regarding administrative practices
and especially with
regard to juvenile justice. Consideration will also be given in anticipation of
regional autonomy, in which
regions will be given greater authority in several
areas, including child welfare. In this regard, it should be noted that the
change
in the planning management system from Repelita (Five-Year Development
Plan) to PROPENAS (National Development Programme) provides
an opportunity to
integrate several provisions, and particularly the principles of the Convention
on the Rights of the Child, within
input into policy, development programmes and
projects in general. This, however, does not guarantee a similar commitment in
the
drawing up of PROPEDA (Regional Development Programme), since authority is
being decentralized.
- Finally,
it can be concluded that in the case of adoption, this principle is already
applied as far as possible.
C. The right to life, survival and development (art.
6)
- This
principle has long been reflected in all national policy. There are a number of
development programmes particularly aimed at
reducing neonatal and infant
(under-5s) mortality figures, an immunization programme, and several child
education programmes.
- With
regard to reducing neonatal and infant mortality figures, data show that
significant progress has been made. The neonatal mortality
rate fell from 63.45
(per 1,000 live births) in 1990 to 50 in 1997. Meanwhile, the infant
mortality rate also dropped, from 86.44
(1990) to 70.41 (1996).
- With
the improvement in the quality of health, the quality of child nutrition and
immunization coverage are also apparently improving.
This is indicated by the
decrease in the number of malnourished infants. The percentage of
well-nourished infants rose from 54.18
per cent (1990) to 63.86
per cent (1996). Immunization coverage increased
from 74.0 per cent (1992) to 91.01 per cent (1997). The
percentage of infants breastfed to age 611 months or more also rose,
from 39.4 per cent (1990) to 97.34 per cent (1997). The
percentage
of children (24year olds) breastfed for more than 6 months also
increased, from 97.4 per cent (1992) to 98.1 per cent (1994).
- Access
to elementary education and eradication of illiteracy are also key factors to
safeguarding improved welfare and a better future
for children. One indicator
of child welfare that demonstrates advancement in education is the level of
participation in elementary
education. The data indicate fairly positive growth
in this respect, from 87.6 per cent (1992) to 94.84 per cent
(1996).
- However,
the economic crisis of 1997, which led to a rise in the number of poor,
undermined the realization of this principle. This
growth in the
“at-risk” population cannot be reported in full due to the lack of a
systematic mechanism for recording
data on the impact of the crisis. However,
the impact of the crisis has meant that poor families are increasingly unable to
meet
their basic needs, including their children’s needs. As a
consequence, it is estimated that around 13 per cent of street
children
have dropped out of school.
- Since
the onset of the crisis, concern for survival and development of the child has
been a key priority, in particular with the implementation
of the social safety
net and other child protection programmes. These programmes are implemented,
among others, through international
cooperations and, increasingly, by
mobilizing participation from NGOs.
- Registration
of child mortalities is, unfortunately, less than optimal. Nevertheless, it can
be assumed that juvenile (under 18 years
of age) suicides in Indonesia, if they
exist at all, are very few in number and that this is not a serious issue.
Likewise the problem
of children infected with sexually transmitted diseases,
including HIV/AIDS, is felt not to be a serious problem as yet. However,
of
growing concern are the cases of drug and narcotic abuse that have begun to
claim a large number of juvenile victims.
D. Respect for the views of the child (art. 12)
- As
with the other principles, the principle of respect for the views of the child
has yet to be integrated optimally into national
legislation.
- Particular
concern will be given in future to the issue of juvenile justice, in particular
with regard to children who have been handed
over by their parents or guardians
to the State to be educated.
- The
main constraint in promoting this principle is the paternalistic and feudal
culture that persists in Indonesian society.
- However,
several special initiatives from NGOs to promote this principle on a limited
scale are now being planned. In addition, efforts
towards realizing this
principle will continue in the future.
Priorities for the next five years for sections
I-III
- Priorities
for the next five years for sections I-III are:
(a) To conduct a
complete review of the reservations implied by the “declaration”
drawn up by Indonesia with regard to
the Convention on the Rights of the
Child;
(b) To upgrade the ratification instrument from Presidential Decree to
Act;
(c) To set up an interdepartmental and cross-sectoral work team, with
perhaps the involvement of the House of Representatives and
the Supreme Court,
to monitor implementation of child rights, along with NGOs and other components
of civil society;
(d) To make widely known the provisions and principles on child rights set
forth in the Convention to the authorities and to professional
groups directly
involved with children;
(e) To undertake mainstreaming of the provisions and principles of the
Convention into national development plans;
(f) To conduct an in-depth study into the extent to which the principles of
the rights of the child are reflected in national legislation
and examine the
possibility of integrating these principles into national legislation and
regulations.
IV. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
A. Name and nationality (art. 7)
Situation
- At
the outset, the registration of births in Indonesia was regulated by an
ordinance introduced by the Dutch colonial Government,
and was compiled in
ordinances on civil registration. It should be noted that when this ordinance
came into force, Indonesia had
yet to become an independent nation and therefore
the concept of “Indonesian nationality” was as yet unknown.
Instead,
the Dutch colonial Government introduced four pieces of legislation for
the four categories of citizens based on their respective
civil affiliation,
namely:
(a) Staatsblad 1849 (No. 25), the legal instrument
concerning registration of birth and other civil registration for citizens of
Dutch/European
nationality, or for those who pronounced their adherence to the
Dutch legal system;
(b) Staatsblad 1917 (No. 130), for citizens of Foreign Oriental
nationality, in particular those of Chinese nationality;
(c) Staatsblad 1920 (No. 751), for indigenous peoples who, (i) who
held citizenship papers, (ii) were government employees with a minimum salary
of
100 guilders, and (iii) armed forces officers and retired armed forces officers
in Java, Madura, Minahasa, and some areas of Amboina;
(d) Staatsblad 1933 (No. 75), for indigenous Christian citizens in
Java, Madura, Minahasa, and some areas of Amboina.
- Several
points need to be noted with regard to the legalisation and practice of
registration of births at that time, namely: (a)
registration of a birth
did not confer citizenship; (b) registration of births was regulated by
different legislation and administrative
provisions; and (c) registration
of births for indigenous peoples was provided only for the children of the upper
classes and the
children of Christian families.
- In
February 1967, based on Joint Circular Letter of the Minister of Justice and the
Minister of Home Affairs dated 28 January 1967,
a new policy came into
effect, which in essence:
(a) Conferred citizenship upon
registration of birth;
(b) Gave access to birth registration services to all citizens throughout
the territory of the Republic of Indonesia, including those
who had previously
been denied the right to register births.
- In
1983 came another significant development with regard to the administration of
birth registration. Presidential Decree No. 12
of 1983 decreed that the Civil
Registry Office was no
- longer
under the authority of the Department of Justice, and placed it under the full
authority of the Department of Home Affairs
and its subordinates at regional
level, namely the Governors and Regents/Mayors.
- With
this authority, the Minister of Home Affairs issued two important decrees in
succession, as follows:
- − 1986,
granted dispensation for late registration of births for those born before
1986;
- − 1989,
provided a “special” birth registration procedure for children born
after 1 January 1986 whose births were
registered late (more than two
months after the birth).
- Aside
from the several policies and administrative measures adopted prior to this
reporting period, the social reality of birth registration
in Indonesia was
little known up until early 1998 when UNICEF (Progress of Nations 1998) reported
that Indonesia had one of the lowest
levels of birth registration. In this
report it was estimated that in Indonesia between around 5069 per cent
of births were registered.
- Also
in 1998, UNICEF-Indonesia, in cooperation with the University of Indonesia
Research Agency, took the initiative to conduct a
survey and found (May 1998)
that in four regions - Jakarta, Madura, Pontianak, and Manado - the
birth registration rate was 55 per
cent.
- Also
in 1998, PLAN-International, in cooperation with the NGO Committee
on UNICEF, conducted an analysis of the situation on unregistered
children
in three Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia. From a
sample survey carried out (December 1998), it was found
that the births of
less than 30 per cent of PLANInternational foster children in Indonesia had
been registered.
- Elements
of the child’s identity included in birth registration are as
follows:
- − name;
- − sex;
- − date of
birth;
- − nationality;
- − names
of parents (or name of mother if the child is born out of
wedlock).
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- Since
the introduction of the administrative policies in 1986 and 1989 referred to
above, no significant new policy has been adopted
during this reporting period.
Likewise, no effective action has been taken to prevent
non-registration.
- However,
Civil Registry Offices commonly take several measures to promote the birth
registration of newborns, such as:
- − Publicizing
the meaning and benefit of birth registration/birth certificates, among others,
through extension work in rural
areas and at exhibitions on national development
commonly held on the anniversary of Indonesian Independence Day (17 August)
at regency/municipal
level;
- − Requesting
hospitals, maternity clinics, and midwives to encourage parents to immediately
register the birth of their children.
In general, hospitals, maternity clinics
and midwives offer a birth registration service as part of the obstetric
services they
offer. In rural areas in particular, birth registration services
offered by midwives are significantly helpful, given that in Indonesia
administration of civil registrations is currently available only at
regency/municipal level.
- Aside
from these routine measures, it should also be noted that in the followup to the
study carried out by UNICEF in cooperation
with the University of Indonesia
Research Agency and analysis of the situation conducted by PLAN-International in
1998, with the
support of UNICEF, NGOs, academics, and the Indonesian Government
(in particular the Department of Home Affairs) are involved in
a number of
awarenessraising activities and open discussions concerning the issue of birth
registration for children. In 1998-1999,
a series of seminars and workshops on
birth registration were held:
- − December
1998: Socialization and exclusive workshop organized by the Department of
Social Affairs, in a followup to the UNICEF-LPUI
study;
- − May
1999: Seminar-Workshop organized by the Department of Home Affairs to present
and follow up on the findings of the PLAN-International
analysis;
- − September
1999: National workshop organized in Jakarta by the Department of Home Affairs
(in cooperation with PLAN-International
and UNICEF) which produced the
“Jakarta Declaration” on birth registration in
Indonesia.
- In
addition, representatives from the Department of Home Affairs also participated
in the “Asian Civil Registrars General Convention”
held in Bangkok
in November 1999, which produced a fundamental commitment to improving the
system and procedure of birth registration
in Indonesia.
- Also,
it can be reported that the Human Rights Act enacted in 1999 has provided legal
recognition to the right of the child to a name
and a nationality (art. 53,
para. 2) and the right of the child to know, and, as far as possible, to be
brought up by his or her
parents (art. 56, para. 1). This kind of
recognition is a first in Indonesia’s legal history. However, the legal
recognition
provided by the Human Rights Act has yet to be followed up by
legislation concerning civil registration and/or birth registration,
although
plans to draw up a Civil Registration Act at the national level have been
discussed since December 1966.
- The
elements of the identity of the child included in birth registration, as
referred to above, include:
- − name;
- − sex;
- − date of
birth;
- − nationality;
- − names
of parents (or name of mother if the child is born out of
wedlock).
- By
stating the names of the parents on the birth certificate, a child (assuming he
or she can read) will know who his or her parents
are. In the case of a child
born out of wedlock, unfortunately, no measures have yet been adopted with
regard to the right of the
child to know who his or her parents are and to be
brought up by them.
- Concerning
measures to guarantee the right of the child to a nationality, there has been no
progress as yet, although, as mentioned
above, the child’s right to a
nationality has been guaranteed by the Human Rights Act of 1999. Also, the
Nationality Act (Act
No. 62 of 1958), which states that nationality is passed
through the father, has yet to be revised.
Progress made
- Because
the legal basis for civil registration and/or birth registration in Indonesia is
still the four ordinances enacted in colonial
times, no radical progress can be
made. Nevertheless, it is hoped that several developments, particularly since
1998 as described
above, will pave the way for more systematic
progress.
Factors and difficulties
- The
need to draw up solid national legislation concerning civil registration
(including birth registration) which does not classify
citizens by group has
been apparent since 1966. But, since civil registration is closely linked with
civil law, to implement such
a change would first require fundamental changes to
be made to the prevailing civil law, which also classifies citizens based on
particular civil affiliation.
- Conversely,
the low rate of birth registration and the limited number of service outlets
hamper efforts to make birth registration
a significant administrative process.
This lack of administrative validity of birth registration must in turn be
recognized as a
factor that discourages parents to register their
children’s births.
- As
a consequence, birth registration is not a customary practice. Many parents,
particularly those living in remote areas, do not
understand the procedure and
do not feel it necessary to register their children’s births.
- Finally,
in terms of cost, birth registration is also considered to be relatively
expensive.
Priorities for the next five years
- While
more consideration and time is needed to make changes to legislation, in the
meantime education measures will be introduced
to raise birth registration
figures nationally. The Jakarta Declaration, proclaimed during a workshop on
birth registration held
in Jakarta in September 1999, and the commitment pledged
at the Asian Civil Registrars General Convention (Bangkok, November 1999)
could
form the basis for future strategy on birth registration.
- In
addition, there is a possibility of making birth registration a valid
administrative procedure, by linking birth registration and
certain services, as
set forth in article 26 (2) of the Human Rights Act, which states that,
“everyone has the freedom to choose
his nationality, and without
discrimination has the right to enjoy his rights as a citizen
...”.
B. Preservation of identity (art. 8)
- To
the end of this reporting period, the situation regarding the possibility of
there being illegal deprivation of some or all of
the elements of a
child’s identity is unknown. Likewise, no specific measures have been
adopted with regard to the obligation
based on article 8 of CRC. Thus, no
progress or difficulties can be identified or reported for this period.
- However,
it can be noted that the legal guarantee of the right to citizenship is also
provided in the Human Rights Act (1999), as
set forth in article 26 (1), which
states that “everyone has the right to have, obtain, change and maintain
his nationality”.
- A
priority for the coming five years would be the analysis of situations in which
there could be a possibility of illegal deprivation
of some or all of the
elements of the child’s identity, so that necessary measures can be
anticipated.
C. Freedom of expression (art. 13)
- With
regard to article 13 of CRC, this report cannot provide specific assessment of
the situation, progress, difficulties, or priorities
for the coming five years.
However, in general, it can be said that with the change towards a more
democratic system of government,
the situation in general at the end of this
reporting period is now more conducive to full enjoyment of the right to freedom
of expression.
- In
this regard, it can be reported that three laws were enacted in 1998-1999
relevant to the freedom of expression. These are:
- − Act No.
9 of 1998 concerning Freedom of Public Expression;
- − Act No.
39 of 1999 concerning Human Rights;
- − Act No.
40 of 1999 concerning the Press.
- Article
2 (1) of Act No. 9 of 1998 concerning Freedom of Public Expression states that
“every citizen, as an individual or group,
has the freedom to express
himself as a realization of the democratic rights and responsibilities of
society, nation, and State”.
- Act
No. 39 of 1999 concerning Human Rights states that “everyone has the
freedom to hold, impart and publicize his beliefs,
orally or in writing, through
printed or electronic media, taking into consideration religious values, morals,
law and order, the
public interest, and national unity” (art. 23, para.
2); and that “every citizen has the right to express his opinion
in public
...” (art. 25). Furthermore, this act explicitly sets forth the right of
the child “... to practise his religion,
and to think and express himself
as befits his intellectual capacity and age under the guidance of a parent or
guardian” (art.
55).
- Meanwhile,
Act No. 40 of 1999 concerning the Press states that “freedom of the press
is guaranteed as a citizen’s right”
(art. 4, para. 1), and
“the national press shall not be censored, muzzled, or banned from
circulation” (art. 4, para.
2). This Act also states that
“circulation of foreign press and establishment of representative offices
of foreign press corporations
in Indonesia shall be in accordance with
prevailing law” (art. 16).
- The
following limitations and restrictions can be identified:
- − Act No.
9 of 1998 concerning Freedom of Public Expression: “Expression of opinion
in public is permitted in public
open spaces, except (a) in the environs of the
presidential palace, houses of worship, military installations, hospitals, ports
and
airports, railway stations, land transportation terminals, and objects of
vital national importance, and (b) on national holidays”
(art. 9, para.
2);
- − Act No.
39 of 1999 concerning Human Rights:
- “In
executing his rights and obligations, everyone shall observe the limitations set
forth in the provisions in this Act in
order to ensure that the rights and
freedoms of others are respected and in the interests of justice, taking into
account the moral,
security, and public order considerations of a democratic
society” (art. 70);
- “The
rights and freedoms governed by the provisions set forth in this Act may be
limited only by and based on law, solely for
the purposes of guaranteeing
recognition and respect for the basic rights and freedoms of another person,
fulfilling moral requirements,
or in the public interest” (art. 73);
- “No
provisions set forth in this Act shall be interpreted to mean that the
Government, or any political parties, factions, or
any party whosoever is
permitted to undermine, impair or eradicate the basic rights and freedoms
governed by this Act” (art.
74);
- − Act No.
40 of 1999 concerning the Press:
- “The
national press is required to report events and opinions that respect religious
norms and moral values and the right to
presumption of innocence” (art. 5,
para. 1);
- “Press
corporations violating the provisions set forth in article 5, paragraph (1)
... shall be subject to a fine of five hundred
million rupiah” (art. 18,
para. 2).
- In
view of the prior situation, the provisions set forth in these three Acts are
considered to be a significant step forward with
regard to freedom of
expression, even though freedom of expression of the child is not explicitly
mentioned in Act No. 39/1999 concerning
Human Rights.
- With
regard to the social reality regarding the actual enjoyment of the right to
freedom of expression, in general it can be said
that since the fall of the new
order regime, no, or almost no, restraints have been enforced. However,
specific assessment concerning
enjoyment of the right of the child to freedom of
expression cannot be given.
D. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (art.
14)
Situation
- At
the start of this reporting period, the freedom of thought, conscience and
religion was not yet recognized as a human right guaranteed
by law. During
review of the initial report, the Committee had the opportunity to put questions
regarding the difficulties experienced
by children from families of the
Baha’i faith/religion to freely study and practise their teachings and
beliefs in schools
in Indonesia.
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- Following
the reformation of May 1998, there has been quite serious concern for human
rights and freedoms. In the light of this,
and concerning freedom of thought,
conscience, and religion, the following general measures can be
reported:
(a) Enactment of Act No. 39/1999 concerning Human Rights
(arts. 23, 25 and 55 as referred to above). In addition, article 22 states
that
“everyone has the freedom to choose his religion and to worship according
to the teachings of his religion and beliefs”
(para. 1), and that,
“the State guarantees everyone the freedom to choose and practise his
religion and to worship according
to his religion and beliefs” (para.
2);
(b) Presidential Decree No. 6 of 2000, which revokes Presidential Decree No.
14 of 1967 concerning Chinese Religions, Beliefs, and
Customs and
Traditions. The Presidential Decree enacted this year revokes the ban on
Chinese religious and traditional celebrations.
Chinese religious and
traditional activities may now be carried out without the need for a special
permit as in the past;
(c) Presidential Decree No. 69 of 2000, which revokes Presidential Decree
No. 264 of 1962 that prohibits the Democratic League, Rotary
Club, Divine Life
Society, Vrijmetselaran Loge, Moral Rearmament Movement, Ancient Mystical
Organization of Rosicrucians (AMORC),
and the Baha’i Organization. With
the revocation of this ban, these organizations are now formally free to conduct
their activities
in Indonesia.
Progress made
- Since
legal recognition of the freedom of thought, conscience and religion was
achieved only in 1999, and since revocation of restrictions
and prohibitions
concerning several religious practices and organizations came into effect only
in 2000, no specific progress can
be reported in this report. However, it can
be reported that the general condition for freedom of thought, conscience and
religion
has progressed rapidly over the past two years.
Factors and difficulties
- With
regard to article 14 of CRC, Act No. 39 of 1999 concerning Human Rights does not
explicitly recognize the rights of children
from indigenous groups. Another
anticipated difficulty is legal recognition of the rights and freedoms of
non-believers.
E. Freedom of association and peaceful assembly (art.
15)
- In
general it can be said that illegal restrictions and prohibitions have, since
the fall of the new order regime in mid-1998, not
been applied.
- Furthermore,
although children are not explicitly mentioned, the right to freedom of
association and peaceful assembly is guaranteed
by article 24, paragraph 1, of
Act No. 39 of 1999 concerning Human Rights, which provides that
“everyone has the right to peaceful
assembly and association”.
- With
the progress particularly over the past two years, it is hoped that this right,
governed by the provisions set forth in article
15 of CRC, can be enjoyed by
“everyone”, children included.
F. Protection of privacy (art. 16)
- Concerning
article 16 of CRC, the situation is, in general, not known. However, given the
local cultural context, the issue of interference
in the privacy of the child is
apparently in need of special attention, within the scope of the family
environment, community, school
and other institutions.
- In
Act No. 39 of 1999 concerning Human Rights, the right to protection of privacy
is a general provision, while the provisions concerning
the rights of the child
(arts. 52-66) do not specifically mention protection of privacy of the child.
The general provisions concerning
the right to protection of privacy in the
Human Rights Act are set forth in article 29, paragraph 1, article 31, paragraph
1, and
article 32, which read as follows:
Article 29 (1):
“Everyone has the right to protection of the individual, his family,
opinion, honour, dignity, and rights.”
Article 31 (1): “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference
with his home.”
Article 32: “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with
his correspondence, including electronic communications,
except upon the order
of a court or other legitimate authority in accordance with prevailing
legislation.”
- It
is considered that the issue of privacy of the child requires special study. In
the coming period, it is felt necessary to consider
undertaking analysis of the
situation concerning this issue.
G. Access to appropriate information (art. 17)
- Act
No. 39 of 1999 concerning Human Rights contains two provisions relevant to
article 17 of CRC. First, general provisions are set
forth in article 14,
as follows:
“Everyone has the right to communicate and obtain
the information they need to develop themselves as individuals and to develop
their social environment” (para. 1) and
“Everyone has the right to seek, obtain, own, store, process, and
impart information using all available facilities” (para.
2).
Second, specific provisions on the rights of the child are set forth in
article 60, paragraph 2, as follows: “Every child has
the right to seek,
receive, and impart information as befits his intellectual capacity and age in
the interests of his own development,
insofar as this is in accordance with
moral and ethical values.”
- However,
specifically with regard to this right, aside from the legislative measures set
forth in these two provisions, there is little
to report during this period. A
comparative study of the situation in other countries is thought to be necessary
for a comprehensive
review of the situation and measures and strategies that
need to be taken with regard to this issue.
H. The right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel,
inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment (art. 37, para. (a))
- The
situation, measures, progress, factors and difficulties and future programmes
with regard to this right will be presented in section
V.J on abuse and neglect,
including physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration; and in
section VIII.B on children
involved with the administration of the juvenile
justice system.
- It
can be reported here that on the general measures taken with regard to the right
not to be subjected to torture or other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment, Act No. 30 of 1999 on Human Rights provides specific guarantees for
the child, as set
forth in article 66 thereof, which in full reads as
follows:
(1) Every child has the right not to be the object of
oppression, torture, or inhuman legal punishment.
(2) Sentence of death or life imprisonment shall not be handed down to
juvenile offenders.
(3) Every child has the right not to have his freedom unlawfully taken from
him.
(4) Children may be arrested, detained, or jailed only in accordance with
prevailing legislation and only as a measure of last resort.
(5) Every child whose freedom is taken from him has the right to humane
treatment, as befits the personal development needs of his
age, and shall not be
separated from his parents unless this is in his own interest.
(6) Every child whose freedom is taken from him has the right to access to
effective legal or other aid at every stage of ongoing
legal proceedings.
(7) Every child whose freedom is taken from him has the right to defend
himself and to access to a private hearing before an objective
and impartial
juvenile court.
- However,
the provisions set forth in article 66 of the Human Rights Act remain less than
effective. With regard to cases of children
in conflict with the law, the
prevailing law is the Juvenile Court Act of 1997 (see sect. VIII.B), and
therefore a review of the
compatibility of the Juvenile Court Act with the Human
Rights Act is necessary. Also, with regard to the issue of child abuse (sect.
V.J), penal provisions for violation of this right are still inadequate.
- It
should be noted that no specific measures have been adopted to prevent the
impunity of perpetrators.
- Therefore,
a comprehensive analysis of the situation concerning this right, as well as
articles 19, 39, 37 (b)-(d) and 40, is considered
necessary in order to identify
the strategy for future planning.
V. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE
A. Parental guidance (art. 5)
Situation
- The
degree of parental guidance varies among communities in Indonesia applying an
extended family system, in which members of the
family, in particular the
grandparents, are involved in child-rearing. However, in general, it can be
said that a civil relationship
(for instance inheritance) is in effect only
between the child and his or her parents. Yet, the civil relationship is also
sometimes
influenced by the prevailing family system. For instance, the Batak
and the Balinese apply a patrilineal system, whereas the Minang
apply a
matrilineal system, which means male children have no right of inheritance from
their parents. In large cities in particular,
there is a shift from the
tradition of the extended family towards a nuclear family and the family system
is undergoing a process
of transculturization.
- According
to national law in Indonesia, the definition of the family tends more towards
the nuclear family, which, as the smallest
unit in society, comprises
husband-wife, or husbandwife and children, or father and children, or mother and
children.
- Based
on the findings of a family survey conducted by the National Family Planning
Coordinating Board, figures for the number of families
and the number of
children in the family are shown in table 1 below.
Table 1
Family data 1997-1999
|
Number of families
|
Number of people
|
Average number of family members
|
Number of children aged 018 years
|
1997
|
43 004 653
|
175 863 323
|
4.09
|
66 820 091
|
1998
|
44 657 050
|
180 636 563
|
4.04
|
69 672 907
|
1999
|
45 732 913
|
185 225 136
|
4.05
|
70 362 982
|
Source: Annual Family Enumeration, BKKBN.
- According
to data from the Department of Religious Affairs, in 1990 Muslims accounted for
87.21 per cent of the total population,
Protestants for 6.04 per cent, Catholics
for 3.58 per cent, Hindus for 1.83 per cent, Buddhists for 1.03 per
cent, and other religions
for 0.32 per cent.
- At
the start of this reporting period, there was some indication that many parents
lacked information about the physical, mental,
and psychosocial development of
children, which meant that parents often encountered difficulties with regard to
child-rearing.
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- During
this reporting period, national policy has been implemented establishing the
Continuity of the Life, Development and Protection
of the Mother and Child
(KHPPIA) programme as the main programme coordinated by the National Development
Planning Agency, the implementation
of which is coordinated by the Office of the
Coordinating Minister for Public Welfare and Poverty Alleviation.
- This
programme is implemented by several departments working in cooperation with
international agencies and NGOs. Some of the departments
routinely implementing
this programme include the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Health,
the Department of Religious
Affairs, the Department of National Education, the
National Development Planning Agency, the Office of the Minister for the
Empowerment
of Women, and the Office of the Minister of Public Works, along with
the Family Welfare Movement, Nahdlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah and
Perdhaki (these
are names of mass-based religious organizations). The programme is funded each
year by government routine funds
and development funds, as well as by
international aid (from organizations such as UNICEF, UNDP, the World Bank and
WHO), as well
as public funds.
- To
build the child-rearing capacity of parents, the KHPPIA programme involves
several separate courses and counselling activities
for young people over the
age of consent, prospective marriage partners, young families and established
families.
- Activities
offered as a part of KHPPIA include:
- − Guidance
for young people over the age of consent; offered by the Agency for Marriage
Counselling, Guidance, and Maintenance
(BP-4) in cooperation with youth
organizations such as mosque, church, Hindu and Buddhist youth, Karang Taruna,
etc. One of the
aims of this activity is to provide information to young people
about the meaning and purpose of the family, the rights, responsibilities,
and
obligations of the husband-wife, and about healthy reproduction and
child-rearing. Since 1999, a total of 6,700 marriage advisory
counsellors have
been trained. But because this activity lacks adequate funding, its scope is
very limited. In 1997, only 5 per
cent of the target 10,703,116 young people
over the age of consent (16-18-year-olds) were in fact reached;
- − Courses
for prospective marriage partners; offered during the waiting period (10 days
for Muslims and between 10 days and
three months for followers of other
religions) before the marriage takes place. The purpose of these courses is to
provide prospective
marriage partners with information about and skills in
household management, including child-rearing. Figures for the number of
marriages, percentage of participation in these courses, and divorces between
1992-1993 and 1998-1999, are shown in table 2 below.
Table 2
|
Marriages
|
Percentage of participation in courses
|
Divorces
|
1992-1993
|
1 423 774
|
0
|
129 957
|
1993-1994
|
1 481 096
|
4.02
|
122 902
|
1994-1995
|
1 586 343
|
11.41
|
129 939
|
1995-1996
|
1 585 670
|
11.37
|
112 152
|
1996-1997
|
1 616 294
|
11.67
|
125 216
|
1997-1998
|
1 823 940
|
14 95
|
149 427
|
1998-1999
|
1 919 671
|
34.82
|
157 059
|
Source: (Pre-marriage counselling): Annual National Coordination
Meeting Documents, Department of Religious Affairs.
(Regarding this activity, it should be noted that the actual number of
prospective marriage partners participating in courses is greater
than the
figure shown in the table since many community organizations such as Aisyiyah,
Muslimat, Fatayat Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesian
Christian Women, Association of
Hindu Women, and Indonesian Catholic Women also offer this activity, although
comprehensive data
have yet to be gathered and reported);
− Guidance for Parents of Under-5s (BKB); is meant to help parents
of children under the age of 5 to rear their children properly so that they may
be healthy, skilled, bright,
and honourable. It is also meant to prepare
children for elementary education. For this activity, BKB groups have been set
up and
65,000 cadres trained in hamlets/villages throughout Indonesia;
− Guidance for Parents of Children and Teenagers; is meant to help
parents of children and teenagers to care for and rear their children so that
they can carry out their duties,
rights and responsibilities as children and
young people;
− Guidance for Young Families; is meant to build the household
management and child-rearing skills of young families (married for less than
five years);
− Guidance for Established Families; employs a system of family
counselling in the hope of maintaining family harmony. Organizations involved
in this counselling include,
among others, the Marriage Advisory and Guidance
and Maintenance Agency (BP-4). Until 1999, BP-4 had 76,271 advisers, at
hamlet/village
level, subdistrict level, regency/municipal level, and provincial
level;
− Programme for the Child Survival; aims to build the child-rearing
capacity of parents and is implemented by religious organizations through
religious activities and
employing a system of religious communication. This
activity, implemented since 1986, involves 28 religious organizations (Muslim,
Protestant, Catholic, Hindu, and Buddhist). By 1998, a total of 43,000
religious leaders had been trained as motivators for their
respective religious
groups. This programme is quite effective and reaches more than 25 million
adherents of each religion;
− Family Welfare Guidance (PKK); is implemented by mothers at
hamlet/village level. Around 65,000 hamlets/villages are involved in this
activity, developing the
Integrated Services Post (Posyandu) and the
dasawisma programme that integrates health care and education for
mothers/parents. Each Posyandu programme involves 60 families, and each
dasawisma programme 10 families. The aim of this programme is to help
mothers to raise family welfare by building their skills in and knowledge
of
several aspects of household management and childrearing. There are a total of
240,000 Posyandu units, but as a result of the
impact of the prolonged crisis,
only 120,000 units remain active;
− Family Guidance through Religious Activities; implemented by
religious adherents at their respective houses of worship. In 1998, the number
of houses of worship used for this
activity amounted to 619,055 mosques, 41,983
Protestant churches, 13,166 Catholic churches, 68,579 Hindu temples, and
7,446 Buddhist
temples. The number of spiritual leaders providing guidance to
Muslims was 354,166; to Protestants, 219,846; to Catholics, 8,980;
to Hindus,
20,129; and to Buddhists, 3,124. In addition, it can be reported that the
respective religions also offer family guidance
− in the community through religion extension workers. The number of
religion extension workers whose job is to motivate the
community amounted to
37,742 Muslims; 3,246 Protestants; 1,418 Catholics; 1,086 Hindus; and
465 Buddhists;
− Family Campaign; aims to raise awareness of the importance of the
family. In 1993, the President of Indonesia declared 29 June National Family
Day,
which is celebrated throughout Indonesia. As part of this ceremony, Model
Family competitions are held at hamlet/village level,
through subdistrict,
regency/municipal, and provincial levels, culminating in a national award. This
competition assesses parents’
child-rearing skills.
- In
addition, to remove local cultural differences, standards for the happy family
have been drawn up, based on the positive values
existing in society.
Government Regulation No. 21 of 1994 (art. 4) develops standards for
achieving a “happy and prosperous
family” based on the functions of
the family, which include (a) religious function, (b) social-cultural function,
(c) caring
function, (d) protection function, (e) healthy reproduction
function, (f) socialization and education function, (g) economic function,
and
(h) conservation of the environment
function.
Progress made
- Based
on the criteria for a “happy and prosperous family”, families are
categorized from low to high, as follows:
- − Pre-prosperous
family, is a family that is not yet able to meet its minimum basic needs,
such as religious instruction, food, clothing, housing, and health
needs;
- − Level
I Prosperous Family, is a family that can meet its minimum basic needs but
cannot yet meet all its psychosocial needs, such as education, planned
parenthood,
interaction within the family, interaction with the environment,
housing, and transportation;
- − Level
II Prosperous Family, is a family that, in addition to being able to meet
its basic needs, can also meet all its psychosocial needs, but is not yet able
to meet all its development needs such as the need to save and obtain additional
information;
- − Level
III Prosperous Family, is a family that is able to meet all its basic needs,
psychosocial needs, and development needs, but is not yet able to provide
an
optimal contribution to the community, such as contributions for social
activities, acting as leaders in social organizations
or in social religious
activities, sports and so on;
- − Level
III Plus Prosperous Family, is a family that is able to meet all its needs,
both psychosocial and developmental, and is able to provide a real and continued
contribution to the community.
- Based
on the above criteria, data on family groups for the period 1994-1999 are shown
in table 3 below.
Table 3
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
1999
|
Pre-Prosperous
|
31.42
|
27.53
|
23.38
|
19.41
|
16.38
|
23.25
|
Level I Prosperous
|
28.36
|
26.26
|
27.71
|
22.57
|
21.68
|
25.64
|
Level II Prosperous
|
23.55
|
23.41
|
27.33
|
29.57
|
30.13
|
26.38
|
Level III Prosperous
|
12.34
|
16.63
|
19.82
|
22.74
|
25.72
|
20.04
|
Level III Plus Prosperous
|
3.33
|
4.17
|
4.70
|
5.71
|
6.09
|
4.69
|
Source: The National Development Planning Agency, 1999.
- Other
progress made concerns handbooks published by several departments and/or
community organizations. These handbooks include:
- − Handbook
for Parents of Under-5s;
- − Guidelines
for Ways to Improve Family Nutrition;
- − ChildRearing;
- − Guidelines
for Stimulating Child Development;
- − Guidelines
for Dealing with Accidents and Injuries to Under-5s in the
Home.
Factors and difficulties
- Difficulties
encountered include:
- − Information
on the rights of the child has yet to be made widely known at national
administrative level (executive, legislative
and judiciary), or at community and
family levels;
- − Limited
human resources being allocated to this issue since there is not yet any
professional support, and lack of priority
and political will on the part of the
State administration;
- − A
culture that tolerates parents who neglect their responsibilities and
obligations to the child, an authoritarian behaviour
on the part of parents, and
neglect and exploitation of children due to economic difficulties;
- − Lack of
government regulations governing custody, child adoption, placement of street
children, and revocation of custody;
- − Lack of
facilities and infrastructure for gathering relevant data.
Priorities for the next five years
- Priorities
for the coming five-year period are:
(a) To further develop the
KHPPIA programme by placing greater emphasis on the implementation of CRC, in
this context, particularly
by providing information to the public and families
on the importance of their parental responsibility to the child;
(b) To draw up stricter regulations and/or legislation, particularly
concerning revocation of custody and adoption of children;
(c) To draw up government regulations to implement the provisions set forth
in the Child Welfare Act (Act No. 4 of 1979).
B. Parental responsibilities (art. 18, paras. 1 and 2)
Situation
- Before
the start of this reporting period, a number of regulations and laws were in
force, the most relevant of which are the following:
- − Civil
Code (Burgerlijk Weboek), particularly article 319 a (2) and articles
380-382, which govern revocation of custody of parents and guardians;
- − Marriage
Act (Act No. 1 of 1974), in particular articles 43, 45, 47, 49 and 69;
- − Child
Welfare Act (Act No. 4 of 1979), in particular articles 9 and 10;
- − Act No.
10 of 1992 concerning Development of the Populace and Development of the
Prosperous Family;
- − Government
Regulation No. 9 of 1975 concerning Implementation of Act No. 1 of 1974;
- − Presidential
Instruction No. 1 of 1991 concerning Revocation of Custody of an
Individual/Legal Entity (art. 109).
- Article
47 of the Marriage Act states that a child under the age of 18 years or one who
has never been married shall be under the
authority of his parents for as long
as their authority as his guardians has not been revoked by a court. A parent
or guardian represents
the child in all legal actions both in and outside the
courts.
- Article
77 of Presidential Instruction No. 1 of 1991 states that a husband-wife or a
guardian is responsible for rearing and caring
for their children, with regard
to their mental and spiritual growth, education and skills, and
future.
- However,
according to the prevailing civil law, a court may revoke the right to custody
of the child in the event that the parent
or guardian concerned neglects his/her
duties or acts improperly, with unfavourable consequences for the child under
his/her care.
In this case, the court will appoint a new guardian. The
guardian appointed by the court will, as far as possible, have a family
relationship with the child, or at least the person shall be an adult of healthy
mind, fair, just and well behaved. The guardian
is also required to respect the
religion and beliefs of the child, and to maintain the child’s property to
the best of his
ability. Parents whose right to custody of the child has been
legally revoked remain responsible for all the day-to-day expenses
and education
costs of their child until he or she becomes an adult or gets married.
- According
to Islamic law, which applies to Muslims in Indonesia, in the event of a
divorce, the child, if he or she is under the age
of 12 (not yet mumayiz)
will be brought up by the mother (hadhanah), while the father remains
responsible for providing for day-to-day expenses and the cost of the
child’s education. But if
the child is 12 or over (mumayiz), the
child is free to choose whether he or she wishes to be brought up by the mother
or the father.
- According
to both Islamic law and civil law, in the case of a child born out of wedlock,
legally he or she is the child of the mother.
However, the child may legally
obtain a father if his two biological parents are married legally and thus
become legitimized, which
may be conducted by a religious court.
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- At
policy level, in addition to the regulations and legislation referred to above,
Presidential Instruction No. 3 of 1997 concerning
Improving the Quality of
Children’s Welfare has also been issued.
- In
addition, judicial and administrative measures have been adopted regarding the
enforcement of the several existing laws and regulations.
For instance, the
judicial measures adopted in 1998 were as follows:
- − Legal
revocation of custody of the child: 6 cases;
- − Appointment
of guardian: 53 cases;
- − Child-rearing
issues concerning divorce (resolved by religious courts): 47 cases;
- − Child
adoption: 148 cases;
- − Nuptial
legitimization (in regard to children born out of wedlock), conducted by
religious courts: 3,999 cases (it should
be noted that in this case the actual
number of legitimizations in 1998 throughout Indonesia may have amounted to more
than 30,000).
- Table
4 below showing marriage and child data obtained from religious courts provides
a more comprehensive picture.
Table 4
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
Polygamy
|
1 148
|
870
|
727
|
701
|
704
|
802
|
Talak (divorce)
|
68 935
|
88 580
|
47 386
|
65 619
|
92 112
|
63 390
|
Divorce suits
|
1 531
|
46 359
|
56 081
|
56 833
|
98 104
|
76 371
|
Child adoption
|
70
|
34
|
67
|
35
|
48
|
47
|
Child legitimization
|
10
|
14
|
21
|
6
|
73
|
148
|
Revocation of parental custody
|
0
|
103
|
0
|
7
|
0
|
0
|
Revocation of guardian custody
|
160
|
57
|
11
|
13
|
733
|
148
|
Appointment of guardian
|
229
|
256
|
123
|
45
|
57
|
53
|
Origin of child
|
9
|
5
|
12
|
10
|
7
|
33
|
Rejection of mixed religion marriages
|
173
|
86
|
7
|
14
|
4
|
23
|
Nuptial Legitimization
|
2 728
|
2 705
|
1 924
|
1 826
|
1 426
|
3 999
|
Source: Annual National Coordination Meeting Documents, Department
of Religious Affairs.
- In
addition, it can be reported that other measures were adopted during this
reporting period, developed by several departments.
The Department of Religious
Affairs, for example, developed the Sakinah or Happy and Harmonious Family
Movement, which is a programme
aimed at educating parents to be able to bring up
their children properly and act as role models for their children. This
programme
is implemented nationwide with participants coming from all
religions.
- Finally,
as part of a campaign to highlight the importance of the child-rearing
responsibilities of parents, programmes related to
the proclamation of the First
Decade of the Indonesian Child (1986-1996), which began prior to this period,
also continue to be implemented,
and the Second Decade of the Indonesian Child
has also been launched. It was also decided that 23 July would be
commemorated as
the National Children’s Day.
Progress made
- Several
advances made, which will be briefly summarized here, include those related to
enforcement of the laws referred to above,
and those related to the development
of Happy and Prosperous and Sakinah Family Movement. With these efforts,
parents will be more
capable of fulfilling their responsibilities towards their
children, although as yet no indicators have been developed to monitor
this
progress.
Factors and difficulties
- Several
constraints can be mentioned, including macropolicy adopted by the Indonesian
Government on building the quality of human
resources. This interventionist
policy focuses more on education building, which involves the child, rather than
prioritizing intervention
to build parental capacity.
- Also,
prevailing public opinion poses difficulties for effective intervention
programmes, such as the view that child-rearing is the
mother’s job and
income-earning is the father’s job; and the view that responsibility for
child-rearing is the right
of the parents and that interference from a third
party or State intervention is not necessary. With respect to this problem,
another
factor is the low level of education of parents/guardians.
Priorities for the next five years
- Priorities
for the coming five-year period are:
(a) To upgrade macropolicy for
Indonesian human resource development so that it also focuses on measures to
intervene in the child-rearing
role and capacity of parents;
(b) To draw up government regulations concerning the implementation of the
childrearing responsibility of the parents;
(c) To increase policy and budget support for building parents’
child-rearing capacity.
C. Separation from parents (art. 9)
Situation
- According
to tradition and law in Indonesia, a child may not be separated from his
parents. There are several situations in which
a child may be separated from
one or both of his or her biological parents including, inter alia, in the event
of the death of one
or both parents, if the child is of a single parent (from
choice or for other reasons, such as rape), in the event of accidental
exchange
at a hospital or maternity clinic, or in the event of deliberate abandonment of
a child at birth (by his/her parents), and
the divorce of parents.
- National
data on households headed by single parents is available. According to
Indonesian law (both national and traditional law),
in such cases, a civil
relationship exists only between the child and his or her mother.
- In
the case of an accidental exchange of a newborn (in a hospital or maternity
clinic), prevailing law states that parents may submit
a complaint to the
hospital or maternity clinic involved.
- In
the case of a child abandoned at birth the identity of whose parents is unknown,
the situation does not allow for the guarantee
of the child’s right not to
be separated from his or her parents. Under subsection G below (Children
deprived of their family
environment) this situation will be dealt with in more
detail.
- With
regard to cases where separation occurs as a result of parental divorce, the
divorce situation between 1993-1998 is shown in
table 5 below, based on data
provided by the religious courts.
Table 5
|
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
1993-1998
|
Talak
|
68 935
|
46 359
|
47 386
|
65 619
|
92 112
|
63 390
|
383 801
|
Cerai
|
1 531
|
46 359
|
5 881
|
56 833
|
98 104
|
75 571
|
284 279
|
Total
|
70 466
|
92 718
|
53 267
|
122 452
|
190 216
|
139 961
|
678 080
|
Source: Annual National Coordination Meeting Documents, Department
of Religious Affairs.
Note: Talak is a divorce request filed by the husband;
cerai is a divorce request filed by the wife.
- In
other cases, separation may occur as a result of action initiated by the State,
for example when a child or one or both of his
or her parents is detained,
imprisoned, deported, etc. Unfortunately, no relevant data could be obtained on
such cases.
- In
addition, there are “civil wards of State”, or children who have
been handed over by the parents to the State for the
purposes of education.
This situation is discussed in more detail in section VIII.B (Children
involved with the system of administration
of juvenile justice).
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- Few
measures have been adopted with regard to this issue during this reporting
period. However, it can be noted that the prevailing
law guarantees that a
child shall not be separated from his or her family. A pertinent example
concerns cases of newborns being
accidentally exchanged at hospitals or
maternity clinics. In several cases, the parents have complained to the
hospital or maternity
clinic concerned, and in these cases, the courts will
generally take appropriate judicial measures. Unfortunately, at the time of
reporting, there were no cases available for presentation.
- With
regard to children of single parents, referred to in subsection B above
(Parental responsibilities), legal validity/recognition
(which has implications
for the civil relationship) of the existence of the two biological parents
of these children can be established
by the legal marriage of the parents
(nuptial legitimization). In 1998, the religious courts carried out 3,999
legitimizations.
- In
cases of divorce, if the divorce involves a Muslim family, Islamic law prevails;
that is, if the child is under the age of 12,
he or she will be brought up by
the mother, and if the child is aged 12 or over, he or she is given the freedom
to choose whether
to be brought up by the mother or the father. In this regard,
in line with customary practice, a child has a fair chance of maintaining
links
and having direct contact with both his parents. However, it should be noted
that no new measures have been adopted during
this reporting period to guarantee
that a child can maintain links and have direct contact with both
parents.
Progress made
- Progress
has been made with regard to the risk a child has of losing intensive contact
with both his parents as a result of their
divorce. Perhaps due to the
educational measures adopted, to which reference has been made under subsection
A above (Parental guidance),
there has been a drop in the number of divorces.
However, data provided by the religious courts for 1993-1998 (see table 6)
on under-age
marriages (women under 16 years old and men
under 19 years old), also indicate a decrease in under-age marriages,
which run a high
risk of divorce.
Table 6
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
976
|
1 126
|
1 071
|
865
|
174
|
229
|
Source: Annual National Coordination Meeting Documents,
Department of
Religious Affairs.
Factors and difficulties
- With
regard to article 9 of CRC, in general there are a few difficulties regarding
single parenting, divorce and death, or accidental
exchange of newborns, since
incidence of cases such as these is very low (no data, however, is available)
and there is judicial guarantee
for resolving such cases.
- The
main difficulty is perhaps due to the fact that analysis has yet to be made of
the situation concerning this section in general,
or article 9 in particular.
Strategic measures related to this issue cannot therefore be
identified.
Priorities for the next five years
- Among
the priorities for the coming five-year period will be to maintain the positive
programmes now in place. Special priority will
be given to efforts to reduce
the divorce rate and the rate of under-age marriages, by developing the already
well-established Prosperous
Family programme and the Sakinah Family
Movement.
- In
addition, comprehensive analysis of the situation concerning section V will
also be undertaken.
D. Family reunification (art. 10)
Situation
- Cases
in which one or both parents live overseas while the child remains in Indonesia,
or vice versa, exist, but are rare. Such cases
may occur under several
circumstances, for instance, perhaps in the case of mixed-nationality marriages
that end in divorce. Another
possibility is if one or both of the parents of
Indonesian nationality request asylum and reside in another country; or vice
versa,
parents from another country request asylum and reside in Indonesia.
- Two
Acts are considered relevant to such cases, namely the Immigration Act (Act No.
9 of 1992) and the Nationality Act (Act No. 62
of 1958).
- The
Immigration Act states that Indonesians and foreigners are permitted to
enter/leave Indonesia, unless they are otherwise prohibited
from leaving or
entering Indonesia. Likewise, a child of a foreign nationality wishing to join
his parents in Indonesia, or a child
of Indonesian nationality wishing to join
his parents overseas, is essentially free to do so unless he or she is otherwise
prohibited
from doing so.
- Provisions
concerning prohibition on leaving and entering Indonesia are set forth in the
Immigration Act (arts. 11-23), which states
that a person may be prohibited from
leaving or entering Indonesia if she or he has a criminal record, is an enemy of
the State,
may disturb public safety and order, including religious ethics and
others, but not for discriminatory reasons nor because of the
civil status of
the person concerned.
- Nevertheless,
it must be noted that no specific provisions exist concerning special procedures
for dealing with a child wishing to
join his or her family following separation
by the State due to the divorce of the parents, or because his or her parents
have sought
asylum, or for any other reasons. Such cases are dealt with on a
case-by-case basis.
Measures adopted (1993-2000)
- In
the light of the lack of evidence indicating that this is a serious issue, no
measures were adopted during this period. Likewise,
no progress or difficulties
need to be indicated in this report.
- On
reunification of the family, measures adopted regarding the case of
post-referendum refugees in East Timor will be discussed in
section VIII.A
(Children in situations of emergency).
Priorities for the next five years
- Priorities
for the coming five-year period are:
(a) To review existing
legislation on this issue to ensure its conformity with CRC, and, where
necessary, take relevant anticipatory
measures, both by improving existing
legislation and/or drawing up new legislation;
(b) To promote bilateral or multilateral cooperation with other countries
regarding reunification of the family.
E. Illicit transfer and non-return (art. 11)
Situation
- Indonesia
possesses no data relevant to the illicit transfer and non-return of children
abroad. From several reports from local authorities,
NGOs, and the mass media,
it is known that there are cases involving the sale, trafficking and abduction
of children for work overseas,
but the numbers involved are few (sale,
trafficking and abduction of children is discussed in section VIII.C).
- Under
national law, persons involved in the illicit transfer of children are
categorized as criminals and may be subjected to fairly
heavy penalties
(article 330 of the Criminal Code).
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- Indonesia
has limited experience in handling cases involving the illicit transfer of
children. Whenever such cases arise, they are
handled on a case-by-case basis
and through existing laws and diplomatic channels.
Priorities for the next five years
- Priorities
for the coming five-year period include:
(a) Further monitoring and
collection of data on cases of illicit transfer and nonreturn of children
abroad. The focus will be on:
(i) Border areas, including the border with East Timor;
(ii) The domestic network for the sale, trafficking and abduction of children,
to prevent it from developing into an international
network;
(b) Development of a National Plan of Action to address
this issue, which will also include the immediate return to eliminate the
worst
forms of child labour, in implementation of ILO Convention No. 182.
F. Recovery of maintenance for the child (art. 27, para.
4)
Situation
- According
to law and tradition in Indonesia, child maintenance is the responsibility of
the child’s parents even if the parents
are divorced. Traditionally, the
father or husband is responsible for maintenance of the child, but if the father
is unable to fulfil
this responsibility, the mother or wife will take over the
responsibility. In the tradition of the extended family, the
grandfather/grandmother
or the family of the parents often contribute towards
the maintenance of the child.
- Article
45 of the Marriage Act (1974) states that both parents are required to maintain
and educate their children to the maximum
extent possible up to the age of 18
years. Article 80 of Presidential Instruction No. 1 of 1991 states that the
husband is responsible
for the maintenance, education, and health care and
treatment costs of the child; for providing a proper home; and for providing
for
the needs of the household.
- In
the event of divorce, including divorce between an Indonesian and non-Indonesian
couple, the divorce itself does not undermine
the responsibility of the father
to provide for the maintenance of the child until the child marries, becomes
self-sufficient, or
reaches the age of 18.
- Data
on divorce shown in table 5 above indicate that between 1993-1998 there
were 678,080 cases of divorce in Indonesia.
- Although
divorce does not relieve the father of the responsibility of providing for the
maintenance of the child, court injunctions
do not necessarily mention the
responsibility of the husband to provide for the cost of maintenance and
education of the child.
This depends largely on the content of the divorce suit
filed by the wife. If the wife files for maintenance but the father claims
incompetence, the court will examine whether the father is in fact incapable of
providing maintenance. Should the court rule that
the father is truly unable to
provide maintenance, then the mother will (contribute towards) provide for the
maintenance of the child.
- Even
if the court rules that the husband must provide for the maintenance of the
child, in reality the court often faces difficulties
in enforcing its ruling.
Thus, if the father neglects his responsibility to pay maintenance for the
child, it is the child and its
mother who will suffer.
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- With
regard to securing maintenance for the child from the parents in cases of the
separation or divorce of the parents, no new legislative
measures were adopted
during this period. On judicial measures, as discussed above, the ruling of the
court will generally depend
on the content of the divorce suit filed by the
wife. Furthermore, with regard to measures to ensure the maintenance of the
child,
given the weak position of the wife and the threat to the continuity of
the life and development of the child should the father neglect
his
responsibility to provide for the maintenance of the child, in several recent
divorce cases, the father has been requested to
immediately pay maintenance
before the judge. This has happened in several cases of foreign nationals, who
have paid both child
maintenance and alimony when divorced in Indonesia. This
is perhaps the only significant progress that can be reported at this
time.
Factors and difficulties
- The
lack of adequate legal instruments and the high rate of unemployment and poverty
are factors contributing to the difficulty in
taking judicial and administrative
measures to enforce the ruling that a father should provide maintenance for his
children in cases
of divorce.
Priorities for the next five years
- Endeavours
will be made and steps will be taken to ensure that maintenance for the child is
provided in cases of divorce.
- Social
and educational measures will be taken to raise public awareness, particularly
among mothers, to be more assertive about filing
for maintenance from the
husband in cases of divorce.
- The
relevant existing legislation will be reviewed and its implementation
improved.
G. Children deprived of their family environment (art.
20)
Situation
- Children
deprived of their family environment, temporarily or permanently, may include:
orphans, abandoned children, street children,
children in conflict with the law,
and refugee children or asylumseekers.
- Street
children are discussed in section VIII.C; children in conflict with the law in
section VIII.B; and refugee children in section
VIII.A.
- On
orphaned children and abandoned children, the tradition of the extended family
and kinship is extremely beneficial in providing
a response to this issue. At
the same time, public initiatives in this regard are developing quite well, with
the provision of orphanages,
the majority of which are managed by religious
organizations. Included in this public initiative are nonorphanage placements
such
as foster parenting and placement in Islamic boarding schools
(pesantren).
- Conversely,
the 1945 Constitution provides that abandoned children shall be cared for by the
State (art. 34). The Child Welfare Act (art. 4, para. 1) clarifies in
more
detail that an orphaned child has the right to care from the State, an
individual or an entity. Mention should also be made
of Government Regulation
No. 2 of 1988 concerning the welfare of children in conflict with the
law.
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- As
far as the State is concerned, aside from allowing and encouraging private
initiatives for dealing with orphaned and abandoned
children, the Government has
also set up orphanages that are run by the Department of Social Affairs, in
addition to orphanages provided
by regional government. In 1998-1999 the number
of government-run orphanages totalled 71 units, 48 of which are run by the
Department
of Social Affairs (Tresna Werda Social Institutions) and 23 by
regional government.
Progress made
- Several
initiatives by civil society, by the Government in cooperation with NGOs, and by
the Government with regard to street children,
in particular during this time of
economic crisis, particularly in providing alternative care/alternative
placement, are shown in
the following table:
Table 7
|
Number of orphanages and orphaned children
|
Orphanages
|
Orphaned children
|
1990-1991
|
983
|
55 627
|
1993-1994
|
1 089
|
71 257
|
1996-1997
|
1 285
|
68 919
|
1997-1998
|
1 647
|
91 051
|
Source: Annual National Coordination Meeting Documents, Department
of Religious Affairs.
- The
table indicates fairly rapid growth in the number of alternative
care/alternative placement facilities, which almost doubled between
1990-1991
and 1997-1998.
- However,
it should be noted that many measures still need to be adopted with regard to
guaranteeing special protection and assistance
for children temporarily or
permanently deprived of their family environment.
Factors and difficulties
- Capacity
and quality of orphanages and other forms of alternative cares largely still do
not conform with the minimum standards set
by the Government.
- Provisions
concerning guardianship set forth in the existing Criminal Code (Burgerlijk
Wetboek) are in effect only for foreign orientals (Indonesian nationals of
Chinese extraction).
Priorities for the next five years
- These
include:
(a) Working towards developing a system of
monitoring/periodic review of alternative placement for children deprived of
their family
environment;
(b) Publicizing and organizing training in CRC for the parties concerned and
for NGOs dealing with children deprived of their family
environment.
H. Adoption (art. 21)
Situation
- Based
on observations by the Indonesian Supreme Court, there has been a change/shift
in the practice of adoption in Indonesia. In
the past, adoption of children was
carried out in a traditional way, in order to obtain a child or for other
reasons.
- According
to Islam, if a child is adopted, the links between the child and his biological
parents must not be broken. However, it
is not uncommon that when a child is
adopted, his adoptive parents keep the identity of the parents a secret from the
child in order
to make him believe that his adoptive parents are his biological
parents. But, in general, this could be counterproductive, particularly
once
the child becomes an adult and learns about his real situation.
- As
a consequence of Government Regulation No. 7 of 1997 concerning Civil Servant
Salaries, which provides for benefits for civil servants
adopting children
through a court ruling, the practice of adoption with a court ruling has become
more common.
- Meanwhile,
for people of Chinese extraction, the prevailing regulation on adoption is
Staatsblad 1917 No. 129, which allows for the
adoption of male children
only. However, based on jurisprudence set in 1963, the Supreme Court considers
legal the adoption of female
children. Adoption under the provisions set forth
in Staatsblad 1917 No. 129 requires only a certificate from a notary
public.
- Adoption
of children by citizens of Chinese extraction is also governed by the provisions
set forth in the Civil Code (arts. 302 and
324).
- In
a further development, the European Convention on the Adoption of Children
inspired Indonesia to take action in anticipation of
the possibility of
intercountry adoption. In this regard, the Supreme Court through circular
letters Nos. 6/1983 and 4/1989 confirmed
that intercountry adoption must be
ultinum remedium or the option of last resort, if adoptive parents from
Indonesia cannot be found, and that intercountry adoption must be legalized
through a court ruling.
- Adoption
under the provisions set forth in these circular letters of the Supreme Court
includes:
- − Adoption
of an Indonesian child by Indonesian adoptive parents (domestic adoption);
- − Adoption
of an Indonesian child by non-Indonesian adoptive parents (intercountry
adoption);
- − Adoption
of a non-Indonesian child by Indonesian adoptive parents (intercountry
adoption).
- Meanwhile,
according to regulations of the Department of Social Affairs, adoption of a
child involves a three-stage process, as follows:
- − The
prospective adoptive parents submit an application to the local Regional Office
of the Department of Social Affairs (with
copies to the Minister of Social
Affairs and the private institution where the prospective adoptive child is
located);
- − The
Regional Office of the Department of Social Affairs makes an assessment of the
prospective adoptive parents, and within
three months must approve or reject the
application;
- − If the
application is approved, it will be legalized/endorsed by a
court.
- In
addition to the above provisions, other provisions concerning adoption in force
in Indonesia prior to this period include, among
others, the Marriage Act No.
198/79 (art. 12 (3)) and Decree of the Minister of Social Affairs No.
44/1986.
- The
most comprehensive data available on domestic and intercountry adoption
between 1993 and 1999 were recorded by the Department
of Social Affairs, as
follows:
Table 8
|
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
1999
|
Domestic adoption
|
82
|
53
|
54
|
47
|
33
|
21
|
33
|
Intercountry adoption (Indonesian children by foreign citizens)
|
8
|
11
|
12
|
15
|
17
|
26
|
10
|
Total
|
90
|
64
|
66
|
62
|
50
|
47
|
43
|
- The
table above shows a constant downward trend in domestic adoption between 1993
and 1998, and an upward trend in intercountry adoption.
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- During
this reporting period, one new administrative measure adopted was Decree of the
Minister of Social Affairs No. 13/HUK/93 (of
1993) concerning Guidelines for the
Adoption of Children. A further new measure was Circular Letter KMA/III/II/1994
(of 1994) issued
by the Supreme Court concerning the adoption of children.
- Aside
from these, no other new measures were adopted during this reporting period, and
provisions previously in force continue to
apply to the adoption procedure. In
this regard, it can be noted that, as a result of Government Regulation No. 7 of
1997, the practice
of adopting children through a court, particularly by civil
servants, has become more commonplace.
- On
intercountry adoption, no other specific measures were adopted during this
reporting period, including bilateral and multilateral
agreements with other
countries. Thus, no progress or difficulties can be reported.
Priorities for the next five years
- There
will be a comprehensive review of existing adoption legislation, regulations and
procedure, to obtain a more comprehensive picture
on the extent of conformity
with the CRC principles and provisions.
- Administrative
measures will also be taken with regard to existing provisions, to improve the
guarantee of protection for adopted
children, and developments in this regard
will continue to be monitored.
I. Periodic review of placement (art. 25)
Situation
- Regarding
abandoned children, although cases do occur, data are not consolidated at the
national level. Abandoned infants are normally
placed temporarily with private
agencies authorized by the Department of Social Affairs prior to being adopted.
Those who are not
adopted will continue to be cared for by these private
agencies.
- Older
abandoned children will generally become street children and NGOs deal with
their placement by providing drop-in centres or
shelters. The situation and
measures adopted with regard to this issue will be discussed in section VIII.C
on street children.
- Placement
of handicapped children in general is provided by private agencies and is
effected on the initiative of the parents.
- Asylum-seeking
and refugee children, including unaccompanied children, will be dealt with in
detail in section VIII.A.
- Children
in conflict with the law will be dealt with in section VIII.B.
- As
regards children who have been handed over by their parents or guardians to be
cared for by the State and placed in correctional
institutions, in line
with prevailing practice, the situation, measures adopted, progress made,
factors and difficulties, and targets
set for the future of these
children (known as “civil wards of State”) will also be discussed in
section VIII.B.
- In
the meantime, the procedure for placement of children in correctional
institutions can be broadly outlined, as follows:
- − Parents
or guardians wishing to hand over their child to be cared for by the State
because the parents or guardians concerned
can no longer deal with the
child’s misbehaviour, submit an application to the local court;
- − The
court will assess the application and ask the Bureau of Social and Juvenile
Guidance (BISPA) (now the Bureau of Corrections
or BAPAS), an agency of the
Department of Justice, to make an assessment as to whether the application of
the parents/guardians should
be approved or not;
- − With
input from BAPAS, the court will decide whether or not to approve the
application from the parents/guardian;
- − If the
application is approved, the child will be placed in a correctional institution.
A child can be placed in a correctional
institution up to the age of 18
years;
- − A
periodic review is conducted by BAPAS to monitor the progress of the child until
he or she is deemed fit to be returned
to his or her
parents.
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- The
measures adopted with regard to children handed over by their parents or
guardians to the State to be educated and placed in correctional
facilities
during this reporting period, including progress made and difficulties
encountered, will be discussed in section VIII.B.
Priorities for the next five years
- Over
the next five years comprehensive analysis will be made of the situation
concerning children who have been placed, including
abandoned children, children
with disabilities, and refugee children, including unaccompanied ones, in
particular with regard to
the right to periodic review of placement.
- Efforts
will be made to create a database on children who are placed and to improve
coordination among all competent
authorities.
J. Abuse and neglect (art. 19), including physical and
psychological
recovery and social reintegration (art. 39)
Situation
- A
report compiled by Yayasan Kesejahteraan Anak Indonesia, an NGO, indicates that
the number of cases of child abuse are increasing,
from 172 cases in 1994, to
421 in 1995, and 476 in 1996.
- A
study on three forms of abuse (physical, mental and sexual) conducted by a
research team from Gadjah Mada University in cooperation
with UNICEF (1999), in
six provincial capitals in Indonesia, found that physical abuse was the form
most commonly experienced by
children, followed by mental and sexual abuse.
Comprehensive data are given in table 9 below.
Table 9
|
Type of abuse
|
Physical
|
Mental
|
Sexual
|
Medan
|
6
|
12
|
4
|
Palembang
|
16
|
12
|
4
|
Semarang
|
35
|
15
|
7
|
Surabaya
|
31
|
13
|
6
|
Makassar
|
29
|
10
|
2
|
Kupang
|
24
|
10
|
4
|
Total (6 cities)
|
141
|
82
|
27
|
- The
study focused on three locations where abuse occurred: at home, in schools, and
in public places. Physical and mental abuse
in the home was most commonly
perpetrated by the mother. Physical and mental abuse suffered by children in
schools was reportedly
most commonly perpetrated by peers, with the exception of
Semarang, where teachers were the main perpetrators. Sexual abuse most
commonly
occurred in public places, perpetrated by third parties.
- With
regard to abuse in the home, a strong traditional view persists that
child-related problems are internal family affairs, and
whether the parents or
another person is the perpetrator of abuse, intervention is felt to be
unnecessary.
- Among
the factors contributing to abuse are social conditions and local culture.
Abuse in the home, in general, is influenced by
the gender stereotyping that
male children must be able to stand a test, and by the view that parents have
absolute authority over
their children and that children must obey their
parents. The social-cultural factor contributing to abuse in schools is the
idea
that children must obey the school rules.
- Other
factors identified as contributing to incidents of abuse in the home include
gambling, drunkenness, lack of money, and husbands
having extramarital
relationships. In addition, it was found that the occurrence of abuse in public
places is also reinforced by
the lack of law enforcement and the stereotyping
that street children are “juvenile delinquents”.
- Under
the Indonesian criminal code, most forms of violence, including deliberate
humiliation, injury and abuse, are prohibited. But
these prohibitions are not
explicitly meant to protect the child. Also, the scope of protection is
restricted to public places,
while, with the exception of sexual abuse, the
domestic environment or an extension of the domestic environment (school for
instance)
and penal institutions are outside the effective reach of the
protection provided by criminal law. Also, particularly concerning
parental
abuse in the home, no satisfactory complaints procedure has been developed.
- Further
legal protection is provided by the Child Welfare Act (1979) and the Marriage
Act (1974). However, much criticism has been
levelled at these two laws with
regard to this matter because neither contains penal clauses and neither is
effective.
- The
Child Welfare Act, for instance, merely states that parents proven to have
neglected their responsibilities may have their custody
rights rescinded.
Likewise, the Marriage Act (art. 49) contains similar provisions.
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- The
issue of child abuse has, until recently, received little attention in
Indonesia. It is hoped the study conducted by the research
team from the
University of Gadjah Mada in cooperation with UNICEF (1999) will help prompt the
State administration to take relevant
strategic steps as per the obligations set
forth in articles 19 and 39 of CRC.
- As
well as cooperating in this study, UNICEF in cooperation with the Child
Protection Agency (an independent agency set up on the
joint initiative of the
Government and civil society) also facilitated a study tour to Malaysia by an
interdisciplinary team to learn
about its system for dealing with child abuse
(1999/2000). Subsequently, a small team of medical professionals coordinated by
the
Indonesian Medical Association and appointed by UNICEF are drafting
technical guidelines/protocol for doctors to identify and report
suspected cases
of child abuse. These will be followed up with policy, instruction and training
for doctors at national and subnational
levels through professional associations
for doctors, paediatricians, nurses, etc., as well law enforcement officials,
child protection
agencies and legal aid institutions.
- Meanwhile,
educational measures and extensive media coverage continue to be adopted by
publicizing the content of CRC to the general
public, in the hope that abuse of
children by parents, and by adults in general, will decline.
Progress made
- The
few initiatives by NGOs, universities, medical professional associations and
UNICEF are beginning to form an initial picture of
the problem of child abuse in
Indonesia. Also, the exposure to Malaysia has provided inspiration and new
knowledge on dealing with
child abuse, as indicated
above.
Factors and difficulties
- These
include the following:
- − No
comprehensive data on child abuse are available, so only a minimum of
information on issues related to child abuse exists;
- − Inadequate,
if not virtually non-existent, government concern for child abuse; and the
consequences of the public perception
that family problems are domestic issues
in which the public authorities may not intervene;
- − Social-cultural
factors, in which gender bias considers men as productive players in the public
sphere and women as reproductive
players in the domestic sphere, which, among
other things, gives rise to stereotypes and to gender bias expectations and
behaviour
(male children must be able to stand being beaten and abused, and
female children are placed in a position that makes them vulnerable
to sexual
abuse). Also, the feudal and authoritarian culture places children on the
bottom rung of the existing social hierarchy;
- − Models
and methods of reporting in the mass media are not childsensitive and reinforce
gender bias, with all its implications
for the social expectations of the
child.
Priorities for the next five years
- The
priorities for the coming five-year period are:
- − Following
up on recent initiatives and continuing to probe into the issue of child abuse.
Special emphasis will be placed
on guaranteeing intervention/public protection
in cases of domestic abuse by integrating the issue of child abuse into the
Child
Protection Act currently being drawn up, and by developing a system of
monitoring, intervention and services, including counselling
for victims of
child abuse;
- − Undertaking
campaigns and public education as means of transforming the existing gender
bias, and the feudalistic and authoritarian
culture;
- − Maximizing
the role of civil society by forging cooperation arrangements with the Child
Protection Agency, NGOs and other
sectors of civil society (such as hospitals
and professional medical associations), and by encouraging the mass media to
play a positive
role in this
issue.
VI. BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE (arts. 6; 18,
para. 3; 3; 23;
24; 16; and 27, paras. 1-3)
Introduction
- This
section of the report will be divided into two parts. The first is specifically
concerned with disabled children (art. 23),
and the second with three other
topics - namely “health and health services (art. 24)”;
“social security and childcare
services and facilities (arts. 28 and
18, para. 3)”; and “standard of living (art. 27, paras.
1-3)”.
A. Disabled children (art. 23)
Situation
- Around
3.11 per cent of the population of Indonesia, or approximately 6.2 million
people, are classified as disabled. This includes
physical disability such as
blindness and deafness, mental disability, and multiple disabilities. Half of
the disabled in Indonesia
are mentally disabled. Of 67,018,426 children aged
between 0-14 years in Indonesia, the rate of disabled children per 10,000 of
population is 57,7026. The incidence of disabled children
aged 0-14 years
is highest in West Java, followed by four other provinces as shown in table 10
below. At the national level, the
incidence by province ranges from 0.4252
(Bengkulu)
to 11.0276 (West Java).
Table 10
Number of disabled children aged 0-14 years
(1993)
|
Number of children (0-14 years)
|
Incidence of disabled children (0-14 years) per 10,000
population
|
West Java
|
12 807 177
|
11.0276
|
East Java
|
10 563 172
|
9.0949
|
Central Java
|
10 006 643
|
8.6157
|
North Sumatra
|
4 511 174
|
3.8841
|
Greater Jakarta
|
3 244 177
|
2.7932
|
Source: Social Welfare Disability Survey, 1998.
- In
4.89 per cent of cases, disability resulted from accidents, while illness
accounted for 25.33 per cent. Crime victims accounted
for 0.14
per cent, and 4.4 per cent were disabled from birth. According to the 1995
Family Health Survey, disability (loss or abnormality
of the anatomical,
psychological or physiological function or structure) in children aged 0-14
years encompassed impairment, disability,
and interference with daily activity,
as shown in the tables below.
Table 11
Incidence of impairment per 1,000 family members in
Indonesia, 1995
Impairment
|
Male
|
Female
|
0-4 years
|
5-14 years
|
0-4 years
|
5-14 years
|
Intellectual
|
4
|
4
|
0
|
7
|
Other psychological
|
4
|
11
|
0
|
6
|
Speech
|
4
|
3
|
4
|
7
|
Hearing
|
43
|
41
|
20
|
40
|
Sight
|
10
|
19
|
8
|
23
|
Visceral
|
77
|
115
|
58
|
123
|
Skeletal
|
8
|
12
|
4
|
18
|
Appearance
|
22
|
21
|
18
|
26
|
Generalized
|
68
|
80
|
45
|
67
|
Source: 1995 Family Health Survey Morbidity and Disability
Study.
Table 12
Incidence of disability per 1,000 family members in
Indonesia, 1995
|
Male
|
Female
|
0-4 yrs
|
5-14 yrs
|
0-4 yrs
|
5-14 yrs
|
Behavioural
|
4
|
5
|
0
|
8
|
Communication
|
22
|
46
|
4
|
45
|
Self-care
|
4
|
5
|
2
|
7
|
Locomotive
|
6
|
4
|
2
|
5
|
Disposition
|
4
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
Dexterity
|
6
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
Situational
|
4
|
4
|
8
|
5
|
Specific skills
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
4
|
Other restrictions
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
Source: 1995 Family Health Survey Morbidity and Disability
Study.
- Of
the impairments and disabilities affecting day-to-day activities of children
aged 514 years, the most common was interference with
heavy household
chores, with a rate of 40 and 50 per 1,000 family members for male and
female children, respectively. Interference
with the most basic day-to-day
activities such as lying down and getting up, sitting up and standing, walking,
urinating and defecating,
bathing, getting dressed, eating, and taking part in
social activities was fairly high at around 9-13 per 1,000 family members, as
shown in table 13 below.
Table 13
Interference with day-to-day activities per 1,000
family members in Indonesia, 1995
|
Males (5-14 years)
|
Females (5-14 years)
|
Lying down-getting up
|
10
|
9
|
Sitting and standing up
|
10
|
11
|
Walking
|
10
|
12
|
Urinating and defecating
|
11
|
12
|
Bathing
|
12
|
12
|
Getting dressed
|
11
|
12
|
Eating
|
11
|
12
|
Social activities
|
12
|
13
|
Serving self food
|
13
|
19
|
Light housework
|
14
|
21
|
Heavy housework
|
40
|
50
|
Shopping
|
17
|
22
|
Going out
|
21
|
40
|
Recreation
|
41
|
42
|
Source: 1995 Family Health Survey Morbidity and Disability
Study.
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- Although
disabled children have yet to receive maximum attention, several forms of
intervention continued during this reporting period,
including the enactment of
Act No. 4/1997 concerning the Disabled, which guarantees the right of the
disabled to equal opportunities
in all aspects of life and living (art. 5) and
the right to education, work, equal treatment, accessibility, rehabilitation and
equal
opportunity for self-development (art. 6). This Act also contains more
detailed provisions on equal opportunities (chap. IV, arts.
9-15). It states
that “The Government and/or society is responsible for realizing the
rights of the disabled” (art.
8).
- Additionally,
the following have been issued:
- − Government
Regulation No. 43 of 1998 concerning Raising the Social Welfare of the
Disabled;
- − Decree
of the Minister of Public Works No. 468/1998 concerning requirements for
accessibility to public buildings and environments,
the goal of which is that
the disabled have easier access to obtain their rights and opportunities in
these buildings and environments.
- Other
initiatives to improve access to medical rehabilitation services have been
undertaken, in the form of:
- − Providing
disabled children medical rehabilitation services in government hospitals and
primary health-care services in community
health centres;
- − Encouraging
the private sector, professional organizations, and NGOs to also provide medical
rehabilitation services;
- − Providing
outreach services, involving visits by professional staff to the disabled
(mobile rehabilitation units), and mobile
public health centres;
- − Raising
the quality of personnel by increasing the number of formal medical
rehabilitation schools, from academies through
specialist higher education
institutes.
- To
improve the access the disabled have to medical rehabilitation, the Government
encourages and motivates the setting up of community-initiated
rehabilitation
centres, such as Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR), to encourage the
personnel to assist and develop disabled children
in their area and to
facilitate their training in the use of the CBR module adapted from the WHO and
the Foundation for Development
of Disabled Children modules.
- In
addition, the Government consistently encourages the private sector, NGOs, and
the public to work towards raising awareness among
families and the public with
regard to meeting the basic needs of disabled children, such as the need to
play, socialize, and take
part in recreational activities.
- The
Government also encourages a number of relevant parties to work closely together
to rehabilitate and develop the physical, mental,
and social capacity of
children in a way that is appropriate to their interests, aptitude, and
capacity, as well as to the education
and experience of the children, through
social rehabilitation programmes offered by inside and outside institutions. In
institutions,
social rehabilitation involves providing physical, mental, and
social counselling and work skills within the institution itself.
Progress made
- While
striving to raise the quality of and access to medical rehabilitation services,
the Government has also raised the quality of
personnel, by offering from a
Level-3 Diploma in Physiotherapy and a Level-3 Diploma in Occupational Therapy
through a Level-4 Diploma
in Development, as well as sub-specialist and
doctorate courses in medical rehabilitation. Currently, three medical faculties
offer
specialist training in medical rehabilitation: the University of
Indonesia in Jakarta, Padjadajaran University in Bandung (West
Java), and
Sam Ratulangi University in Manado (North Sulawesi).
- The
Government has also increased the number of public hospitals by 23, from 835
units (1995) to 858 units (1997), and the number
of community health centres by
1.94 per cent - from 7,105 units (1995) to 7,243 units in 1997. These
facilities provide medical
rehabilitation services for disabled children from
basic level upward, and include the development of CBRs in seven provinces and
the development of centres of excellence for medical rehabilitation services,
among others at Fatmawati Hospital in Jakarta, and
Prof. Dr. Soeharso Hospital
in Surakarta (Central Java).
- To
raise the awareness of families, the public, NGOs and the private sector, the
Government organizes national events involving disabled
children and all parties
concerned with disabled children, no less than four times a year-on National
Education Day in May, National
Children’s Day in June, Scouts Day in
August, and Social Solidarity Day in December, in addition to other local and
international
events.
- In
addition the Government has set up three social rehabilitation centres: Bina
Daksa Vocational Social Rehabilitation Centre (PRSVBD)
in West Java, Social
Rehabilitation Centre for the Mentally Disabled or “Kartini” Bina
Grahita Social Institution in
Temanggung (Central Java), and “Prof.
Dr. Soeharso” Bina Daksa Social Rehabilitation Centre in Surakarta
(Central Java).
Besides these three centres, services are also provided at
Bina Netra Social Institutions, Bina Daksa Social Institutions, Bina
Grahita/Laras Social Institutions, Bina Rungu Wicara Social Institutions, and
Panti Sosial Pasca Laras Kronis or Sanatoriums.
- Since
1998-1999 social services and rehabilitation have been provided to 18,769
disabled people. However, it should be noted that
in general, accessibility to
medical, social, educational and vocational rehabilitation remains low, at only
around 3.75 per cent.
- Along
with the growth in services for the disabled, including disabled children,
between 1995 and 1999 the budget allocation for social
services and
rehabilitation of the disabled increased, in particular government assistance
for building the role of the public, NGOs
and the private sector, as shown in
figure 1 below.
Figure 1
Source: Planning Bureau,
Department of Social
Affairs, 1999.
Priorities for the next five years
- Services
for disabled children will be further increased. In particular, referrals to
hospitals, social institutions and other organizations
will be
optimized.
- The
Government will also continue to encourage the involvement of families, the
public, NGOs, professionals, and the private sector
in implementing article 23
of CRC, the Disabled Person’s Act (1997), and Government Regulation No. 43
of 1998 for provision
of public buildings and facilities that guarantee the
right of the disabled to access to public services, including public transport,
communication, recreation and social facilities, and to community
empowerment.
B. Health and health services (art. 24), social security and
childcare services and facilities (arts. 26 and 18, para. 3)
and
standard of living (art. 27, paras. 1-3)
Situation
- The
maternal mortality rate in Indonesia remains the highest of all ASEAN nations.
Table 14 below shows the number of deaths per
100,000 live births.
Table 14
Maternal mortality per 100,000 live births,
according to several different estimates
|
Mortalities
|
Year
|
Approach
|
Source
|
Indonesia, 1981
|
370
|
1978-1980
|
12 teaching hospitals
|
Chi I-Cheng, et al. (1981)
|
Household Survey, 1985
|
450
|
1985
|
Retrospective (direct), 7 provinces
|
Budiarso (1986)
|
East Nusa Tenggara
|
1 340
|
1986
|
Prospective, rural areas
|
Tjitra, et al. (1991)
|
Central Java
|
340
|
1987
|
Prospective, rural areas
|
Agoestina (1989)
|
West Java
|
490
|
1977
|
Sisterhood (Indirect) 8 regencies
|
Budiarso, et al. (1990)
|
Household Survey, 1991
|
404
|
1991
|
Prospective, fundus uteri of pregnant women
|
Kosen and Soemantri (1994)
|
Demography and Health Survey, 1994
|
390
|
1989-1994
|
Sisterhood (direct)
|
CBS, NCPCB, MOH, Macro (1995)
|
Household Survey, 1994
|
384
|
1994
|
|
|
Indonesia, 1995
|
355
|
1989-1994
|
Statistics (indirect, SDKI 1994)
|
Soemantri (1996)
|
Indonesia, 1995
|
650
|
1990
|
Statistics (Indirect, United Nations)
|
Stanton, C., et al. (1995)
|
Demography and Health Survey, 1997
|
334
|
1992-1997
|
|
|
- Factors
affecting this condition include low level socio-economic and education
background among rural peoples; socio-cultural and
behavioural condition; and
the limited availability of health-care infrastructure and facilities,
particularly access to the referral
hospitals.
- Other
risk factors causing maternal mortalities are pregnancy/birth at a young age and
illegal unsafe abortion, a problem common among
young people. Young people make
up around one fifth of the Indonesian population, 49 per cent of which are
girls aged 10-18 years.
According to the findings of the National
Socio-Economic Survey (SUSENAS), in 1998, 27 per cent of women aged 16
or under were married
at a young age. In urban areas, 19.5 per cent
of women were married under the age of 16, and in rural areas 30.8 per cent.
According
to a 1994 survey by the International Planned Parenthood Association,
of 2,558 recorded terminations of pregnancy, 58 per cent involved
women aged
15-24 years, around 62 per cent of whom were pregnant outside marriage.
Another study indicated that around two thirds
of young pregnant women
undergo unsafe abortions.
- The
low coverage of four visits of antenatal care (55.8 per cent in 1994) and
deliveries assisted by health professionals (51 per
cent in 1995) also
contributed to the high rate of neonatal mortalities, which amounted to 25 per
1,000 live births (Indonesia Demography
and Health Survey, IDHS, 1997). This
was equivalent to half the infant mortalities occurring within 28 days of birth
(neonatal period).
- The
infant mortality rate (IMR) and under-5 mortality rate (U-5MR) in Indonesia has
declined sharply from 68 and 97 per 1,000 live
births in the early 1990s to 46
and 58 per 1,000 live births (IDHS 1991, 1997). Some contributing factors
in reducing IMR and U-5MR
in Indonesia have been identified, such as improvement
of maternal and child health-care, public awareness about healthy lifestyles,
including child health-care, and the shift from traditional cultural values
towards a more modern culture of healthy living. These
conditions result in
opportunities for the public to obtain better education and information, as well
as adequate health-care information.
The reduction of IMR and U-5MR in
Indonesia occurred in all provinces and also in all urban and rural areas,
although the rate of
decline was not equal. Table 15 below shows that
female infants are more likely to celebrate their first birthdays.
Table 15
Infant mortality rate, 1995-1998
|
Male
|
Female
|
Male + Female
|
Urban
|
Rural
|
U + R
|
Urban
|
Rural
|
U + R
|
Urban
|
Rural
|
U + R
|
1995
|
49
|
67
|
61
|
38
|
54
|
49
|
43
|
61
|
55
|
1996
|
48
|
66
|
60
|
37
|
52
|
47
|
42
|
59
|
54
|
1997
|
47
|
64
|
58
|
36
|
51
|
46
|
41
|
57
|
52
|
1998
|
45
|
62
|
56
|
35
|
49
|
44
|
40
|
56
|
50
|
Source: Child Welfare Indicators, 1998.
- According
to the 1995 Household Survey, perinatal and neonatal disorders were the primary
cause of infant mortality in Java and Bali
(33.5 per cent), followed by death
from acute respiratory tract infection (26.9 per cent).
- Low
birth weight (LBW) is one indicator of the problem of malnourishment among
pregnant women and newborns. There was no progress
in reducing the prevalence
of LBW. The prevalence of LBW in 1992 was between 2 to 17 with an average of 7
per cent. Of the approximately
47.5 per cent of infants weighed, 7.1 per cent
suffered from low birth weight. The risk of mortality in LBW babies is high due
to
asphyxia, hypothermia and infection. Factors contributing to low birth
weight include absence or lack of antenatal care, premature
delivery, anaemic
and/or chronic energy protein deficiency among pregnant mothers, low level of
maternal education and mothers aged
less than 20 years. Approximately 36 per
cent of reproductive-age women have chronic energy protein deficiency (Ministry
of Health,
1996). Additionally, 52 per cent of trimester pregnant mothers were
anaemic (Household Survey, 1995), and 36 per cent of women experienced
complications during pregnancy, delivery or in the postnatal period.
- IDHS
1991 indicates that only 50 per cent of infants (0-3 months) were exclusively
breastfed.
- Approximately
7.4 million (37.5 per cent) of children under-5 in Indonesia in 1989 were
malnourished. The severe cases are estimated
to be around 6.3 per cent. The
high prevalence of malnourished children was also reflected in the high number
of stunted children.
In 1990, data from four provinces in east Indonesia showed
that around 44.8 per cent of under-5 children were stunted.
- The
1992 and 1994 SUSENAS found, respectively, that 21 per cent and 18.5 per cent of
citizens had symptoms of illness over the preceding
month. The 1995 Morbidity
and Disability Study indicated a much higher incidence of symptoms of illness,
at 55.8 per cent. Compared
to the 1992 Household Survey, the 1996 Household
Survey indicated a transition in the types of disease causing death in
Indonesia.
Among young children, infectious diseases were the main cause
of mortality, both in urban and rural areas. The main diseases suffered
by
infants and under-5 children in the 1990s were acute respiratory
infections, diarrhoea, measles and anaemia. According to the
1997 IDHS, the
prevalence of diarrhoea was 10 per cent and that of pertussis 9 per cent.
- Only
50 per cent of infants are completely immunized (BCG, DPT, Polio and Measles)
(IDHS 1997) and only 35 per cent of pregnant women
have received tetanus toxoid
immunization. The prevalence of several communicable diseases such as malaria,
tuberculosis, dengue
hemorrhagic fever and HIV/AIDS has shown an upward trend
and the transmission includes pregnant women, infants and children. Meanwhile,
among old people there was a shift in the main cause of mortality from
infectious diseases to chronic degenerative diseases. Thus,
Indonesia is faced
with a multiple burden. This situation will also greatly affect budget
distribution and allocation for measures
concerning survival and development of
the child.
- Although
the family planning programme has succeeded in containing the population growth,
the sheer size of the total population (201.4
million in 1997) remains a serious
problem in need of sustainable management, and the uneven accessibility to
contraceptives in Indonesia
needs to be addressed. According to calculations
made by the Central Bureau of Statistics based
- on
the 1990 census and the 1994 IDHS, the total fertility rate reached on average
2.9 in 19901995 and 2.6 in 1995-2000. The prevalence
of the use of
contraceptives during the period from 1991 to 1997 increased. The 1991 IDHS
estimated the prevalence of contraceptive
use at 50 per cent, which
increased to 57 per cent in 1997.
Table 16
Newly used contraceptive methods (%), 1996-1997 -
1997-1998
|
IUD
|
Pill
|
Condom
|
Sterilization
|
Injection
|
Implant
|
Vasectomy
|
1996-1997
|
13.9
|
26.5
|
1.3
|
2.2
|
46.4
|
21.5
|
0.1
|
1997-1998
|
13.4
|
32.3
|
1.2
|
0.0
|
42.4
|
10.1
|
1.0
|
- The
Government of Indonesia has also focused on providing health protection to the
communities by improving the health environment.
Access to safe drinking water
and sanitary means of excreta disposals are used as indicators for the health
environment. The provision
of safe drinking water and basic sanitation in the
early 1990s was still limited. Only 60 per cent of households had access to
clean
water, and about 30 per cent to basic sanitation.
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- In
the health sector, policies focused on: improvement of health services and
nutrition; enhancement of relevant legislation; management;
and health
environment. Based on these priorities, various programmes for women and
children were launched, such as health, education,
community health services,
prevention and eradication of communicable diseases and nutrition improvement.
These programmes were
supported by water sanitation improvements.
- To
address the high infant and maternal mortality rates, the Government implemented
a midwives placement programme in 54,129 villages
between 1992 and 1997, to
ensure the equal distribution of midwives and to improve the coverage and
quality of mother and child health
(MCH) services. To support this initiative,
all midwives at primary level of care apply basic standards of midwifery
services.
To monitor the quality of MCH care, including antenatal and neonatal
health services, all pregnant women are issued a home-based
MCH Handbook or
“Road to Health” card.
- Another
initiative to reduce mortality among pregnant women is clean and safe delivery
services provided by professional staff using
a partograph. The skill of
midwives in rural areas will be improved through a training in life-saving
skills to deal with and take
pre-admission action in cases of obstetric and
neonatal emergencies. All health centres are equipped to handle essential
obstetric
and neonatal emergencies care, while referral hospitals are equipped
to handle a comprehensive obstetric and neonatal emergencies
care. Starting
from 1999/2000, blood banks will be set up in several provinces.
- With
financial support from overseas, measures currently being developed by the
Government to deal with the issue of the health care
of young people include
integrating
- reproductive
health into the national education curriculum, pioneering the setting up of
counselling centres, providing reproductive
health services for young people at
health centres and in hospitals, and developing guidelines for young
people.
- In
addition, in 1999 the Commission on Reproductive Health was set up, comprising
four work teams: Maternal and Neonatal Health,
Family Planning, Adolescent
Health, and HIV/AIDS Prevention. The existence of these commissions, once
again, demonstrates the commitment
of the Ministry of Health (MOH) to
implementing the provisions of CRC and the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination
against Women.
- To
improve the awareness and participation of families, communities and husbands in
particular, in 1997 the national campaign “Mother
Friendly Movement”
was launched. This activity involves, among others, upgrading “Baby
Friendly Hospitals” to
“Mother Friendly Hospitals”, and
setting up “Mother Friendly” regencies and villages. Family and
community
initiatives include addressing the issue of the “three
delays” (delay in making a decision, delay in being referred,
and delay in
dealing with the problem) which are frequent non-technical causes of maternal
and infant mortality.
- To
accelerate the reduction of neonatal mortality rate, MOH has focused on
essential neonatal care, which includes promotion of spontaneous
breathing,
prevention of hypothermia, and infection; early and exclusive breastfeeding; and
management of sick neonates outside the
hospital, which involves neonatal visits
by professional staff on at least two occasions to provide health care during
the first
week and between weeks two and four. Each service provided is
recorded in the MCH handbook held by the mother from pregnancy until
the child
reaches its fifth birthday.
Table 17
Incidence of neonatal visits (NV),
1994-1997
|
NV
|
1994
|
46.20
|
1995
|
57.30
|
1996
|
71.10
|
1997
|
69.82
|
Source: 1998 Indonesia Health Profile.
- The
success of the immunization programme has proved that immunization is one of the
most cost-effective methods of reducing the infant
mortality rate and improving
the quality of child health, by providing immunity to diseases preventable by
immunization.
- Such
is the importance of the immunization programme that the Government, besides
implementing a national programme, also declared
a National Immunization Week
for three consecutive years (1995, 1996 and 1997), which was followed up by the
Immunization of School
Children Month, introduced in November
1998.
Table 18
Scope of the immunization programme
|
Urban areas, %
|
Rural areas, %
|
Indonesia, %
|
BCG
|
91.7
|
82.1
|
85.4
|
DPT
|
89.2
|
79.7
|
83.0
|
Polio
|
92.1
|
88.4
|
89.7
|
Measles
|
76.9
|
68.6
|
71.5
|
Source: National Social Economic Survey, 1998.
- Apart
from promotional and preventative measures focusing on aspects of public health,
MOH also adopted measures to manage the most
common diseases causing infant
mortality and disability, using a strategy called integrated management of
childhood illness which
was introduced to Indonesia by WHO/UNICEF in 1995.
These measures aim to improve the quality of case management and referral system
using a set clinical essential package, early diagnosis and case observation,
and to further improve family practices on child health
care and the rational
use of drugs, in particular the use of generic medicines.
Table 19
Causes of neonatal and infant deaths, 1995
|
%
|
Causes of infant death
|
%
|
Acute respiratory tract infection
|
29.5
|
Acute respiratory tract infection
|
30.8
|
Perinatal disorders
|
29.3
|
Perinatal disorders
|
21.6
|
Diarrhoea
|
13.9
|
Diarrhoea
|
15.3
|
Neurological disorder
|
5.5
|
Other parasitic infection
|
6.3
|
Neonatorum tetanus
|
3.7
|
Neurological disorder
|
5.5
|
Other parasitic infection
|
33.5
|
Neonatorum tetanus
|
3.6
|
- Addressing
the issue of energy and protein deficiency, the programme for improving
nutrition in Indonesia aims to reduce malnutrition
and overnutrition and the
diseases they cause. Therefore, the Government prioritizes dealing with energy
and protein deficiency,
vitamin A deficiency, iron deficiency anaemia, and
disorders arising from iodine deficiency.
- The
economic crisis which began in the mid-1997 has had an adverse impact on poor
households. The consequences of this was an increased
risk that families could
no longer afford basic health services and increased incidence of malnourished
children. Medical services
deteriorated as a result of excessively high prices
of medicines and equipment.
- To
address the impact of the economic crisis, in 1998 the Government launched the
social safety net programme (SSN) on the health
sector, which provides food
supplement for targeted infants aged 6-24 months using the method of
revitalization of integrated health
posts at the community level; free basic
health services, including treatment and family planning services for poor
families; subsidies
on essential medicines, and contributions towards pre-paid
premiums for health insurance for poor families.
- In
order to overcome the spread of HIV/AIDS, GOI has established an AIDS National
Committee. A number of prevention activities have
been undertaken, such as a
mass campaign through media and NGOs activities.
Progress made
- Providing
adequate health-care facilities to improve the scope and quality of maternal and
child health-care services is a priority
receiving the fullest attention from
the Government. Access to health-care facilities is improving. Yet, in poverty
pockets and
remote areas, healthcare facilities are in need of further
improvement.
- In
addition, the majority of villages with a large population of poor people have
yet to benefit from community-initiated health-care
facilities such as Posyandu,
maternity huts, and village drug dispensaries; or from government-provided
facilities such as health
centres, subhealth centres, and mobile health
centres.
- MMR
has declined over the past six years by around 5 per cent, from 404 per 100,000
live births in 1991 to 384 per 100,000 live births
in 1997. Nevertheless, MMR
remains an issue that deserves more attention.
Table 20
Scope of antenatal services, 1994-1997
|
One antenatal check-ups
|
Four antenatal check-ups
|
1994
|
74.2
|
55.8
|
1995
|
84.9
|
64.8
|
1996
|
84.1
|
65.7
|
1997
|
87.1
|
69
|
Source: Indonesian Health Profile, 1998.
- Beside
poor nutrition among pregnant mothers believed to contribute to the high MMR,
other contributing factors include poor health
behaviour and cultural factors in
which pregnant mothers prefer to avail themselves of the services of traditional
birth attendants.
For although 87.1 per cent of pregnant women received
antenatal care from health professionals, the coverage of delivery care by
health professionals was still low.
- In
1998, the coverage of delivery assisted by health professionals was 72.58 per
cent
in urban areas. In rural areas, the figure was not so high, as almost
two thirds (58.62 per cent)
of deliveries were assisted by traditional birth
attendants (TBAs), family members and
others.
Table 21
Percentage of births, by type of delivery
assistance, 1998
Type of
delivery assistance
|
Urban areas
|
Rural areas
|
Nationwide
|
Doctor
|
15.82
|
4.28
|
8.27
|
Midwife
|
56.74
|
34.49
|
42.18
|
Other medical worker
|
1.12
|
1.48
|
1.36
|
Traditional midwife
|
19.32
|
52.75
|
41.20
|
Family
|
6.44
|
5.87
|
6.06
|
Others
|
0.56
|
1.14
|
0.94
|
Source: 1998 National Social Economy Survey.
- IMR
is closely linked to MMR, the level of family education, the value system and
customs, cleanliness and environmental health, available
health-care services,
including delivery assistance, child-health care, breastfeeding and nutritious
food, prevention of diseases
through immunization, and leading a clean and
healthy lifestyle.
- Likewise,
the infant mortality rate has declined over the past six years by around
one third, from 68 per 1,000 live births in 1991
to 46 per 1,000 live
births in 1997.
- The
correct and immediate management of ARI cases helped reduce the incidence of
death among under-5s. The practice of taking sick
children suffering from ARI
increased to almost 70 per cent (IDHS, 1997). The child caretakers who
recognize the symptoms of certain
illnesses and immediately seek help is 78 per
cent (MCH Survey, 2000).
- As
part of the 1998-1999 programme to manage vitamin A deficiency, high doses of
Vitamin A were handed out to 71.98 per cent of the
target children (February
1998). As part of the programme to manage the effects of iodine
deficiency, iodine capsules were given
to 60.76 per cent of pregnant
women and to 45.26 per cent of postpartum (within the 40 days after delivery)
women. 58.26 per cent
of pregnant women were given iron tablets to prevent iron
deficiency anaemia.
- The
nutritional condition of under-5 children is monitored at Posyandu. In
1998-1999 there were 242,981 Posyandu, 94.3 per cent of
which actively reported.
The number of children weighed amounted to 14,335,313 infants, 77.57 per cent of
whom had “Road to
Health” cards. Fifty-five per cent of infants
were weighed at Posyandu, and of these 70.9 per cent recorded an increase in
body weight.
Table 22
Prevalence of nutritional problems
|
1992
|
1995
|
1998
|
1999
|
Source
|
Malnutrition
|
35.6
|
31.6
|
29.5
|
26.4
|
National Social Economy Survey
|
Gross malnutrition
|
7.2
|
11.6
|
10.1
|
8.1
|
National survey
|
Anaemia/iron deficiency
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pregnant women
|
63.5
|
50.9
|
-
|
-
|
HHS
|
Infants under 5
|
55.5
|
40.5
|
-
|
-
|
HHS
|
Source: 1998-1999 Annual Report of the Nutrition Development
Programme.
- As
per a global agreement at the 1990 World Summit for Children, exclusive
breastfeeding has proven to be strategic to Indonesian
human resource
development.
- At
a Mother’s Day commemoration in 1992, the President of Indonesia
proclaimed the National Breastfeeding Movement, which was
marked by a national
campaign recommending that mothers breastfeed their babies exclusively up to the
age of four months, and the
establishment of “Baby Friendly
Hospitals”.
Table 23
Indicators of exclusive breastfeeding
|
1991
|
1992
|
1993
|
1994
|
1997
|
Exclusive breastfeeding up to 4 months
|
52%
|
|
|
47%
|
52%
|
Supplementary foods in addition to breastmilk, 46 months
|
8%
|
|
|
8.5%
|
8.1%
|
Breastfeeding up to 2 years
|
61%
|
|
|
63%
|
66%
|
“Baby Friendly Hospitals”
|
|
3%
|
11%
|
14%
|
|
- According
to the 1997 Demographic Survey of Indonesian Health, 8 per cent of newborn
infants were breastfed within one hour of birth,
and 53 per cent began
breastfeeding on the first day. In 1998, mothers in urban areas breastfed their
babies exclusively on average
until the child was 4.25 months old. Mothers in
rural areas breastfed their babies exclusively for 3.83 months (source:
1998 Child Welfare Indicators).
- The
1997 IDHS suggested that the contraceptive use prevalence had not increased
significantly during the period 1997-1999 (57.5-60
per cent in urban areas and
57 per cent in rural areas). This condition was partly caused by the
self-reliant policy in the family
planning programme in mid-1997, when the
public’s purchasing power was declining due to the economic crisis.
- Another
problem threatening the survival and development of the child is AIDS/HIV+.
Since the first reported case in 1987, new cases
of AIDS and HIV+ have been
growing annually. As well as AIDS/HIV+ prevention programmes, the Department of
Health has also developed
innovative measures to target a very specific group,
by integrating AIDS/HIV+ prevention into antenatal and planned parenthood
services.
- 63.7
per cent of those infected are men and 33.3 per cent women, while the sex of the
remaining 3 per cent is unknown. Productive-age
groups account for the largest
proportion of those infected, with 20-29-year-olds comprising 46.6 per cent of
the total, 30-39-year-olds
28.4 per cent, and 40-49-year-olds 10 per
cent.
- Among
younger people, children under 1 year account for 0.4 per cent of AIDS/HIV+
cases and children aged 1-4 years for 0.3 per cent.
Of 207 AIDS cases, 103
(49.8 per cent) have died.
Table 24
Number of AIDS/HIV+ cases, 1992-1998
|
Number of new cases
|
Cumulative total
|
AIDS
|
HIV+
|
AIDS
|
HIV+
|
1992
|
10
|
18
|
34
|
41
|
1993
|
17
|
96
|
51
|
137
|
1994
|
16
|
71
|
67
|
208
|
1995
|
20
|
69
|
87
|
277
|
1996
|
32
|
105
|
119
|
382
|
1997
|
33
|
65
|
152
|
447
|
1998
|
71
|
54
|
207
|
537
|
Source: Directorate General of the Prevention of Communicable
Disease and Environmental Health, MOH, 2000.
- As
a result of the recent economic crisis in Indonesia, the public nutritional and
health status, particularly of vulnerable groups
(women and children from
impoverished families), has declined. One very serious threat is the emergence
of cases of kwashiorkor
and marasmic due to undernutrition, as well as the
increased incidence of illness, which have been further exacerbated by the
deteriorating
economic situation of this vulnerable group.
- The
Government also increased the number of hospitals from 835 in 1995 to 858 in
1997. Along with this growth in health-care facilities,
the Government has also
raised the number of health-care workers. In 1996, the doctor-health centre
ratio was 1:1, and doctors were
available in 88.7 per cent of health centres. A
mere 0.4 per cent of public health centres had dentists. The percentage of
health
centres with dentists remained low, at just 45.1.
- To
improve the scope and quality of maternal and child health-care services, the
Government has been placing midwives in rural areas
since 1992-1993. In
1997-1998, midwives had been placed in 98.4 per cent of villages in
Indonesia.
Table 25
Health-care facilities in Indonesia,
1992-1997
|
1992
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
Public health centre
|
|
6 954
|
6 984
|
7 103
|
7 177
|
7 243
|
Public health treatment centre
|
|
1 459
|
1 681
|
1 645
|
1 676
|
1 997
|
Ancillary public health centre
|
|
19 977
|
20 466
|
20 672
|
21 071
|
21 115
|
Mobile public health centre
|
|
6 024
|
6 382
|
6 514
|
6 849
|
6 605
|
Integrated service post
|
245 255
|
251 459
|
244 591
|
243 845
|
244 032
|
|
Village drug dispensary
|
|
9 452
|
6 999
|
11 628
|
11 474
|
|
Rural birthing clinic
|
|
6 701
|
5 951
|
13 301
|
12 377
|
|
Source: 1998 Health Profile.
Table 26
Number of health-care workers per 100,000
inhabitants, 1996
|
Number per 100,000 inhabitants
|
Doctor
|
10.7
|
Pharmacist
|
3.5
|
Nurse
|
39
|
Midwife
|
29.6
|
Source: 1998 Health Profile.
- Despite
several government initiatives to ensure that every child has access to
appropriate basic health-care services, lobbying is
still needed to ensure
mainstreaming the development of the health service sector into national
development plans. This need is
evident from the fact that less than 5 per cent
of the total national development budget is allocated to the development of the
health-care
sector. The total development budget and routine budget allocated
to MOH
in 1998-1999 rose by 31.48 per cent over the previous year, from
Rp 2,899.8 billion to
Rp 3,812.7 billion.
- MOH
continued to focus on preventative measures. The budget for preventative
measures increased 2.7 times, from Rp 288.5 billion
in 1994-1995 to Rp 787
billion in 19981999. The proportion of the total budget allocated to
preventative measures also increased,
from 58.6 to 69 per
cent.
Table 27
MOH routine budget and development budget
allocation, 1994-1995 - 1997-1998
(in billions of rupiah)
|
1994-1995
|
1995-1996
|
1996-1997
|
1997-1998
|
Routine national
|
43 350.9
|
47 240.0
|
56 113.7
|
62 158.8
|
Routine health
|
516.1
|
659.4
|
739.4
|
1 034.1
|
Routine health: routine national
|
1.2%
|
1.3%
|
1.3%
|
1.7%
|
Development national
|
27 395.3
|
30 783.5
|
34 502.7
|
38 927.9
|
Development health
|
1 001.0
|
1 106.7
|
1 400.8
|
1 820.7
|
Development health: development national
|
3.6 %
|
3.6 %
|
4.1 %
|
4.7 %
|
Per capita health budget
|
8 178.3
|
9 188.1
|
10 809.1
|
14 403.3
|
Source: Planning Bureau of MOH, 1999.
Figure 2
Upward trend in preventative and curative budgets,
1994-1995 - 1998-1999
- MOH
has publicized Act No. 23 of 1992 concerning health through government,
private sector and professional organization networks. At the central and
regional levels, the 1992 Health Act was publicized on
several occasions early
in the year in which this law came into effect. With regard to implementation
of Act No. 23 of 1992 concerning
health, the provisions relevant to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child are set forth in Chapter V, Section Two,
including among
others articles 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18. However, the
Convention on the Rights of the Child has yet to be publicized intensively
and
comprehensively by the health authorities.
- One
difficulty faced in implementing the 1992 Health Act with regard to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child concerns the absence
of legislation
concerning the provisions set forth in article 15, paragraph 3, on specific
medical intervention to save the life
of the pregnant woman and her child. The
same can be said about the provisions of article 16, paragraph 3, on artificial
insemination.
With regard to the in vitro fertilization programme, an
instruction of the Minister of Health, accompanied by a decree of the Minister
of Health, have been issued concerning the executive committee for assessing
applications for in vitro fertilization in hospitals.
The Minister of Health
also issued a decree concerning the licensing of hospitals providing an in vitro
fertilization service.
Priorities for the next five years
- In
the areas of maternal and child health, nutrition, family planning and
environmental health, implementation of the already existing
programmes will be
accelerated and improved. Budget allocation for these activities should,
whenever possible, be increased gradually.
- GOI
will continue to promote and protect the best interests of all children by
focusing on the critical stages in the life of children.
The interventions will
have major and long-lasting effects, such as making pregnancy safer, optimal
early childhood care and development,
and the opportunity for children to
develop fully their individual capacities in the area of adolescent health. The
poverty reduction
strategy over the next five years will focus on short-term
transient poverty and structural poverty. The target is to reduce the
incidence
of poverty and improve the social indicators on health, nutrition, education and
access to clean water, among others.
VII. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
(arts. 28,
29 and 31)
A. Education, including vocational training and guidance (art.
28)
Situation
- First,
it should be noted that the concept of compulsory elementary education currently
in effect in Indonesia is not identical to
compulsory education as implemented
in developed countries. The compulsory elementary education programme in
Indonesia is more closely
equated with universal education, that is opening up
learning opportunities by encouraging parents to send their children to school
once they reach school age.
- In
this sense, the concept of universal education in Indonesia was introduced prior
to 1994, and is effective for the six years of
elementary education.
Education, however, is not free.
- Since
the beginning of this reporting period, general secondary education, vocational
secondary education and special secondary education
have been available in
Indonesia. In addition, general secondary education and religious secondary
education are also available.
While general secondary schools are to be found
at least at regency level, vocational secondary schools are not necessarily
so.
- Until
the beginning of this reporting period, not all children were able to attend
secondary schools. This is because, among others,
school fees are relatively
high, the location of schools is not accessible to prospective students, and the
selection system is based
on catchment area.
- General
secondary schools offer in Year 3 specialized course programmes known as
“specializations”. Specializations offered
by general secondary
schools include a language programme, a science studies programme, and a social
studies programme. Students
choose to take a particular programme appropriate
to their ability and interests, although, in some cases, teachers decide the
programme
to be taken. However, there is some flexibility in that Year3
students are given the chance to switch programmes if they wish to
do so, up
until the end of the first semester of Year 3.
- Vocational
secondary schools offer a range of education programmes based on the needs of
the employment sector. Thus, the education
programmes at vocational secondary
schools are divided into six groups: (a) farming and fisheries, (b) technology
and industry,
(c) business and management, (d) public welfare, (e) tourism, and
(f) arts and crafts.
- In
reality, since the design of these programmes is based on a centralized
curriculum, they cannot accommodate specific local needs
and capacities.
- Towards
the beginning of this reporting period, higher education institutions could not
accommodate all general secondary school graduates.
The cost of education,
tuition fees in particular, at private higher education establishments is not
affordable for many families
or parents.
- From
the beginning of this reporting period, information about education/vocational
training and guidance has been quite widely available
and can be found in
various mass media publications.
- Concerning
school discipline, at the beginning of this period there were no provisions or
regulations issued by the Government or
related institutions to govern this.
Discipline in schools tends to be militaristic, as reflected, among others, in
the wearing
of uniforms; lining up; the class insignia worn on the
student’s shirt sleeve that are similar in appearance to symbols of
rank
used in the military; and in the various forms of punishment meted out to
students who break the rules (for example having to
do push-ups).
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- On
measures taken to make elementary education compulsory and free of charge for
all children, the following can be reported.
- Since
1994, via Presidential Instruction No. 1 of 1994, universal education has been
extended from six years of elementary education
to nine years, including
elementary school and junior secondary school. The minimum age of entry to
elementary school is 6 years.
- A
number of measures have been adopted to put into effect nine years of universal
education, including raising the absorption capacity
and quality of education,
publicizing the nineyear universal education programme, and raising awareness
among parents and children
of school age of the importance of education. Of
these measures, increasing absorption capacity is given top priority and takes
up considerable funds and effort.
- In
general, between 1993-1994 and 1997-1998, the development budget allocated to
the Department of Education and Culture (now the
Department of National
Education) both in rupiah and foreign aid/loans increased, although the amount
remains lower than that allocated
to education in other countries, including
neighbouring countries such as Thailand and Singapore.
- To
raise the quality of elementary education and ensure nine years of universal
education, aid has been granted by donor nations,
the major portion coming from
the World Bank. It should also be noted that measures adopted with regard to
the nine-year universal
education programme continue to prioritize services for
non-disabled rather than disabled children.
- The
target set for the 2003/04 fiscal year to provide nine years of elementary
education for 37 million children aged 7-15 years will
be met.
- A
range of universal education systems has been designed, incorporating the
education options available both inside and outside schools.
At elementary and
junior secondary school level, the alternatives are available either at regular
schools, special schools, “Out-or”
schools or religious
schools.
- Regular
elementary schools include standard elementary schools, small elementary schools
and Pamong elementary schools (these are
“open” schools which
educate local administrators). Special elementary schools include integrated
elementary schools.
“Out- or” schools offer a Package A learning
programme and an equivalent elementary school programme. Religious schools
include Madrasah Ibtidaiyah and Islamic boarding schools. Junior secondary
schools include standard junior secondary schools, small
junior secondary
schools and open junior secondary schools; and special junior secondary schools
include special schools and integrated
junior secondary schools. Special junior
secondary schools offer Package B and equivalent junior secondary school
programmes. Religious
schools include Madrasah Tsanawiyah (MTs) and Islamic
boarding schools.
- The
system of universal education is categorized on the basis of three criteria:
remote location, densely populated location, and
standard location. In remote
areas, small elementary schools are provided. In standard locations, universal
education is provided
through educational establishments appropriate to the
characteristics of the relevant community and area. These educational
establishments
comprise seven types: traditional (conventional) elementary
schools, Madrasah Ibtidaiyah, Pamong elementary schools, study group
programmes,
special schools, special elementary schools, and integrated elementary schools.
For remote areas that are difficult
to access, the Government has set up a
visiting teacher programme.
- For
the purpose of implementing universal education, elementary school subsidies are
provided, which essentially are meant to cover
some of the mandatory fees of
students at State elementary schools. It should be noted that the provision of
these subsidies does
not undermine the responsibility of the regional government
to establish and manage elementary schools.
- To
facilitate the learning-teaching process, the Government provides learning
facilities for various courses and types of education.
These, however, remain
inadequate in number.
- Elementary
school learning facilities are financed primarily by funds for the development
of Presidential Instruction Elementary Schools,
from the development and
maintenance subsidy for State elementary schools, from the budget allocation for
operating and maintenance
costs, and from funds raised by the school and the
public. Provision for elementary schools is planned at the central level and
their distribution is planned on a nationwide scale.
- Besides
providing learning facilities, the Government also provides the curriculum for
teachers, textbooks and library books. Provision
of elementary school textbooks
is implemented through the Presidential Instruction Elementary School
programme.
- Teachers
have been instructed to raise their teaching standard and, to this end, various
upgrading centres and programmes have been
put in place. A teacher upgrading
programme has been put in place specifically for teachers of science,
mathematics and English.
- Following
the onset of the economic crisis, the Government began providing education
assistance through the social safety network.
One example of this assistance is
providing scholarships for students from impoverished families to cover their
schooling expenses.
- On
measures to stimulate the development of a range of types of secondary
education, it can be reported that, in general, policy on
general and vocational
secondary education has been set through Government Regulation No. 29 of 1990
(art. 3, para. 2). Policy on
specializations at general secondary schools are
set in the National Education Act (art. 11, para. 2) and in Government
Regulation No. 29 of 1990 (art. 1 (2); art 3, para. (l); and art. 4, para.
(1)).
- Authority
to determine the specialized programmes offered at a general secondary school
lies with the school itself. Likewise, vocational
secondary schools have the
authority to offer the education programmes that, in general, are appropriate to
the potential of the
region concerned. The Government has also given the
private sector the opportunity to establish these schools, which are also
allowed
flexibility in implementing the current curriculum.
- To
improve the efficiency of secondary education, a comprehensive and continuous
quality control system in this regard may include
a system of indicators of
education quality based on standard (not ad hoc) assessment of various
educational quality indicators,
as well as a national examination system of
assessing the quality of education, in particular the learning output of
students.
- With
regard to vocational secondary schools, the Government has made some fairly
fundamental changes that will result in these schools
becoming more
“demand-driven” than “supply-driven”. This change,
which was implemented in 1995, is known
as the dual system education, which
strives to match the skills provided at vocational secondary schools with the
needs of the labour
market, by allowing students to apply their skills in the
real job market.
- To
develop vocational schools, the Government has obtained assistance from the
Asian Development Bank as well as from other donor
countries.
Universal higher education
- The
function of higher education in the national education system is governed by
Act No. 2 of 1989, the implementation of which is
governed by
Government Regulation No. 30 of 1990.
- To
guarantee quality control, a system of accreditation for higher education
establishments that employs specific indicators drawn
up by an agency known as
the National Accreditation Agency or BAN (Badan Akreditasi Nasional) is in
place.
- The
only system for selecting new students at State higher education institutions is
the new student selection process, which comprises
two components: (a)
assessment of interest and ability of around 20-25 per cent of new students who
are selected without testing,
their selection being based on their performance
at Years 1 and 2 or general secondary school, and in particular subjects, and
(b)
written test known as Higher Education Entry Test, of which only one format
is used for all higher education establishments.
- On
measures to increase the absorption capacity of higher education institutions,
the Government continues to maintain the Distance
Learning System pioneered in
1975, which forms the basis for the Open University education offered by the
Department of Education
and Culture since 1985. The main purpose of this
innovation is to raise the absorption capacity of higher education
establishments
in order to meet the demand for higher education graduates needed
for national and State development.
- To
better accommodate the range of students’ abilities, higher educational
establishments apply a Semester Credit Unit System.
- Similarly,
in order to widen the range of higher education services, the Government has
approved a change in the status of institutions
for secondary schoolteachers,
from teacher training colleges to universities.
- On
measures to ensure that information on education is available and accessible to
all children, education agencies are basically
given the scope and authority to
provide and post information in all available media. Also, higher education
establishments or agencies
offering courses or guidance are vested with the
authority to make direct contact with pupils through schools.
- Regarding
development of school discipline, unfortunately, almost no measures have been
adopted.
Progress made
- With
regard to elementary education, progress has been made in a number of areas. In
the 1994/95 school year, the net participation
rate of children of elementary
school age was 94.71 per cent, while the figure for junior secondary
schools was 43.13 per cent.
These data indicate that the majority of children
of school age in Indonesia are enrolled in
school.
- Notwithstanding
the various initiatives and successes with regard to universal education, the
fact that only 73 per cent of children
enrolled in elementary education were
still in school at the end of the 1995/96 academic year suggests that many
children experience
difficulties in completing their elementary education. It
is not surprising that only 71.29 per cent of elementary schoolchildren
go
on to junior high school (1995/96) and that the dropout rate at elementary
school is 3.12 per cent (1994/95). At elementary school
level, the dropout rate
increases from 2 per cent in Grades 1 and 2 to 3 per cent in Grade 3 and
above.
- It
should also be noted that these initiatives have yet to reach all children of
school age, in particular street children and child
workers. The support from
ILO/IPEC and others have helped these children to have elementary education
through equivalent education.
(Package A which is equivalent to elementary
school, and Package B which is equivalent to junior secondary school).
- As
a consequence of the economic crisis there has been a decline in the net
participation rate in elementary schools. However, it
should be noted that,
unlike the net participation rate in junior high schools, this decline is not
very significant. It is likely
that this was due to Government intervention via
the social safety net (SSN) programme in the education sector. SSN seems to
have
been sufficient to ensure that children remain at school.
- Thus
it can be concluded that the economic crisis has not had a negative impact on
the programme of universal education from the point
of view of the gross
participation rate, net participation rate, dropout rate and the repetition rate
at elementary school level.
- Conversely,
at the junior secondary school level there has been a rise in the dropout rate
as a result of the crisis. The dropout
rate at the onset of the crisis
(1997/98) rose to 9.5 per cent and then to 14.7 per cent the following
year (1998/99). Over the
subsequent two years, the dropout rate then fell,
perhaps due to the scholarship assistance provided through SSN.
- However,
SSN undoubtedly has its limitations, and several cases indicate that a high
percentage of children did not receive this assistance
through SSN.
- In
1998/99, around 3.5 million elementary school children received scholarships
allowing them to remain in school. The non-State
sector, including the National
Foster Parents Movement (GNOTA), provided assistance for around 1 million
children. This means that
about 2.5 million children from impoverished
families have yet to receive scholarships.
- Growth
in the number of State and private nursery schools, special schools, elementary
schools and junior secondary schools, between
1994/95 and 1998/99 showed an
upward trend. Meanwhile, the number of teachers fell in the case of State
elementary school teachers
and increased in the case of State junior secondary
school teachers. The teacher-pupil ratio remained unchanged for both elementary
and junior secondary schools.
- Additionally,
the number of elementary schools in rural areas exceeds that of elementary
schools in urban areas by more than threefold.
Likewise, the number of junior
secondary schools in rural areas is more than double the number in urban
areas.
- From
a gender perspective, male and female participation in elementary school
education, including Madrasah Tsanawiyah (MTs), showed
no significant
difference, even though data from 1994/95 through 1998/99 indicate a larger
number of male students than female students.
At junior secondary school level,
including MTs, in 1994/95 the number of male students exceeded that of female
students, but in
subsequent years there were more female than male
students.
- The
repetition rate at elementary and junior secondary school level indicates that
more male students than female students repeated.
- The
illiteracy rate for the period 1994-1998 for all age groups declined. Thus, it
can be concluded that the ability to read and
write improved over the same
period.
- Supplies
of textbooks have yet to reach all children, even though textbooks have been
published by the Government and are meant to
be distributed free of charge.
They have failed to reach all children for several reasons, including the fact
that the distribution
to remote schools is costly, and the number of textbooks
provided does not correspond to the number of students.
- The
ability of teaching staff (teachers) has not improved significantly even though
teachers have participated in upgrading. This
could be due to the fact that
their education background is largely inadequate (they do not hold teaching
diplomas), that they are
not authorized to teach (do not have a teaching
certificate), or that they lack the necessary competence (the subject taught
differs
from the teacher’s educational background).
- As
for secondary education, it can be reported that as a result of the economic
crisis there has been a downward trend in the number
of new enrolments at
general secondary and vocational secondary schools.
- Between
1993/94 and 1998/99 the number of teachers at State general secondary schools
and State vocational secondary schools increased,
while the number of teachers
in private general secondary schools dropped over the same period.
- Between
1993/94 and 1998/99, the number of public general secondary schools and State
vocational secondary schools showed an upward
trend, while there was a downturn
in the number of private general secondary schools.
- With
regard to measures taken to link and harmonize education and market demand
through vocational secondary schools and the PSG (Pendidikan
Sistim Ganda, or
dual system education which combines theory and practical work) programme, in
fact only 14 per cent of vocational
secondary students have access to adequate
educational facilities.
- With
regard to higher education, it can be reported that between 1995/96
and 1998/99, the number of State tertiary education establishments
remained
unchanged at 77 units, while the number of private tertiary education
establishments increased. A greater number of higher
education institutions or
higher education agencies are to be found in urban areas rather than in rural
areas. The number of students
tended to increase year after year, and data from
1994/95 through 1998/99 indicate that the number of male students exceeds that
of female students.
- Especially
for teaching and other staff working in small towns and rural areas,
Open University is available. This is beneficial
both to those involved
and the Government, because they can improve their level of education without
leaving their posts. Open University
also improves the quality of the
learning-teaching process in higher education institutions as instructional
material developed by
the Open University is generally used as a guideline. In
other words, the Open University has become the best forum for communication
and
development of instructional material.
- On
education information, it can be reported that information on various education
programmes is relatively widely available. In
particular, information about
higher education programmes or courses and guidance offered by the private
sector can be found in advertisements
in the media. It should be noted,
however, that little information is available on vocational secondary
schools.
- On
school discipline, in light of the fact that no measures have been adopted,
there is no progress to report. On the contrary, there
had been several cases
in which teachers inflicted corporal punishment or inhuman punishment on their
students.
Factors and difficulties
- With
regard to elementary education, there are few difficulties to report. The only
serious challenge in meeting the targets for
universal education results from
the economic crisis that began in 1997. In addition to creating supply-side
challenges, the crisis
has also impacted on demand. Not only are poor parents
and families affected by the crisis unable to pay school fees (in particular
indirect costs), children of elementary school age are forced to take an active
part in contributing to the family income.
- On
secondary education, the main difficulty is faced by vocational secondary
schools, in particular with regard to the provision of
facilities, practical
work equipment and laboratories. As a consequence, a fairly large percentage of
students (in particular those
who have had no opportunity to do PSG) have had no
practical experience in their field of education.
- On
higher education, currently Indonesia lacks the capacity to apply a system of
universal education at this level. Thus, almost
no progress has been made
during this period. However, it should be noted that, according to several
observers, at the time the
crisis hit there was a rise in the number of
enrolments, presumably because some students who had previously had the economic
capacity
to pursue higher education overseas transferred to higher education
institutes in Indonesia.
- On
education information, in light of the expense involved in providing
information, no special information service is available as
yet on State-run
higher education programmes.
- On
factors and difficulties regarding school discipline, it can be reported that
the main difficulty lies in the militaristic culture
of enforcing
discipline.
Priorities for the next five years
- Over
the next five years, the Government will continue to prioritize the full
realization of universal education at elementary school
level, although it has
been forced to reschedule this goal as a result of several problems that have
emerged. The following quote
is particularly
pertinent:
Rescheduling of the Realization of Nine Years of
Universal Elementary Education (elementary school-junior secondary school).
Realization
of universal education set for 2004 has been postponed to 2009.
According to the Coordinating Minister of Public Welfare and Poverty
Alleviation, this rescheduling was due to the economic crisis in 1998, which has
resulted in an increase in the number of poor people.
An additional
contributing factor is a lack of government funds. (Source:
Kompas, 3 March 2000).
- Regarding
secondary education the Government is currently reviewing the relevance of
specializations. For example, wherever necessary,
the need to offer
specializations in Year 3 or earlier will be reviewed. In addition, the
Government is planning to review whether
or not vocational education still needs
to be offered at secondary level.
- On
higher education, with the entry into force of Act No. 22 of 2000 on Regional
Government, the subsidies for State tertiary education
establishments will be
withdrawn.
B. Aims of education (art. 29)
Situation
- On
aims of education, in brief it can be reported that prior to the start of this
reporting period there was relatively little focus
on “the development of
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and for the principles
enshrined in the Charter of
the United Nations” (art. 29, para. 1
(b)) compared to the aims of education set forth in paragraph 1 of the same
article.
- Nonetheless,
this does not mean that good progress had been made at the start of this
reporting period.
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- Broadly
speaking, it can be reported that, with regard to the development of respect for
human rights and fundamental freedoms, no
measures whatsoever have been adopted
by the Government during this reporting period. However, the National
Commission on Human
Rights, which is a statutory independent agency, is
currently organizing several workshops aimed at certain target groups, including
those involved in elementary through tertiary education.
- With
assistance from UNESCO, the National Commission on Human Rights, in cooperation
with the Curriculum Centre, the National Institute
for Research and Development
and the Ministry of National Education, organized training for educators in
Cianjur (West Java) and
Kupang (East Nusa Tenggara). The main purpose of this
training was to publicize human rights and to gauge the extent to which the
concept of rights is integrated into the curriculum, in particular in relevant
subjects. In the 1999/2000 fiscal year, the National
Institute for Research and
Development and the Ministry of National Education also conducted a study on the
possibility of integrating
human rights education into the school curriculum
starting from elementary to secondary education.
- Meanwhile,
with regard to establishing attitudes based on moral values, Pancasila and
Citizenship Education remained on the curriculum
in this reporting period. On
integrating what can be interpreted as local culture, a local content was
introduced into the curriculum
at elementary school level.
- With
regard to preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society, in
the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance,
equality of sexes, and friendship
among all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons of
indigenous origin, religious
education continues to be a compulsory subject at
school from elementary through tertiary levels. However, it should be noted
that
the concepts of equality of the sexes is not integrated into school
subjects, particularly at elementary level (elementary school
and junior
secondary school). On development of respect for the natural environment,
measures to integrate education on the natural
environment into the curriculum
have been adopted, in particular through science studies at elementary school,
including biology
and chemistry.
- Also,
with assistance from Swiss Contact, learning materials for environmental studies
have been developed for several vocational
secondary schools in pilot project
areas. These learning materials are being developed in cooperation with the
Vocational Education
Development Centre (VEDC) in Malang, through a project that
began in 1997-1998 and will end
in 2000.
- In
addition, with regard to development of respect for the natural environment, the
Faculty of Forestry at Bogor Agricultural University,
in cooperation with the
local government, has developed integration of the natural environment in the
form of conservation of forest
resources into elementary school
subjects.
Progress made
- On
development of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, not much can
be reported since relevant measures have just recently
been adopted following
the shift in the national political situation. However, it can be reported that
a study conducted by the
National Institute for Research and Development
(Ministry of National Education) has produced several learning-teaching models
integrating
the concept of human rights into subjects such as Pancasila and
Citizenship, Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesia Language) and Religion.
- On
development of respect for the natural environment, it can be reported that with
regard to the cooperative project with Swiss Contact,
a number of vocational
secondary schools now use waste products found in the natural environment to
make compost.
Factors and difficulties
- To
date, there appears to be no indication of any special focus on integrating the
concept of human rights into the curriculum, perhaps
due to a lack of competence
in this field.
Priorities for the next five years
- On
personal and aptitude development, bearing in mind that a centralized and
homogeneous curriculum gives very little opportunity
for developing respect for
differences in aptitude and interests of children, the Government is currently
considering the development
of a differentiated curriculum.
- Meanwhile,
on the development of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, there
are no future plans and priorities because
there has yet to be an evaluation of
the initiatives currently being undertaken.
- On
development of respect for parents, etc. the Government is currently considering
making moral education a subject from elementary
school upward. The focus here
would be on developing the morals of the child. It is expected that moral
education would not overlap
with religious education, which would continue to
focus on theological aspects.
- To
prepare the child to lead a responsible life in a free society, the Government,
in this regard represented by the Department of
Religious Affairs, is currently
proposing a review of religious education as taught in schools, because, as
explained by the Minister
of Religious Affairs, current religious education
tends to focus on the extrinsic and theological aspects only.
C. Leisure, recreation and cultural activities (art.
31)
Situation
- Since
the start of this reporting period, recreational facilities accessible to
children could be said to be non-existent. Likewise,
there are no specific
regulations providing for offering children the opportunity to play and take
part in recreational activities.
For elementary education level (elementary
school and junior secondary school), there is no special policy concerning the
opportunity
to play and take part in recreational activities, although somewhat
ironically, school grounds do tend to be used for just this purpose.
- Recreation
centres, particularly in large cities, are developed by the private sector and
are commercialized. This means that only
children from the privileged social
economic class have access to such recreation centres.
- As
a consequence, children play “naturally” using the public space
available, which in fact is not meant for this purpose.
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- To
date, there is no indication of any relevant measures having been
adopted.
Progress made
- No
progress whatsoever has been made during this reporting period.
Factors and difficulties
- The
concept of “child perspective”, in particular with regard to city
planning, appears to be unknown to planners.
VIII. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES
(arts. 22; 38; 39; 40; 37
(b)-(d); and 32-36)
A. Children in situations of emergency
1. Refugee children
(art. 22)
Situation
- It
is a sad fact that during this reporting period Indonesia has experienced a
problem with refugee children following the referendum
in East Timor in August
1999, as well as a problem with internally displaced children (IDC) as a
consequence of non-international
armed conflict in Aceh over recent years and
ethnic conflict, social tension or unrest in several regions such as West
Kalimantan,
Central Sulawesi, and Maluku following the fall of the new order
Government.
- Children
who can be classified as refugee children at present within the territory of the
Republic of Indonesia come from East Timor.
They entered Indonesian territory
along with adult refugees fleeing from the unrest that erupted following the
referendum in East
Timor.
- Data
from the Coordinating Minister of Public Welfare and Poverty Alleviation
indicate that since December 1999 a total of 256,098
East Timorese are recorded
as having taken refuge in East Nusa Tenggara, the province of Indonesia that
borders directly on East
Timor. Unfortunately, the Office of the Coordinating
Minister of Public Welfare and Poverty Alleviation has no breakdown of refugee
figures based on age and sex. Thus, it can only be estimated that around 40 per
cent of the total number of refugees are children
under the age of 18.
This means that around 102,440 East Timorese children are refugees in
Indonesia.
- Based
on information gathered by local authorities and UNHCR, it is estimated that as
many as 1,236 children are separated from their
parents or their families.
These children are currently scattered across refugee camps in Belu, North
Central Timor, South Central
Timor, and Kupang regencies. There are also
indications that between September and November 1999 several children left the
territory
of East Nusa Tenggara: at the end of September, around 135 children
left Kupang headed for Semarang (provincial capital of Central
Java); at the end
of October 1999 around 250 children headed for Nagrek in the district of Subang,
West Java province; and in November
1999 around 68 children were taken from the
border (East Timor) and brought to Kupang for commercial adoption.
- Meanwhile,
on-site observations by the National Commission on the Protection of the Child
at refugee camps in Atambua, Kafemanu, Naen,
Tuapukan, Naiborat and Kupang
(October 1999) indicate that the condition and situation of children in the
refugee camps give cause
for concern. Children in refugee camps suffer from a
lack of food and nutrition and are
- vulnerable
to various diseases. The continuity of their education and their very survival
are threatened. It is estimated that to
date around 286 children aged between 2
and 5 years have died from malnutrition or disease.
- On
IDC, data gathered by the Office of the Coordinating Minister of Public Welfare
and Poverty Alleviation (June 2000) indicates that
the number of internally
displaced persons (IDP) resulting from non-international armed conflict in Aceh
and in other areas is in
excess of 700,000 people.
- It
is again unfortunate that the data are not disaggregated by age and sex. The
principal difficulty in gathering data lies in the
lack of trained workers
experienced in dealing with this kind of problem. However, it is estimated that
between 38 and 43 per cent
of the total number of IDP comprise children under
the age of 18. Based on this estimate, there are between 190,000 and 250,000
children who can be categorized as IDC currently in refugee camps throughout
Indonesia.
- The
condition of IDC in both government refugee camps and refugee camps provided on
a community initiative is fairly disturbing.
Lacking both food and medicine,
the children are vulnerable to diseases such as upper-respiratory tract
infection, diarrhoea and
typhus.
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- In
the light of all the constraints encountered during a situation of economic
crisis that absorbs much energy and thought, and during
a period of transition
towards a more democratic way of life, Indonesia has strived to the maximum
extent to adopt measures in accordance
with article 22, paragraph 1, both
with regard to refugee children and IDC. Broadly, these measures include
providing humanitarian
aid and repatriating refugee children to East Timor or
relocating IDC and their families.
- With
regard to the provision of humanitarian aid, the Government of Indonesia through
the Department of Social Affairs and the Office
of the Coordinating Minister of
Public Welfare and Poverty Alleviation and in cooperation with international
organizations such as
UNHCR, ICRC, UNICEF and UNDP, as well as with
international NGOs, has channelled humanitarian aid in the form of food, refugee
camps,
clothing, education, health services, supplementary food for infants,
sanitation, and other forms of aid.
- For
the purposes of the present report, one example of humanitarian aid extended to
refugee children is a measure initiated in cooperation
with UNICEF, which, among
other things, involves providing clean water, sanitation facilities, health
and education services, and
psychosocial help for children. The education aid
provided under this initiative is outlined below.
- Teacher
training. Training has been provided to 131 teachers, 111 of whom teach in
emergency schools (tent or barracks schools set up in refugee
camps) and the
remaining 20 are local schoolteachers. In addition, training has been given to
63 teachers whose job is to provide
lessons to around 7,500 students in 32
emergency schools in nine subdistricts in Belu
Regency.
- Monitoring
and supervision. To upgrade the quality of teachers’ performance in
class, a monitoring team makes routine inspections and supervises the
learning-teaching process in the emergency schools.
- School
facilities. To support the implementation of learning-teaching activities,
tents or barracks as study units have been established with assistance
from
UNICEF. To date, 16 tents and 18 barracks have been put up. Also, several
local schools have made space available for use
in the afternoons. These very
simple study units comprise a tent or barracks with tarpaulin and mats for
seating. Each unit is
also equipped with a blackboard, chalk and blackboard
eraser. Indonesian language and mathematics textbooks are also provided, and
each student is given a notebook, pen, pencil and eraser.
- School
uniforms. To motivate interest in school, the Joint Committee on Refugee
Affairs for Atambua Parish (PBUP-KA) with UNICEF’s support,
provides
school uniforms and school bags, which are distributed free of charge to 3,526
students in emergency schools.
- Supplementary
food for students. This initiative was proposed not only to motivate
children to attend school, but, more importantly, to supplement their nutrition
needs. Supplementary food is provided three times a week for approximately
4,000 children currently attending school in tents or
barracks.
- Expanding
locations of schools: The Department of National Education, the Regional
Office of Education and Culture in Belu Regency and Tapenmasu Foundation,
in
cooperation with the Department of National Education in North Central Timor
Regency, have begun an initiative which collectively
accommodates 3,500 children
in 10 new locations in Belu Regency and 500 children in three locations in
North Central Timor Regency.
This extension programme is meant to prepare these
children, who have never attended school, to start school in the new school year
beginning July 2000.
- The
Government (through the Department of National Education) has taken initiatives
to provide humanitarian aid with the support of
UNICEF and in cooperation with
the Joint Committee on Refugee Affairs for Atambua Parish (PBUP-KA) and
Tapenmasu Foundation, a local
NGO in East Nusa Tenggara. They operate in Belu
Regency and North Central Timor Regency.
- Meanwhile,
on a more limited scale, similar humanitarian aid is being extended to children
who became internally displaced as a result
of the various conflicts mentioned
above. In this context, particularly with regard to IDC as a result of the
internal armed conflict
in Aceh, Indonesia demonstrated its good intentions by
signing a Joint Understanding on a Humanitarian Pause for Aceh in Geneva on
12
May 2000.
- In
addition, the Government of Indonesia has prioritized measures to repatriate
refugees, including refugee children, although these
measures have yet to
produce optimal results.
- With
regard to measures for the protection of refugee children, Indonesia is fully
aware of its responsibilities under this international
humanitarian law.
However, in the light of all
- existing
constraints, it is recognized that measures to provide protection for refugee
children, both those supported by their parents/family
and those separated from
their parents/family, have so far been less than effective.
- Similar
difficulties are also being encountered with regard to measures to provide
special protection for IDC, in particular for those
displaced as a result of
internal armed conflict. One of the difficulties faced is that the Additional
Protocols to the Geneva Conventions
have not yet been ratified by Indonesia, in
particular the second Additional Protocol. The Government, however, has
expressed its
intention of signing the second Additional Protocol.
- With
the exception of international humanitarian law instruments, Indonesia has
acceded to no other international or regional instruments.
Also, no national
legislation exists to govern the issue of refugees (or refugee children), or
internally displaced children.
- As
mentioned above, to assist refugees, including refugee children from East Timor
who are now on Indonesian territory, cooperation
has been forged between UNCHR,
the American Refugee Concern, UNICEF and Community and Family Services
International.
- With
regard to the mechanism for evaluating the condition of refugees, including
refugee children, the Government, in cooperation
with UNHCR and their
implementing partners, has agreed to hold regular monthly meetings designed also
to serve as case conferences
and to build a common database.
Progress made
- Since
the evacuation of refugees following the referendum in East Timor, with UNHCR
support 400 children who had previously been separated
from their families were
reunited. Steps are also currently being taken to trace the families of a
further 1,236 children separated
from their families. Overall, with the support
of the Indonesian Government, UNHCR has succeeded in repatriating around 117,000
refugees who have chosen voluntarily to return to their home towns. In
addition, 32 children have been prevented from being taken
out of East Nusa
Tenggara for child trafficking purposes.
- Latest
data indicate that around 125,000 East Timorese refugees still remain in
Indonesian territory. In Belu Regency it is estimated
that there are still
11,000 refugee children of school age. Of this number, around 4,000 are
enrolled in emergency schools set up
with the support of UNICEF; around 1,500
are enrolled in local schools; and now, the Belu Regency Office of the
Department of National
Education is taking measures to provide access to
education to around 3,500 more children.
- Humanitarian
aid is also being provided by international organizations. In this regard,
since December 1999, a total of 32,147 plastic
tents, 12,670 blankets, 28,178
tins of food, 20,950 mattresses, 16,427 sets of kitchen implements and 473,466
bars of soap have been
distributed.
- Of
the people and children of Aceh who are refugees in Medan-North Sumatra and
other locations, 604 have been relocated under the
government
transmigration programme to South Sumatra.
Factors and difficulties
- In
general, three factors limit the provision of protection and of humanitarian
aid, and the tracing of families and repatriation
of children: (a) legal
instruments are inadequate to provide protection for refugees, refugee children
in particular, and IDC.
Indonesia is a party to the relevant Geneva Convention,
but has yet to develop specific national legislation on refugees. In addition,
Indonesia has also yet to ratify the Additional Protocols to the Geneva
Conventions;
(b) lack of information on the number and condition of refugee
children and IDC; and (c) lack of experienced professionals who have
an
understanding of CRC with regard to managing the problem of refugee children and
IDC.
Priorities for the next five years
- The
priorities for the coming five-year period are:
(a) To ratify the
two Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions and draw up national
legislation for the protection of refugees,
in particular refugee children and
IDC;
(b) To build the capacity of professional staff for managing refugee
children and IDC, including familiarizing themselves with the
various
international instruments that have been and will be ratified concerning this
issue, including CRC.
2. Children in armed conflicts (art. 38), including physical
and
psychological recovery and social reintegration (art. 39)
Situation
- During
this reporting period, armed conflict has been ongoing in two areas, namely
East Timor and Aceh. Other conflicts, such as
those in West Kalimantan,
Central Sulawesi and Maluku are thought to be more appropriately categorized as
ethnic conflicts or social
tensions.
- Both
armed and ethnic conflicts or social tensions occurring in several regions of
Indonesia have brought about humanitarian emergencies
for children. According
to reports from local authorities and NGOs in Aceh, around 156,000 people have
been forced to flee to various
refugee camps located in North Sumatra, Central
Java, Jambi, and South Sumatra. Unfortunately, no quantitative data are
available
on the number of children who have fallen victim to or who have
suffered as a result of such ethnic conflicts or social tensions.
In
West
Kalimantan, it is estimated that hundreds of children have suffered, or even
died, as a result of the ethnic conflict there.
Meanwhile, in Ambon, hundreds
of children have lost their lives as a result of social tension.
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- As
a State party to the Geneva Conventions, Indonesia respects the provisions on
the minimum age-limit for recruitment or enlistment
into the armed forces.
Indonesia has set the minimum age for recruitment or enlistment into the armed
forces at 18 years, as set
forth in Act No. 2/1988. Likewise, the Geneva
Conventions are taught as a subject in military education for
- mid-
and topranking officers. However, it needs to be noted that Indonesia has yet
to develop legislation to guarantee respect for
this provision. Unfortunately,
Indonesia has yet to develop a mechanism to monitor situations in which children
are directly involved
in hostilities.
Progress made
- As
a result of restrictions so far, in particular with regard to providing
protection for children in situations of armed conflict
and the lack of a
monitoring mechanism to identify violations, regrettably this report cannot
provide a picture of the progress made
with regard to the implementation of
articles 38 and 39 of CRC.
Priorities for the next five years
- In
line with political developments towards a more democratic political system, it
is hoped that several priorities, such as the ratification
of the Additional
Protocols to the Geneva Conventions, and the establishment of a national
mechanism to provide protection, monitoring,
and physical and psychological
recovery and social reintegration of children in situations of armed conflict,
can be achieved within
the next five years.
B. Children involved with the system of administration of
juvenile justice
- Before
outlining measures adopted in this regard, this report will first describe the
situation prior to the beginning of the current
reporting period. Being of a
very closely related nature, all topics in this subsection are consolidated in
this description of
the situation. In contrast, the measures adopted will be
described topic by topic in order to provide a more detailed picture.
Finally,
an overall analysis of the progress made will be presented, describing the
situation at the end of this reporting period,
factors and difficulties, and
priorities for the next five years.
Introduction
- In
its concluding observations on the initial report of Indonesia
(CRC/C/15/Add.25), the Committee on the Rights of the Child made
suggestions and
recommendations relevant to this subsection. Paragraphs 20 and 25 of those
observations read as follows:
20. The Committee recommends that the
State party undertake a comprehensive reform of the system of juvenile justice
and that the
Convention and other international standards in this field, such as
the “Beijing Rules”, the “Riyadh Guidelines”
and the
United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty,
be seen as a guide in this revision. Attention
should also be paid to measures
for rehabilitation and social reintegration, in line with article 19 of the
Convention.
25. The Committee recommends that the provisions of the Convention should be
widely publicized among ... law enforcement officials,
the staff in correctional
facilities, judges and members of other professions who are concerned with the
implementation of the Convention.
- The
present report, in outlining the measures adopted during the current reporting
period, will, as far as possible, be trying to
respond to these suggestions and
recommendations. As will be seen, legislative and administrative measures have
been adopted as
necessary and in line with existing capacity and resources.
Nonetheless, it is recognized that many still need to be followed up
on, and
technical assistance from the international community will be invaluable to
these further initiatives.
Situation
(a) Authorities and institutions
- Up
to the end of 1992, a separate and specific system of administration of juvenile
justice was unknown in Indonesia. There were
no juvenile courts, and no
criminal law or criminal proceedings that applied specifically to children.
- Pursuant
to Act No. 14 of 1970 concerning Key Provisions on Judicial Authority, only four
types of courts existed in Indonesia, each
having its own authority, namely:
(a) Courts of General Jurisdiction, (b) Religious Courts, (c) Military Courts,
and (d) Administration
Courts.
- However,
Act No. 14 did allow for courts to be set up with a system of administration
suitable for trying juveniles. These courts
were established within the scope
of authority of courts of general jurisdiction. In this regard, it should be
noted that these
“juvenile courts” were set up not only for criminal
cases in which a juvenile is put on trial, but also for civil cases
in which the
parents or guardian of a child hand over the child to the State to be
educated.
- In
the case of criminal courts, the competent authorities concerned with children
involved in the system of juvenile justice administration
include the police,
the Public Prosecutor, courts, and the Corrections Bureau which is entrusted
with drawing up a social report
to ascertain the condition of the child and his
environment, and the background to his violation of the law. In the case
of civil courts in which the parents or guardian hand over the child to the
State, however, the police and the Public
Prosecutor are not involved.
- Especially
with regard to criminal cases, one other relevant institution is the Detention
Centre, or the place where a child is detained
prior to being sentenced by the
court. With regard to this institution, it can be reported that since there are
no special detention
centres for children in Indonesia, children who are
detained pending a court ruling have to be placed in detention centres
adults.
- To
protect children who are placed in detention centres for adults, the strategy
normally adopted is to place them in rooms by themselves,
separate from adult
detainees. However, given the limited space available, often there is no space
available specifically for juveniles,
so children have to be placed along with
adult detainees. They are separated only by sex.
- Both
in criminal and civil cases, another relevant institution is the Correctional
Institution, in particular the Juvenile Correctional
Institution, which is a
place where children undergo correction or serve their sentences. These
correctional institutions are under
the authority of the Department of Justice
(now the Department of Justice and Human Rights).
- It
should be noted that, since the number of existing juvenile correctional
institutions is insufficient, in the case of both criminal
and civil cases, some
children have to be placed in correctional institutions reserved for adults.
Once again, there is strict separation
of the sexes.
- Children
placed in correctional institutions for juveniles or adults
are:
(a) Children sentenced by a criminal court to a prison
sentence in a correctional institution for a period not exceeding the
child’s
eighteenth birthday. Children in this category are known as
“juvenile criminals”;
(b) Children sentenced by a criminal court to be transferred to the State to
be educated and placed in a correctional institution
for a period not exceeding
the child’s eighteenth birthday. Children in this category are known as
“criminal wards of
State”.
(c) Children who, at the request of their parents or guardian, have been
sentenced by a civil court to be educated in a correctional
institution for a
period not exceeding the child’s eighteenth birthday. Children in this
category are known as “civil
wards of State”.
- Overall,
children falling within these three categories are known as “juvenile
offenders”.
- In
1992, prior to the beginning of the current reporting period, 3,601
“juvenile offenders” (3,568 boys and 33 girls)
were reported to have
been placed in correctional institutions throughout Indonesia. This figure does
not include children undergoing
correction in adult correction centres or
children placed in adult detention centres.
- On
the development and provision of recreation and health-care facilities in
detention centres and correctional institutions, several
regulations in force
from the beginning of the current reporting period should be noted, which, in
chronological order, are as follows:
- − Letter
of the head of the Directorate of Corrections No. D.B.1.3/16/1 of 1973
concerning Guardians in Lieu of Parents and
Friends for Juvenile Offenders in
Institutions;
- − Joint
Decree of the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Health No. M.01 - UM.01.06
of 1987 concerning Development of Public
Health Measures in State Prisons and
Correctional Institutions;
- − Circular
Letter of the Directorate General of Corrections No. E1.UM.04.11-447
of 1987 concerning the Relationship between
Personnel and Prisoners,
Criminal/Civil Wards of State, Detainees, and Inmates of Correctional
Institutions;
- − Circular
Letter of the Directorate General of Corrections No. E1-116-UM.06.06
of 1989 concerning Instalment of Television
Sets in Correctional
Institutions, State Prisons, and State Sub-Prisons;
- − Decree
of the Minister of Justice No. M.01-PK.02.01 of 1991 concerning Guidelines for
Transferring Prisoners, Juvenile Offenders,
and
Detainees;
- − Letter
of the Director-General of Corrections No. E.UM.06.06-49 of 1991 concerning the
Number of Television Sets Installed
in Correctional Institutions, State Prisons,
and State Sub-Prisons;
- − Instruction
of the Minister of Justice No. M.01-PK.01.01 of 1992 concerning Visiting
Procedure in Correctional Institutions/State
Prisons/State
Sub-Prisons.
- On
remission, and measures towards social rehabilitation and regeneration,
previously existing provisions include the following (in
chronological
order):
- − Circular
Letter of the head of the Directorate-General of Corrections No. D.P.3.3/3/7 of
1975 concerning Assimilation of Prisoners;
- − Joint
Decree of the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Manpower, and the Minister of
Social Affairs No. M.01-PK.03.01 of
1984 concerning Cooperation in Establishing
Job Training Programmes for Prisoners and Social Rehabilitation and Social
Regeneration
of Prisoners and Juvenile Offenders;
- − Letter
of the Director-General of Corrections No. E.73-PK.04.04 of 1984 concerning
Conditions for Conditional Release;
- − Presidential
Decree No. 5 of 1987 concerning Remission;
- − Decree
of the Minister of Justice No. M.03-PK.04.02 of 1991 concerning Parole for
Prisoners for Family Visits;
- − Letter
of the Director-General of Corrections No. E.PK.04.01-82 of 1991 concerning
Recommendations for Assimilation, Conditional
Release and Parole Prior to
Release.
(b) Legal situation
- With
regard to criminal cases, prior to the beginning of the current reporting
period, all criminal provisions for adults set forth
in the Criminal Code
applied equally to children, although some special provisions were included in
articles 45, 46 and 47, the full
text of which is as follows:
“Article 45
“With regard to sentencing a juvenile for a
crime committed when the accused was under the age of 16 years, the judge may
rule
that the accused be returned to his parents, guardian or caregiver, or be
granted unconditional release; if the act committed constitutes
a crime or is in
violation of articles 489, 490, 492, 496, 497, 503, 505, 514, 517-519, 526, 531,
532, 536 or 540, and less than
two years have elapsed since the aforementioned
crime or violation is deemed to have occurred, and this ruling is upheld, the
judge
may rule that the accused be handed over unconditionally to the State, or
pass a sentence.
“Article 46
“(1) In the event that a judge rules that the
accused be transferred to a State education institution in order to receive an
education from the State or in another manner in the future; or be transferred
to a particular person or a particular legal entity,
foundation, or charitable
organization for the purposes of his education, or in the future, at the request
of the State, in another
manner, the period involved shall not exceed the
child’s eighteenth birthday.
“(2) Regulations to implement paragraph 1 of this article shall be set
forth in an act.
“Article 47
“(1) In the event that a judge passes a
prison sentence, the maximum remission shall be one third of the original prison
sentence.
“(2) In the event that the action perpetrated constitutes a crime that
is subject to the death sentence or a life imprisonment,
the prison sentence
shall not exceed fifteen years.
“(3) Supplementary penalties as referred to in article 10, subsection
b, paragraphs 1 and 3, shall not apply.”
- With
regard to the provisions set forth in article 45 of the Criminal Code, it can be
concluded that the concept of statutory crime
is known but its application is
very restricted in the case of minor violations referred to in articles 489,
490, 492, 496, 497,
503, 505, 514, 517-519, 526, 531, 532, 536 and 540. The
minimum age for which this restricted application of the concept of statutory
crime applies is 16 years (art. 45 of the Criminal Code). One weakness is that
the Criminal Code does not establish the age of criminal
responsibility for more
serious crimes.
- Several
provisions set forth in the Criminal Code do appear to be in line with CRC
standards. For instance, on the definition of
the child, article 46 (1) of the
Criminal Code implies that a child is a person below the age of 18 years. Other
standards prohibiting
the death sentence or life imprisonment for children set
forth in article 47, paragraphs 1 and 2, also seem to be in line with CRC
standards.
(c) Procedural situation
- On
criminal judicial procedure for children, at the start of this reporting period,
the Code of Criminal Judicial Procedure, which
was in effect for adults in
general, also applied to children. It should be noted that the said Code, which
has been in force since
1981, contains no special provisions on criminal
judicial procedure for children. In this regard, it should be noted that the
Code
guarantees the rights of those suspected, accused, and found guilty of
perpetrating a crime, as follows:
- − Rights
at the time of arrest, detention, search, confiscation and inspection of
letters;
- − The
right to legal assistance;
- − The
right to compensation and rehabilitation.
- In
addition, and more closely related with the procedure for investigating and
prosecuting children, several other policies meant
to provide better protection
for a child suspected, accused, or found guilty of violating criminal law should
be noted. These policies
include:
- − 1957
Oral Agreement, between the Police, the Public Prosecutor, the Department of
Justice and the Department of Social Affairs.
This agreement stresses the need
for “special treatment” of children both prior to and during court
hearings, and following
the court ruling. The agreement provides that
investigations shall be conducted in a family-like setting, and that juvenile
detainees
shall be separated from adult detainees;
- − Circular
Letter of the Attorney-General No. 6 of 1959, which states that court hearings
of cases involving children be closed
to the public;
- − Regulation
of the Minister of Justice No. M. 06-UM.01.06 of 1983, Chapter II, Articles 9-12
on Procedure for Juvenile Court
Hearings, which, inter alia, states that
juvenile court hearings are meant essentially to improve the welfare of the
child, and therefore
need to be conducted in a family-like setting, priority
being given to public welfare;
- − Circular
Letter of the Attorney-General No. 6 of 1987 concerning Procedure for Juvenile
Court Hearings.
- The
special nature of this procedure is reflected in the practices of judicial
administration, as follows:
- − Courts
have separate registration for juvenile offenders, and set aside certain days
and rooms for hearings;
- − Preferably,
a judge with special interest in juvenile problems shall lead the hearing;
- − Juvenile
hearings are conducted by a single judge, unless the case is being heard by a
panel of judges;
- − Court
hearings are closed and the ruling is read out in open court;
- − Judges,
prosecutors, and legal advisors do not wear gowns;
- − The
parents, guardian or foster parents must attend the court hearing;
- − A
social counsellor from the Bureau of Social and Juvenile Guidance (now the
Bureau of Corrections) attends the hearing to
make a social report on the
child.
- Aside
from these two key codes - the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Judicial
Procedure - reference should be made to the principles
set forth in Act No. 4 of
1979 on Child Welfare, which may be relevant to the situation of children
involved with the system of administration
of juvenile justice.
- Article
65 of Act No.4 states as follows:
(1) A child who is mistreated
shall be provided services and care to help him to overcome any obstacles
encountered during his growth
and development phase;
(2) Services and care, as referred to in paragraph 1 of the present article,
shall also be provided to children deemed to have acted
in violation of the law
according to the ruling of a judge.
- However,
it should also be noted that this act has come under a great deal of criticism,
being considered ineffective because it does
not include the necessary
implementing guidelines.
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- The
two most relevant legislative measures adopted during the current reporting
period are the entry into force of Act No. 3 of 1997
concerning Juvenile Courts
(hereafter referred to as “the Juvenile Court Act”) and of Act No.
12 of 1995 concerning Corrections
(hereafter referred to as “the
Corrections Act”). One other fairly significant legislative measure that
should also
be noted is the entry into force of Act No. 39 of 1999 concerning
Human Rights (hereafter referred to as the “Human Rights
Act”).
- Following
is a description of these three legislative measures, arranged by
topic.
1. The administration of juvenile justice (art. 40)
- With
the entry into force of the Juvenile Court Act, articles 45, 46 and 47 of the
Criminal Code were deemed no longer in effect.
However, the authority of Courts
of General Jurisdiction to establish “juvenile courts” as governed
by Act No. 14 of
1970 concerning Key Provisions on Judicial Authority, was
reaffirmed by the Juvenile Court Act (art. 32). So, until the end of the
current reporting period, no separate juvenile judicial forum had been
introduced in Indonesia.
- The
Juvenile Court Act adds to the corpus of judicial procedure in Indonesia by
introducing criminal judicial procedure that applies
specifically to
children.
- In
addition, with the coming into force of the Juvenile Court Act, the concept of
statutory crime is applied in a more general sense
for all crimes perpetrated by
children, although this act comes under much criticism for setting the age of
criminal responsibility
too low at eight years. A child under the age of 8 is
free from all criminal responsibility (art. 5, paras. 1-3). Under this act
a
child is defined as a person under the age of 18 years who has never been
married. However, procedure for court hearings involving
children is applicable
for persons up to the age of 21 (art. 4, paras. 1 and
2).
- This
act also introduces special terminology for children aged 8 years and over who
have perpetrated a crime, where a child proven
to have committed a
“crime” or “perpetrated an act prohibited for children”
is known not as a “criminal”
but as a “juvenile
delinquent” (art. 1, para. 2).
- On
the meaning of “crime” in this act, in the absence of a juvenile
criminal code, all provisions in the Criminal Code
continue to apply to
children. On the definition of “an act prohibited for children”,
the Juvenile Court Act provides
no special reference.
- Furthermore,
many of the provisions of the Juvenile Court Act reaffirm or reinforce existing
policy and practice, for instance:
- − During
a juvenile court hearing, the judge, prosecutor and legal aides, and other
personnel, shall not wear gowns or service
uniforms (art. 6);
- − The
judge shall hear juvenile cases in closed session, with only the child’s
parents, guardian or foster parents, legal
aide and social counsellor present.
The ruling of a juvenile court shall be announced in open court (art. 8);
- − The
judge in a juvenile court hearing is required to be experienced as a judge in
courts of general jurisdiction and be interested
in, concerned about, dedicated
to, and have an understanding of juvenile problems (art. 10);
- − At the
preliminary stage, a single judge shall hear and rule on cases involving
children, except in certain cases where the
presiding District Court judge may,
if he deems it necessary, rule that the hearing be conducted by a panel of
judges (art. 11).
- Other
matters introduced through the Juvenile Court Act concern supervision and the
procedure for appeal, as set forth in articles
19 and 20, as
follows:
Article 19: The Supreme Court has ultimate supervision
over Juvenile Court Hearings;
Article 20: The parents, guardian, foster parents, or legal aide of a
juvenile delinquent sentenced in accordance with the law may
submit an
application for appeal to the Attorney-General in accordance with prevailing
legislation.
- Concerning
the investigating officer, the Juvenile Court Act states that the person
investigating a case involving a child should
have experience as an
investigating officer of crimes perpetrated by adults and have a special
interest in, dedication to, and understanding
of juvenile problems (art. 41,
para 2). As for the process of investigation, the act provides that cases
involving child suspects
shall be investigated in a family setting, with inputs
or recommendations from a social counsellor, and, if necessary, from education
specialists, psychiatrists, religious leaders or other community figures, and
that the investigation must be confidential (art. 42,
paras. 1-3).
- It
is relevant to point out here that the police are vested with the authority to
act with discretion in cases involving children.
- Involvement
of Bureau of Corrections personnel and social workers is governed by article 34,
which reads as follows:
(1) The Social Counsellor (Bureau of
Corrections personnel) is charged with:
(a) Facilitating the work of the investigating officer, prosecutor and judge
in cases involving juvenile delinquents, both inside
and outside the juvenile
court hearing, by compiling a report on the findings of a social assessment;
(b) Counselling, assisting, and supervising a juvenile offender, who, on the
basis of a court ruling, is sentenced to a conditional
sentence, supervision
measures, or a fine, or has been handed over to the State and must participate
in job training, or granted
a conditional release.
(2) A social worker from the Department of Social Affairs shall be charged
with counselling, assisting and supervising a juvenile
offender, who, on the
basis of a court ruling, has been handed over to the Department of Social
Affairs to participate in education,
counselling and job training.
- A
further measure that can be reported is the preparation of social counselling
personnel with a special interest in children’s
issues and the ability to
conduct satisfactory social assessments. Before becoming social counsellors,
Bureau of Corrections staff
must take part in a three-month training course at
the Department of Justice. This training aims to provide social counsellors
from
the Bureau of Corrections with the necessary qualifications. However,
aside from seminars and workshops organized by NGOs and academics
concerned with
children, as yet no training is provided for law enforcement officials.
- On
civil wards of State or children transferred by their parents or guardian to the
State, Bureau of Corrections internal policy determines
that, to the maximum
extent possible, these cases should be studied in depth, since it is recognized
that fundamentally a child is
better off staying with his family than being
placed in a correctional institution. Provisions concerning the recommendations
to
the judge contained in the report compiled by a social counsellor state that
if the parents, guardian or family of the child wish
to accept the child back
and are capable of doing so, the recommendation should be that the child be
given a light sentence. If
the parents or guardian cannot be located or are
considered incapable of or are unwilling to accept the child back, the
recommendation
to be issued is that the child, in his own best interests, should
be removed and cared for by the State.
2. Children deprived of their liberty, including any form
of detention, imprisonment or placement in custodial
settings (art. 37,
paras. (b)-(d))
- Under
the Human Rights Act, the rights of the child are set out in articles 52-66.
Particularly with regard to children in conflict
with the law, article 66 states
that:
(a) Every child has the right not to be subjected to
oppression, torture, or inhuman legal penalty;
(b) Juvenile offenders shall not be sentenced to death or life
imprisonment;
(c) Every child has the right not to have his freedom unlawfully taken from
him;
(d) Children may be arrested, detained, or imprisoned only in accordance
with prevailing legislation and only as a measure of last
resort;
(e) Every child who has been deprived of his freedom has the right to humane
treatment, as befits the personal development needs
of his age, and shall be
separated from adults, unless this is in his own best interests;
(f) Every child who has been deprived of his freedom has the right to
effective legal or other aid at every stage of the ongoing
judicial
proceedings;
(g) Every child who has been deprived of his freedom has the right to defend
himself and to have a private hearing before an objective
and impartial juvenile
court.
- The
Juvenile Court Act contains provisions concerning juvenile judicial procedure in
Chapter V, articles 40-59.
- Article
40 of the Juvenile Court Act states that prevailing judicial procedure (namely
the Code of Criminal Judicial Procedure) is
also applicable to juvenile court
hearings, except if otherwise stated in this act. Therefore, judicial procedure
in effect for
children involved with the system of juvenile justice
administration in Indonesia is contained in the Code of Criminal Judicial
Procedure
and the Juvenile Court Act.
- With
regard to juvenile offenders in particular, the Corrections Act sets forth more
detailed provisions in Chapter III, Section Two,
articles 18-38.
- The
Corrections Act states that in the interests of assimilation, juvenile criminals
are categorized by age, sex, length of sentence,
type of crime, and other
criteria in line with their assimilation or developmental needs (art. 20).
Criminal wards of State and
civil wards of State are grouped by age, sex, length
of assimilation, and other criteria according to their assimilation or
developmental
needs (arts. 27 and 34).
- The
rights of juvenile criminals, criminal wards of State and civil wards of State,
governed respectively in articles 22, 29 and 36,
are as
follows:
(a) The right to worship in accordance with one’s
religion or beliefs;
(b) The right to both spiritual and physical care;
(c) The right to education and learning;
(d) The right to health-care services and proper food;
(e) The right to air grievances;
(f) The right of access to reading material and permitted mass media
broadcasts;
(g) The right to receive visits from family members, legal advisers, or
certain other people;
(h) The right to remission (not applicable to criminal wards of State and
civil wards of State);
(i) The right to have the opportunity to assimilate, including the right to
parole to visit a family;
(j) The right to conditional release (not applicable to civil wards of
State);
(k) The right to parole prior to release (not applicable to civil wards of
State);
(l) The right to exercise other rights in accordance with prevailing
regulations and legislation (that is, political rights, the
right of ownership,
and other civil rights).
- Still
with regard to rights, the Directorate General of Corrections has issued policy
on the rights of juvenile offenders, which include:
(a) The right
to a healthy place to sleep;
(b) The right to food and drink and their utensils;
(c) The right to clothing of a designated colour and cut;
(d) The right to humane treatment;
(e) The right to security and peace;
(f) The right to health check-ups and treatment by a medical worker or
doctor;
(g) The right to education, general counselling and spiritual guidance;
(h) The right to worship according to one’s religion and beliefs;
(i) The right to visits from family, friends and legal advisers, in so far
as this does not interfere with orderliness and is authorized
by the competent
officer;
(j) The right to receive and send letters, money and goods, in accordance
with prevailing regulations;
(k) The right to spend a reasonable amount of money received or saved for
one’s own needs, in accordance with prevailing regulations;
(l) The right to report in confidence any problems, of a physical or mental
nature.
- As
well as furnishing rights, the Corrections Act also sets forth provisions
concerning
the responsibilities of juvenile criminals, criminal wards of
State and civil wards of State in articles 23 (1), 30 (1) and 37 (1)
respectively, which state that they are required to participate regularly in an
assimilation programme and certain other activities.
- According
to the policy of the Directorate General of Corrections, the obligations of
juvenile offenders are:
(a) To respect and obey the regulations in
force in the corrections institution;
(b) To keep peace and order;
(c) To follow the instructions and carry out the orders of staff in line
with prevailing regulations;
(d) To report and make known to personnel situations that may interfere with
security, order and peace;
(e) To surrender and entrust money and other prohibited valuables to the
appointed officer;
(f) To safeguard and maintain plants and a clean environment;
(g) To safeguard and maintain equipment provided for one’s personal
use and to ensure that it is intact, clean and tidy;
(h) To participate in morning exercise and morning assembly according to the
designated schedule;
(i) To participate in the programme of education and general and special
counselling provided for them;
(j) To undertake work given, as ordered by the competent staff or
officers;
(k) To worship according to one’s religion and beliefs at a designated
time and place;
(l) To be polite and respectful in a family way to all inmates;
(m) When released from a correctional institution, to return all equipment
and inventory provided.
- With
regard to the implementation of the Juvenile Court Act, the Director-General of
Corrections (Department of Justice) has issued
a circular letter to all heads of
regional Departments of Justice to heed implementation of this Act, in
particular Decrees of the
Minister of Justice No. M.01-PW.07 of 1997 concerning
Court Hearing Procedure and Courtroom Procedure, and No. M.01-PK.04.10 of 1998
concerning Tasks, Responsibilities and Conditions of Social Counsellors.
- This
circular letter requests that all relevant apparatus pay particular heed to the
following:
(a) That the detention period for children is less than
the detention period for adults;
(b) That social reports requested by the investigator, public prosecutor, or
judge be provided by Bureau of Corrections social counsellors
in a timely and
accurate manner, in order to prevent delays in the judicial processing of a
juvenile offender;
(c) That prison sentences may be handed down only to juvenile delinquents
aged 12 and over, while those between the age of 8 and
12, may only be
reprimanded or given a warning by the judge;
(d) In the case of juvenile delinquents under the age of 8 years, the
investigating officer may make a check to ascertain whether
the child could
still be cared for by his parents/guardian; if not, the child should be handed
over to the Department of Social Affairs.
In this regard, the investigator must
consider the report of the social assessment made by the social counsellor.
(e) In determining the sentence of a juvenile delinquent, the judge must
take into account the report from the social counsellor.
- It
should be noted that policy concerning correction and assimilation was adopted
during this reporting period, namely Letter of the
Director General of
Corrections No. E.PK.02.02-44 of 1994 concerning the Transfer of Juvenile
Offenders in Adult Correctional Institutions
to Juvenile Correctional
Institutions.
- Both
the Code of Criminal Judicial Procedure and the Juvenile Court Act contain
provisions on the right of the child to obtain legal
assistance and support.
- In
the Code of Criminal Judicial Procedure, provisions concerning legal assistance
for suspects or accused (adults) are set forth
in articles 69-74. In the
Juvenile Court Act, this issue is regulated by articles 51 and 52 (Chapter on
Juvenile Criminal Procedure),
as follows:
“Article 51
“(1) All juvenile delinquents, from the time
of arrest or detention, have the right to legal assistance from one or more
legal
advisers for the entire duration and at each level of investigation, in
accordance with procedure set forth in this Act.
“(2) The officer making an arrest or serving a detention order is
required to inform the suspect and his parents, guardian or
foster parents of
his right to legal assistance, as referred to in paragraph 1 above.
“(3) All juvenile delinquents arrested or detained have the right to
direct communication with a legal adviser under the supervision
of, but not
within hearing of, a competent officer.
“Article 52: With regard to providing legal assistance to a child, as
referred to in
article 51, paragraph (1), a legal adviser is required to
consider the interests of the child and the public interest and to strive
towards maintaining a family atmosphere and a smooth judicial
process.”
3. The sentencing of children, with particular reference to the
prohibition
of capital punishment and life imprisonment (art. 37 (a))
- As
mentioned above, the Code of Criminal Judicial Procedure provides that a child
may not be sentenced to death or to life imprisonment.
This provision is
reaffirmed in the Juvenile Court Act (1997) and the Human Rights Act
(1999).
- In
the Human Rights Act, prohibition on the death sentence or life imprisonment for
juveniles is set forth in article 66, paragraph
2, which states that “a
sentence of death or life imprisonment shall not be handed down to a juvenile
offender”.
- Prohibition
on the death sentence and life imprisonment for children under the age of 18 is
reaffirmed in article 26 of the Juvenile
Court Act, which
reads:
(1) A prison sentence handed down to a juvenile delinquent
shall not exceed half the maximum prison sentence for an adult;
(2) In the event that a juvenile delinquent commits a crime that is
punishable by the death sentence or life imprisonment, the prison
sentence
handed down to him or her shall not exceed 10 years;
(3) If a juvenile delinquent under the age of 12 years commits a crime that
is punishable by the death sentence or life imprisonment,
he or she shall be
sentenced in accordance with the provisions set forth in article 24, paragraph
1.
(4) If a juvenile delinquent under the age of 12 years commits a crime that
is not punishable by the death sentence or life imprisonment,
he or she shall be
sentenced in accordance with the provisions set forth in article 24.
- To
provide a picture of children brought before criminal courts and the sentences
handed down to them, the following table shows data
for 1995 and 1996. Based on
the available data, “children” are divided by age into under-16s and
16-20-year olds.
Table 28
Number of juveniles involved in criminal cases
referred to the courts by type of sentence
|
1995
|
1996
|
under 16 years
|
16-20 years
|
under 16 years
|
16-20 years
|
Death/life imprisonment
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
Imprisonment
|
1 425
|
13 750
|
1 108
|
13 349
|
Incarceration
|
11
|
60
|
14
|
128
|
Conditional/experimental
|
177
|
886
|
148
|
788
|
Fine
|
9
|
134
|
6
|
107
|
Supplementary penalty
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Returned to parents
|
70
|
0
|
57
|
9
|
Handed over to the State
|
14
|
2
|
12
|
5
|
Found not guilty/freed
|
21
|
126
|
39
|
101
|
Other
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Total
|
1 727
|
14 958
|
1 384
|
14 491
|
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, Crime Statistics.
- It
can be concluded that in the case of both under-16s and 16-20-year olds, judges
still prefer to hand down prison sentences when
sentencing children who have
committed a crime. So common are prison sentences that the second most common
type of sentence, namely,
conditional or experimental sentence, is
proportionally far smaller (it should be noted that in 1995-1996 the
Juvenile Court Act
had not yet come into effect).
4. Physical and psychological recovery and social
reintegration (art. 39)
- The
Corrections Act provides a guarantee for the psychological and physical recovery
of children involved in the juvenile justice
system. Pursuant to this Act, this
guarantee takes the form of an assimilation process, that is, a process of
assimilating offenders
that involves reintegrating offenders into society. For
juvenile offenders in correctional institutions, this assimilation process
usually means giving children the opportunity to play ball in a yard outside the
building, after which the children go back inside.
- The
concept of correction aimed at the psychological recovery and social integration
of children is dealt with in general terms in
articles 2 and 3 above.
- On
facilities for juvenile offenders and their real situation during the current
reporting period, the following can be reported:
Until the end of
the current reporting period, the number of juvenile correctional institutions
in Indonesia remained limited. Only
14 such institutions exist throughout
Indonesia today, the details of which are shown in table 29 below.
Table 29
Juvenile correctional institutions in
Indonesia
Name of juvenile
correctional institution
|
Province
|
Medan Juvenile Correctional Institution
|
North Sumatra
|
Tanjung Pati Juvenile Correctional Institution
|
West Sumatra
|
Palembang Juvenile Correctional Institution
|
South Sumatra
|
Pekanbaru Juvenile Correctional Institution
|
Riau
|
Kotabumi Juvenile Correctional Institution
|
Lampung
|
Tangerang Juvenile Correctional Institution for Boys
|
Greater Jakarta
|
Tangerang Juvenile Correctional Institution for Girls
|
Greater Jakarta
|
Kutoarjo Juvenile Correctional Institution
|
Central Java
|
Blitar Juvenile Correctional Institution
|
East Java
|
Sungai Raya Juvenile Correctional Institution
|
West Kalimantan
|
Martapura Juvenile Correctional Institution
|
South Kalimantan
|
Pare-Pare Juvenile Correctional Institution
|
South Sulawesi
|
Tomohon Juvenile Correctional Institution
|
North Sulawesi
|
Gianyar Amlapura Juvenile Correctional Institution
|
Bali
|
Source: Directorate General of Corrections, Department of
Justice, April 2000.
- Data
from two different sources on the number of juvenile offenders and the average
number of juvenile offenders placed in juvenile
correctional institutions
between 1993 (beginning of the reporting period) and 1998 (towards the end of
the reporting period), are
combined in table 30 below. Data on the number of
juvenile criminal offenders were obtained from general jurisdiction court
statistics.
Data on the average number of juvenile offenders placed in juvenile
correctional institutions were obtained from the Directorate
General of
Corrections, Department of Justice.
Table 30
Number of juvenile criminal offenders referred to
district courts
and average number of juvenile offenders in juvenile
correctional
institutions throughout Indonesia,
1993-1998
Number of juvenile
criminal offenders
|
Year
|
Number of juvenile offenders in juvenile correctional institutions
|
Total
|
Male
|
Female
|
18 815
|
1993
|
3 669
|
24
|
3 693
|
30 204
|
1994
|
3 223
|
23
|
3 246
|
24 914
|
1995
|
2 448
|
34
|
2 482
|
31 307
|
1996
|
2 339
|
23
|
2 362
|
28 748
|
1997
|
3 361
|
15
|
3 376
|
26 297
|
1998
|
3 649
|
37
|
3 686
|
160 285
|
1993-1998
|
30 346
|
294
|
30 640
|
- Given
the limited number of juvenile correctional institutions, it should be noted
that the difference between the number of juvenile
criminal offenders (not
including civil wards of State) and that of children placed in juvenile
correctional institutions can be
reconciled in light of the fact that some
children found guilty and sentenced to a term of imprisonment or incarceration
by the court
are housed in adult detention centres or in adult correctional
institutions.
- Data
on the number of juvenile offenders in juvenile correctional institutions were
obtained from the average number of juvenile offenders
per year (aggregated from
1 January to 31 December).
- Available
data show that, in order of frequency from highest to lowest, the types of
offences committed by juvenile offenders are:
theft, disturbance of the peace,
injury to or killing of another person due to negligence, and abuse.
- To
provide a more detailed quantitative picture of juvenile prisoners, table 31
below shows data on new juvenile prisoners by type
of sentence for
1995-1997.
Table 31
New juvenile prisoners, by type of prison sentence,
1995-1997
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
M
|
F
|
M
|
F
|
M
|
F
|
Prison sentence:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Life imprisonment
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
> 5 years
|
58
|
5
|
83
|
0
|
66
|
0
|
1-5 years
|
447
|
8
|
455
|
10
|
401
|
3
|
< 1 year
|
4 603
|
78
|
3 813
|
63
|
3 549
|
51
|
Subtotal
|
5 108
|
91
|
4 351
|
73
|
4 016
|
54
|
Incarceration in lieu of a fine
|
29
|
6
|
39
|
16
|
5
|
4
|
Total
|
5 137
|
97
|
4 390
|
89
|
4 021
|
58
|
TOTAL (M+F)
|
5 234
|
4 479
|
4 079
|
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, Crime Statistics.
- The
table above shows a constant decline in the number of new juvenile prisoners
between 1995 and 1997. However, it should be noted
that this decline does not
reflect the effectiveness of the Juvenile Court Act, since this Act came into
effect only in 1998, one
year after its enactment.
- Furthermore,
these data indicate that between 1995 and 1997, the majority of new juvenile
offenders were given prison sentences:
99.3 per cent in 1995, 98.7 per cent in
1996, and 99.78 per cent in 1997.
- Although
the majority of those given prison sentences were sentenced to less than one
year (90 per cent in 1995, 87.6 per cent in
1996, and 88.5 per cent in
1997), the absolute figure for the number of children sentenced to more than
five years in prison gives
cause for concern.
- Overall,
from the data available, the following conclusions can be
drawn:
(a) No child under 18 years of age was sentenced to life
imprisonment between 1995 and 1997. However, this does not mean that all
judges
in Indonesia are aware of the provisions set forth in the Criminal Code, CRC,
the 1997 Juvenile Court Act, or the 1999 Human
Rights Act, since in certain
cases (see box below), judges have handed down life sentences to children. Such
sentences are immediately
reversed by a higher court;
(b) On a positive note, nearly all judges tend to hand down light prison
sentences (less than one year);
(c) Unfortunately, the majority of judges prefer to hand down prison
sentences to children rather than incarceration in lieu of a
fine.
“Legiman’s Sentence”
(Gatra newsmagazine, October 24 1998)
A judge at Kabanjahe District Court, North Sumatra, handed down a sentence
of life imprisonment to a child named Legiman accused of
murder, who at the time
of sentencing was under 18. He and his brother were found guilty of murdering a
38-year old man, who in
their defence the brothers claimed had frequently
harassed their sisterin-law. Local NGOs protested strongly over this sentence,
which is in violation of the provisions set forth in the Juvenile Court Act.
These NGOs also voiced concern that the judicial apparatus
failed to pay heed to
legal developments.
|
- On
facilities, conditions and realization of the rights of juvenile prisoners,
following is an analysis of the findings of a community
service initiative by
the Department of Criminology, Faculty of Sociology and Politics, University of
Indonesia (1999).
Rooms or cells
- In
general, cells in juvenile correctional institutions are not properly
maintained, and are damp, dark and fetid. There are no specific
regulations as
to the maximum number of children that can be placed in one cell. Facilities
for recreation and information, such
as for watching television and reading
books, if they exist at all, are extremely limited.
Supervision and violence
- In
many cases, children feel oppressed by the supervision and negative prejudice of
staff. Also, it is not unusual for children to
be subjected to abuse, both from
other residents in the correctional institution - generally those senior to the
victim, and from
staff members. Such abuse may be physical or non-physical.
Abuse inflicted by other residents also includes sexual abuse.
The right to correspond and to receive visitors
- Although
the right to correspond and the right to receive visitors are guaranteed under
domestic law in Indonesia, in reality these
rights are not enjoyed in full. The
censoring procedure applied by correctional institution staff hampers both
outgoing and incoming
correspondence. Likewise, with regard to visitors, often
parents or family members who
wish to visit a child meet with the
bureaucratic hurdle of being misinformed about visiting
hours.
The right to nutrition
- The
nutritional standard for juveniles does not, in general, differ from that for
adult prisoners, at 2,500 calories/child/day. Meals
are served three times a
day: breakfast at 06.0007.00, lunch at 12.00-13.00, and dinner at
16.00-17.00. The nominal cost of this
2,500calorie diet is
Rp 3,000/child/day (including the cost of rice) or Rp 2,500/child/day
(excluding the cost of rice).
- In
terms of total calories and nutritional content, the food that children receive
at correctional institutions is quite adequate.
However, the children find the
cooking and presentation of the food monotonous. There is no variation in the
menu, consisting for
instance of boiled tempeh and tasteless sour vegetables or
vegetable soup.
- Moreover,
the gap between dinner at 16.00-17.00 and breakfast at 06.00-07.00 the following
day is too long (around 13 hours), often
leaving the children feeling hungry at
nighttime. Because of this, children who are visited by family usually receive
snacks to
eat at night, while children who have no visitors often have to, for
example, give their cellmates a massage in return for snacks.
Table 32
Inventory of rations per juvenile offender in
juvenile correctional institutions
|
Amount
|
Notes
|
Rice from National Logistics Bureau
|
0.45 kg
|
|
Sweet potato/cassava
|
0.150 kg
|
Usually served at breakfast
|
Buffalo meat/beef
|
0.070 kg
|
2 days a week
|
Salted fish
|
0.040 kg
|
3 days a week
|
Duck eggs
|
1 piece
|
Twice a week. If duck eggs are unavailable, 2 free range hen eggs
|
Soya bean tempeh
|
0.030 kg
|
Every day, boiled or steamed
|
Mung beans
|
0.010 kg
|
For breakfast
|
Coconut
|
0.020 kg
|
|
Fresh vegetables
|
0.250 kg
|
Every day
|
Fermented shrimp paste
|
0.005 kg
|
|
Cooking salt
|
0.012 kg
|
|
Coconut oil
|
0.007 kg
|
|
Chilli
|
1 piece
|
Every day
|
Banana/papaya/watermelon
|
1 fruit/slice
|
Twice a week
|
Fuel
|
0.45 m3/1 litre
|
|
Source: Directorate General of Corrections, Department of Justice,
April 2000.
Note: Menus are designed by each juvenile correctional institution
and are suited to the local conditions and customs.
Miscellaneous
- No
integrated data exist at the national level. Data disaggregated by age, length
of sentence, reason for imprisonment, ethnic origin,
etc. are available only at
individual juvenile correctional institutions.
- No
adequate data are available on education services for children in correctional
institutions.
- No
data are available on independent agencies monitoring the realization of the
rights of children in correctional institutions.
Progress made
- Although
the coming into effect of the Juvenile Court Act has yet to bring about any
fundamental change in system and organization,
it has introduced specific
judicial procedure for children involved in the system of the administration of
juvenile justice in Indonesia.
- With
the entry into force of the Juvenile Court Act, almost all juvenile cases
referred to the courts are accompanied by a social
report compiled by a Bureau
of Corrections staff member on the condition and environment of the child and
the background to his violation
of the law. The presence of the Bureau of
Corrections staff member is important because the social report he or she
compiles gives
input that allows the judge to make a decision in the best
interests of the child (at least in theory).
- The
entry into force of the Human Rights Act (1999) provided further legal
guarantees for several standards previously unrecognized
in national legislation
in Indonesia, although several CRC standards have yet to be further integrated
into the national judicial
system.
- The
Corrections Act (1995), at the very least provides a legal basis, as well as a
positive contribution, in particular with regard
to articles 37 (b)–(d)
and 39 of CRC.
- Several
policies and administrative measures adopted during this period, have, to a
certain extent, brought progress with regard to
several practices, for
instance:
(a) Positive discretion by the police, in particular
concerning the many recent incidents of inter-school gang fighting. This
positive
discretion means that many of the children arrested are ultimately sent
home and all charges against them are dropped, as long as
they were not carrying
sharp weapons, and did not injure or kill others. In terms of international
instruments, such discretion
is considered more or less in line with the spirit
of the Beijing Rules, which state that, as far as possible, children should be
kept out of the judicial system and the legal process;
(b) The handing down of shorter periods of detention for juvenile offenders
than for adult offenders is now more strictly applied.
- Again
on a positive note, it should be noted that in this context of children involved
with the system of administration of the juvenile
justice system, children
perceive that the judicial system is lighter on juvenile offenders than it is on
adult offenders, as evidenced
by the frequent cases in which the age of the
accused could not be ascertained, where they are deliberately recognized as
juveniles
in the belief that as children they will receive better treatment.
Factors and difficulties
Structural and organizational
constraints
- Because
Indonesia has never had a separate system for the administration of juvenile
justice, the absence of special juvenile courts
or an alternative (such as a
children’s ombudsman), makes it difficult to report any radical change in
this situation. It
will take time to put even cosmetic changes properly into
practice.
- The
lack of detention centres for children in conflict with the law and the limited
number of juvenile correctional institutions poses
a particular difficulty with
regard to making radical changes in the approach towards children in conflict
with the law.
- It
is common practice to place children detained, accused or found guilty of crimes
and civil wards of State (children who, at the
request of their parents or
guardians, have been handed over to the State to be educated on the ruling of a
civil court).
- Deficiencies
in practice, such as those identified in interviews with children placed in the
Tangerang Juvenile Correctional Institution
for Boys, conducted by a team from
the Department of Criminology, Faculty of Sociology and Politics, University of
Indonesia, in
a public service initiative carried out in 1999,
include:
- – Deficiencies
in handling by the police: families are not generally informed of arrests (one
difficulty the police sometimes
face here is that the address of the
parents/family given by the child cannot be traced, or, in certain cases, the
child refuses
to reveal his parents’ address to prevent the parents/family
knowing that the child is facing charges). Also, in many cases,
the police
deliberately fail to inform the suspect of his rights as a child (in violation
of the arrest procedure set forth in the
Code of Criminal Judicial Procedure).
A further deficiency in management by the police concerns the investigation
process, which
still frequently employs violence and is not conducted in a
family-like setting. Also, children are often detained despite the lack
of
sufficient evidence (in violation of provisions set forth in the Juvenile Court
Act), and even though there are no detention facilities
for children;
- – Also
concerning handling by the police, although in certain cases positive discretion
is applied, there is also frequent criticism
of what is considered inhumane or
humiliating police treatment of children. For example, children are ordered to
strip, their hair
is cut and they are forced to walk in a squatting position in
public, and it is even common for them to be recorded by TV cameras;
- – Deficiencies
in handling by the Public Prosecutor, who, in general, does not sympathize with
the child, as evidenced by the
tendency to disregard the child’s statement
in the investigation report drawn up by the police (even if available, it is
seldom
that children suspected or accused of crimes have the support of the
family, a legal advisor, or a corrections officer from the Bureau
of
Corrections, whereas the Public Prosecutor has the support of the police making
the investigation);
- – Deficiencies
in court proceedings include: the family is not informed (by the Public
Prosecutor or the court) of the schedule
for court sessions, which means that
the child does not have the support of his family during court appearances; a
lack of available
defence lawyers/legal advisors; and a court process that does
not give the child an opportunity to air his opinions or to give evidence
that
differs from the written statement in the investigation report or in the
judge’s case file;
- – General
deficiencies were also identified prior to and during the court hearing, in
which the police, Public Prosecutor, and
the court tend to ignore the input
given by the Bureau of Corrections officer. Conversely, there is also a
tendency for the Bureau
of Corrections officers to side more with the law
enforcement apparatus than with the child;
- – A
further factor specifically concerns article 39 of CRC: the absence of special
detention centres for juveniles and the
limited number of juvenile correctional
institutions, means children are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation by adult
detainees
and prisoners;
- – Finally,
a deficiency in the attitude of the staff of juvenile correctional institutions
and in the complaints procedure,
in which cases of abusive and corrupt staff
members cannot be effectively handled because the complaints procedure does not
work.
- Also,
the Criminology Department, Faculty of Sociology and Politics, University of
Indonesia, identified deficiencies in the procedure
for processing civil wards
of State through the courts, in which the Bureau of Corrections officer tends to
side with the parents
or guardian of the child.
Priorities for the next five years
- The
suggestions and recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on
the initial report of Indonesia are felt to be
still relevant and need to be
followed up. In this regard, Indonesia will conduct a comprehensive review of
the existing system
of administration of juvenile justice. To this end, a
comprehensive analysis of the situation, and a comparative study of systems
in
other countries, will perhaps facilitate consideration of a fundamental change
in the system of administration of juvenile justice
in
Indonesia.
- In
the meantime, while awaiting this review and the recommendations arising from
the analysis of the situation, administrative and
educational measures, in
particular aimed at those involved with the system of administration of juvenile
justice, could be adopted
over the next five years, particularly in order to
implement the legal provisions already integrated into domestic Indonesian
legislation.
- Finally,
it should be noted that Indonesia is currently drawing up a Child Protection
Act, in which regulations regarding children
involved in the system of
administration of juvenile justice, both criminal and civil, could be addressed
in more detail.
C. Children in situations of exploitation, including physical
and
psychological recovery and social reintegration
1. Economic
exploitation of children, including child labour (art. 32)
- With
regard to the economic exploitation of children, the Committee on the Rights of
the Child, in its concluding observations on
the initial report of Indonesia
(CRC/C/15/Add.25), gave the following suggestions and recommendations (para.
23):
23. The Committee encourages the efforts currently under way to
adopt adequate norms and implement regulations relating to the protection
of
young children and young persons at work. The mechanism established to monitor
the situation of working children should be strengthened
in order to assess the
implementation of the Convention and to narrow the gap between the law and
practice. The Committee believes
that technical advice, particularly from ILO,
may be appropriate with regard to these matters.
Situation
- The
initial report, submitted to the Committee on the Rights of the Child seven
years ago, described in some detail the situation
regarding child labour, along
with an adequate description of the measures adopted at that time. Therefore,
this report will begin
by describing the measures adopted between 1993 and June
2000, before going on to present an analysis of the progress made regarding
working children during the current reporting period.
- In
addition, this report will make a special analysis of children working on
fishing platforms (jermal), and street children will, in this report, be
categorized as being in a situation of economic exploitation. On the situation
of
child workers on fishing platforms, according to the findings of research
conducted by the Indonesian Child Advocacy Agency, an NGO
based in Medan, it is
estimated that, in 1998, 201 fishing platforms continued to employ 2-4 children
on each platform, for a total
of between 603 and 1,809 child workers. To this
figure should be added the 168 to 336 children working on an estimated 84
tangkul (similar to jermal, but smaller). This total figure
exceeds by far the number of fishing platforms registered at the Provincial
Office of the Department
of Fisheries (162 units), and disproves the statement
made by the Governor of North Sumatra (1998) that the number of fishing
platforms
declined from 344 units in 1988 to only around 144 units in 1997.
It should also be noted that fishing platforms operate not only
in North
Sumatra, but also in the waters around Kalimantan and Sulawesi. Their total
number has yet to be ascertained.
- On
the situation concerning street children, although the existence of street
children had been recognized before the beginning of
the current reporting
period, unfortunately it was not until 1997 that the Department of Social
Affairs, in cooperation with UNICEF,
conducted an analysis of the situation in
order to establish a comprehensive profile of street children in Indonesia.
- This
analysis of the situation concluded that the number of street children in
Indonesia cannot be determined for certain, but quoting
the Department of Social
Affairs (1996), it is estimated that no less than 50,000 children (under the age
of 18) live and earn a
living on the streets of Indonesia’s major
cities.
- On
the reasons for the existence of street children, the analysis identified
several factors, including: (a) the macro social-economic
situation, (b) a
decline in social capital in society, (c) violence in the home, (d)
traumatic experience, (e) the growth of the
informal economic sector in urban
areas, and (f) the existence of a street subculture.
- As
well as being in situations of economic exploitation, street children were also
identified as encountering other problems such
as being subjected to
stigmatization, becoming victims of drug abuse, and being vulnerable to sexual
exploitation.
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- First,
it should be reiterated that the existing reporting system was set up pursuant
to Act No. 7 of 1981 concerning Mandatory Company
Employment Reports, which
was followed by Decree of the Minister of Manpower No. 248/Men/1987 concerning
Reporting Procedure and
Report Form for Companies Employing Children Forced to
Take Up Employment. Article 2, paragraph 3, of this Decree states that
companies
are required to submit a report at the end of each calendar year.
- From
a legislative perspective, in an effort to consolidate several existing laws
aimed at protecting the child from economic exploitation
and performing any work
that is likely to be hazardous to or to interfere with the child’s
education or to be harmful to the
child’s health or physical, mental,
moral or social development, the Government and the House of Representatives
passed Act
No. 25/1997 concerning Employment, under which companies are
prohibited from employing children under the age of 15 (art. 95, para.
1), or
they will be subject to a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a fine of
Rp 200 million (art. 178, paras (a) and (b)).
Unfortunately, however, this
Act contains two flaws, in articles 95, paragraph 2, and article 96, which
provide exceptions that
in practice nullify this protection. Because of these
deficiencies, and for other reasons regarding the issue of employment,
implementation
of this Act was postponed (pursuant to Act No. 11/1998). Act No.
25/1997 is currently under review in order to rectify several deficiencies.
Following an agreement of the Tripartite Plus Meeting in 1998, a Bill on
Employee Protection and Guidance has been submitted to
the Secretary
of State.
- Since
Act No. 25/1997 is not in force, it is necessary to turn to Circular Letter of
the Minister of Manpower No. SE-12/M/BW/1997
on Guidelines for the
Management of Child Workers. The purpose of this Circular Letter is to
provide guidelines for supervisors
of child workers between the ages
of 13 and 18. This quite detailed Circular Letter
mentions 25 industries in which children are
not allowed to work and
establishes strict working hours (4 hours a day, 2 working hours with a
15-minute break plus 2 working hours),
and work hours (children may not work
overtime between 18.00 and 06.00). This Circular Letter paves the way for
ratification of
ILO Conventions Nos. 138 and 182.
- A
further significant measure is that the Department of Manpower, in cooperation
with IPEC/ILO, has provided training for 130 employee
supervisors. Also, 540
companies in four provinces (North Sumatra, West Java, Central Java and East
Java) have been checked and
monitored for compliance. The Department of
Manpower has focused particularly on the footwear and fishing sectors, which are
thought
to employ large numbers of children. However, the Department of
Manpower has taken no legal action for failure to comply, since
these
conventions have yet to be widely publicized in all sectors.
- In
1998, ILO/IPEC, in cooperation with the Department of Home Affairs, attempted to
make use of government funds to motivate young
people at regency level to assist
poor children to prevent them dropping out of school despite being in a
situation where they were
forced to work. Through Ministerial Instruction No.
3/1999 concerning Management of Child Workers, the Department of Home Affairs
charged the Director-General of Rural Community Development with the task of
coordinating management of child worker activities down
to village level. Rp
500,000 per hamlet were made available for these activities, which included
recording the number of child workers
in each village; providing training for
child labour support cadres, including support cadres on the Inpres Desa
Tertinggal (IDT)
programme (a special programme designed for underdeveloped
villages under a presidential decree); counselling for parents and community
leaders on the risks working children face; making efforts to improve protection
for working children by providing practical information
on protection in the
workplace (including tools used); and transferring children from hazardous to
less hazardous work.
- Another
important initiative is a cooperation arrangement between several NGOs, the
Ministry of Health and Social Affairs (formerly
the Department of Social
Affairs), the Department of Manpower, UNICEF, and ILO/IPEC, to widely publicize
information about the United
Nations conventions that provide protection for the
child. Since 1994, two national conferences on child workers have been held.
The most recent was held in July 1999, and
was coordinated by the Human
Resource Bureau of the National Development Planning
Agency.
- It
should also be noted that during the current reporting period, Indonesia
ratified ILO Convention No. 138 concerning the minimum
age to entry into
employment through Act No. 22 of 1999, and ILO Convention No. 182 on the
Worst Forms of Child Labour through Act
No 1/2000.
- Subsequently,
as a follow-up to the ratification of ILO Conventions Nos. 138 and 182, the
Department of Manpower, in cooperation with
its tripartite components, set up a
National Steering Committee comprising tripartite components, higher education
establishments,
and
- NGOs.
The task of this Steering Committee is to provide direction for the
implementation of these conventions. At that time, the
Department of Manpower
and other tripartite members were in the process of drawing up a National Action
Plan, which is expected to
be completed this year. The National Action Plan
covers the following areas:
- – Legal
formulation and implementation;
- – Social
mobilization and advocacy;
- – Rehabilitation
of children suffering physical or mental harm;
- – Training
and counselling for supervisory staff;
- – An
evaluation and monitoring programme.
- Meanwhile,
specifically with regard to the issue of children working on fishing platforms,
the Department of Manpower has taken the
following steps: (a) written letter
No. 193/M/XI/1998 to the Governor of North Sumatra requesting that North
Sumatra provincial
government design a programme for the management of children
working on fishing platforms; (b) with participation from other sectors,
the
Indonesian Navy and NGOs, assisted the North Sumatra provincial government in
presenting an exposé on the problem of fishing
platforms in Jakarta on 16
February 1999; and (c) investigated the problem with the cooperation of the
Indonesian Navy.
- On
the same issue, at regional level, the Governor of North Sumatra issued Circular
Letter No. 560/98 addressing the problem of child
workers on fishing platforms.
Unfortunately, the minimum age for employment was set too low, at 16 years or
below, even though under
the provisions set forth in Act No. 22/1999 the type of
work done by children on fishing platforms should by done by adults (18 years
and over). In addition, the North Sumatra provincial government has developed a
vocational training programme for children relocated
from fishing platforms,
provided them with junior secondary equivalent education, and created on-shore
job opportunities for these
children (Governor of North Sumatra, 1999).
Currently, the North Sumatra provincial government, in cooperation with several
relevant
agencies (Department of National Education, Department of Manpower, and
Ministry of Health and Social Affairs) and NGOs, is seeking
better ways to
develop rehabilitation and reintegration programmes in the community.
- With
regard to street children, during the current reporting period the Government of
Indonesia has adopted the following measures:
- – Developed
a Protection and Social Assistance Programme for Street Children supported by
UNDP funds of US$ 362,000 under project
INS/94/007, to be implemented between
1997-1998 and 2001. As a part of this programme, 10 drop-in centres have
been set up in seven
large cities (Jakarta [2], Bandung, Semarang, Yogyakarta,
Surabaya [2], Medan, and Ujung Pandang [2]). This programme focuses on
the
importance of providing open-door social facilities
for
- – resting,
studying, and obtaining psychosocial help. Scholarships are also available for
children who are attending or wish
to attend school, as well as financial
assistance for the parents of the children. However, since Indonesia has
obtained loan funds
targeting this same population, this assistance will cease
at the end of 2000;
- – Allocated
an equal amount of additional budget funds to meet the needs of existing
programmes by implementing new programmes
funded by ADB loans;
- – Implemented
ADB loans for two projects: US$ 2.7 million for the Social Protection Sector
Development Programme (SPSDP) and
US$ 27.3 million for the Health and Nutrition
Sector Development Programme targeting children in poor communities in 13
cities.
Progress made
- In
terms of national legislation, there is not much progress to report. However,
it is expected that the Bill on Employee Protection
and Development currently
being submitted to the Secretary of State will protect and guarantee the
protection of children from economic
exploitation, particularly given the
increasing role of NGOs following the shift towards a more democratic political
system.
- Nevertheless,
the ratification of the two main ILO Conventions relevant to child
labour
(Nos. 138 and 182) constitutes quite significant progress with regard to efforts
to
protect children from economic exploitation, particularly from the most
hazardous forms of
child labour. Ratification of these two instruments has
also prompted other initiatives, including action specifically related to
children working on fishing platforms, as described in detail
above.
- On
the number of child workers, not much progress has been achieved. However,
there are some interesting trends in Central Bureau
of Statistic (CBS)
statistical data on workforce participation rates since 1990. Between 1990 and
1997 the percentage of working
chidden aged 10-14 years declined on average
by 2 per cent a year (1.2 per cent in urban areas
and 3.03 per cent in rural areas),
but a sharp upward trend since
August 1997 has brought the total number of working children aged 10-14 years
almost back to the 1990
level.
- It
is interesting to note that the percentage increase in the number of working
children is greater in urban areas than in rural areas.
The figures also
reflect the impact of the recent monetary crisis in Indonesia. During the
period August 1997-August 1998, the
number of child workers in urban areas grew
by 19.6 per cent and in rural areas by 2.9 per cent. Between August 1998
and December
1998, the four-month period immediately following the onset of the
crisis, the number of child workers in urban areas increased by
33.6 per cent,
but in rural areas remained constant. Overall growth in the number of child
workers for the period August 19971998
was 5.1 per cent; and in the last
four months, 15.2 per cent.
Figure 3
- In
1994, CBS began including workforce participation figures for children
aged 59 years. Initial studies in Bandung and Medan (Deli
Serdang)
indicate a 0.5 per cent - 1.1 per cent participation. Based on the
1995 National Social Economic Survey, it is estimated
that 210,521 children in
this age group are working - 19,356 in urban areas and 191,165 in rural areas.
Between 1995 and 1998, this
number is estimated to have fallen by 8 per cent
annually. However, the statistics for February-December 1998 show a 42 per cent
growth in the number of children working in rural areas. The economic crisis is
believed to be one of the major factors forcing
children of this age group to
work.
- Workforce
participation figures for 15-18-year olds also give cause for concern. Based on
data to 1996 (computed from CBS sources),
the following trends can be
identified:
- − Overall,
the workforce participation rate dropped from 47.5 per cent in 1997 to
40.7 per cent in 1996. However, the absolute
total rose from 2 million
people to 6.4 million people;
- − Female
workers in this age group rose both in percentage terms from (34.6 to
35.3 per cent) and in absolute terms (from 1.9
million to 2.4
million);
- − In
urban areas the workforce participation rate increased for both males and
females. In percentage terms, the workforce
participation rate rose from 6.8 to
11 per cent, and in absolute terms recorded a dramatic increase from
467,000 to 1.2 million people
(a rise of 150 per cent);
- − In
rural areas the percentage workforce participation rate for males dropped
sharply from 52.3 to 34.9 per cent, with little
change in absolute figures. For
females, the percentage workforce participation rate fell from 29.7 to
24 per cent, although the
absolute number increased sharply from 1.9
million to 2.4 million people.
- The
statistics above seem to indicate that boys who have completed their basic
education are more likely to go to urban areas in search
of work than girls
are.
- One
indicator of exploitation is working hours. Following are data from CBS for the
period August 1997-December 1998 on the number
of child workers aged 10-14 years
working over 25 hours/week.
Figure 4
- In
the case of males, the trend is upward in both rural and urban areas. In the
case of females, there has been a rather dramatic
upward trend in urban areas,
but a downward trend in rural areas.
- Available
statistics for children aged 5-9 years for February-December 1998 indicate that
only around 19.8 per cent of males work
more than five hours a day, but that
this percentage remained constant. There are no statistics on female child
workers available.
In rural areas, the participation rate for male child
workers rose from 11.6 to 16.3 per cent, while the participation rate for
female
child workers fell from 7.9 to 7.4 per cent. These data call for critical
interpretation.
- A
further indication of exploitation is the type of work done by children. CBS
statistics at least indicate that there has been no
increase in the number of
children working in the mining and quarrying sector, as shown in table 33 below.
Although in percentage
terms, participation is low, the absolute figures are of
some concern.
Table 33
Children involved in mining and quarrying
|
1990
|
1996
|
10-14 years
|
0.66% (15 950)
|
1.12% (21 251)
|
15-19 years
|
0.56% (40 964)
|
1.08% (75 384)
|
Source: Mboi & Irwanto (1998) - computed from CBS data.
- Monitoring
by the Department of Manpower indicates that child workers are still to be found
working in the food industry (in the production
of biscuits, nuts, rice noodles,
salt, bottled sauces, crackers, etc). Children also work in the shoe industry,
garment industry,
and in the children’s toy industry. Children were also
found to be working on plantations (oil palm,
rubber, coffee), particularly
in the provinces of North Sumatra, West Java and East Java.
These children
work the same hours as adults. The hazards involved in this kind of work need
not be spelled out. It should also
be noted that “light” work done
by children, such as putting finishing touches on ceramic products, can be
hazardous
since the children are not provided with protective gear.
- In
addition to the quantitative data on child workers presented above, a summary of
other progress made can be reported, as follows:
- − Although
no quantitative data are available, it can be reported that the public, the mass
media and the Government are showing
greater concern over the issue of child
workers. Currently several departments, in particular the Department of
Manpower, the Department
of Home Affairs, the Department of National Education,
and the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, along with the Office of the
State Minister
for Empowerment of Women, are running programmes for children
relevant to this issue;
- − In a
recent (1998) ILO/IPEC study, it was reported that in industrial zones in
Semarang, North Sumatra and Greater Jakarta,
few children were found to be
working. Interviews with bureau heads of Employee Development and Supervision
in North Sumatra and
Semarang indicate that regional offices of the Department
of Manpower are taking concrete steps to implement Circular Letter
No.
SE12/M/BW/1997;
- − There
is increased public interest, including from social institutions such as Islamic
boarding schools, in working towards
improving child welfare. The number of
NGOs concerned with the welfare of street children, for instance, has risen
sharply, although
the majority continue to be donor-driven or
project-based;
- With
regard to street children, it can be reported that, aside from the various
measures referred to above, a more in-depth study
conducted by the Centre for
Community Research and Development, Atma Jaya Jakarta University in 12 cities
(1999/2000) estimates the
number of street children at 40,000, working at light
through hazardous jobs (see table 34 below). If this figure is extrapolated
to
include other cities, the total number of street children is likely to be no
less than 75,000. The survey and social mapping
carried out by the Centre for
Community Research and Development, Atma Jaya Jakarta University (n = 9.247)
indicate the following
trends:
- − Children
begin working on the streets before the age of 12. In fact, a considerable
number began working on the streets before
the age of 7. More females than
males started work on the streets before reaching the age of 7;
- − Only 43
per cent of street children surveyed said they still attended school
(42.8 per cent of males and 44.3 per cent of
females);
- − These
children work more than five hours a day and five days a week.
- Around
47 per cent of these children have been on the streets for less than two years,
and the majority (89 per cent) have been on the streets for less than five
years. Poverty was the main factor causing them to take
to the streets.
However, around 23 per cent of these children quoted psychosocial problems at
home, in particular violence and various
forms of abuse by parents, peers,
members of the public, and the security apparatus as their reason for taking to
the streets.
Figure 5
Table 34
Most common activities of street children in 12
cities
|
Sex
|
Three most common activities (%)
|
I
|
II
|
III
|
Medan
|
M
|
Hawker (46.7)
|
Scavenger (13.1)
|
Market coolie (10.0)
|
F
|
Hawker (56.1)
|
Scavenger (12.2)
|
Market coolie (11.5)
|
Padang
|
M
|
Hawker (30.4)
|
Shoeshiner (14.3)
|
Scavenger (8.4)
|
F
|
Hawker (59.7)
|
Scavenger (11.9)
|
Beggar (9.0)
|
Palembang
|
M
|
Hawker (35.9)
|
Carwasher (16.4)
|
Scavenger (15.8)
|
F
|
Hawker (53.8)
|
Beggar (9.9)
|
Scavenger (8.8)
|
Lampung
|
M
|
Hawker
|
Scavenger (17.6)
|
Carwasher (13.1)
|
F
|
Hawker
|
Street singer (26.0)
|
Market coolie (6.0)
|
Jakarta
|
M
|
Hawker (39.8)
|
Street singer (29.6)
|
Scavenger (6.4)
|
F
|
Street singer (44.7)
|
Hawker (15.4)
|
Beggar (14.1)
|
Bandung
|
M
|
Street singer (52.1)
|
Hawker (33.4)
|
Scavenger (3.1)
|
F
|
Street singer (62.2)
|
Beggar (11.0)
|
Scavenger (9.8)
|
Semarang
|
M
|
Street singer (51.2)
|
Hawker (30.6)
|
Shoeshiner (5.8)
|
F
|
Street singer (51.6)
|
Beggar (16.5)
|
Situational (13.2)
|
Yogyakarta
|
M
|
Street singer (71.9)
|
Hawker (20.0)
|
Scavenger (1.9)
|
F
|
Street singer (62.2)
|
Hawker (13.5)
|
Beggar (10.8)
|
Surabaya
|
M
|
Street singer (45.1)
|
Hawker (38.3)
|
Scavenger (4.7)
|
F
|
Street singer (35.8)
|
Hawker (24.2)
|
Beggar (24.2)
|
Malang
|
M
|
Hawker (55.8)
|
Street singer (14.4)
|
Shoeshiner (7.1)
|
F
|
Beggar (30.8)
|
Hawker (23.1)
|
Street singer (15.4)
|
Mataram
|
M
|
Hawker (36.9)
|
Parking attendant (11.0)
|
Scavenger (10.1)
|
F
|
Market coolie (73.8)
|
Hawker (11.7)
|
Scavenger (6.9)
|
Makassar
|
M
|
Hawker (45.5)
|
Market coolie (12.7)
|
Scavenger (11.7)
|
F
|
Hawker (55.1)
|
Beggar (15.0)
|
Scavenger (14.0)
|
Source: Irwanto et al. (2000).
Factors and difficulties
- Factors
and difficulties encountered with regard to this issue are as
follows:
- − Implementation
of employment-related legislation is severely limited by the lack of inspectors,
who number only around 1,315
persons, 346 of whom are administrative personnel.
This small number (969) of operating inspectors have to monitor
168,392 companies
and 9 million workers. Exacerbating the problem is the
lack of knowledge and skills these inspectors have with regard to monitoring
the
presence of child workers;
- − The
existing system of reporting (Act No. 7/1981 and Decree of the Minister of
Manpower No. 748/Men/1987) is in need of review
in order to reflect needs
arising from Act. No. 22/1999 (ratifying ILO Convention No. 138) and Act No.
1/2000 (ratifying ILO Convention
No. 182). The system of reporting must be made
as simple as possible and provide protection for the person making the
report;
- − In
terms of legislation, it is difficult to refer to CRC because (a) the Convention
is ratified only by a Presidential Decree,
which, in the hierarchy of national
legislation, rates below an act, and (b) there are reservations to many articles
of the Convention;
- − Recently
ratified, ILO Conventions (Nos. 138 and 182) have a better chance of being
implemented. However, a fundamental difficulty
is that the Department of
Manpower and its Tripartite lack adequate access to the informal sector. This
sector is high-risk, from
both a social and health perspective;
- − For no
apparent reason, since 1998 CBS has ceased publishing figures on the workforce
participation rate for children aged
5-9 years and 10-14 years. This decision
is undoubtedly detrimental, although apparently the data is available for those
wishing
to process it;
- − A
further structural constraint concerns the level of per capita income and the
quality of public service. While there are
still citizens earning an income
below the poverty line (absolute), it is difficult to prevent children becoming
economically active.
Likewise, if the quality of public service is such that it
fails to provide proper social security for adult workers and a low level
of
education and health-care services, the problem of working children will be
difficult to deal with. Therefore, programmes to
alleviate poverty and raise
workers’ incomes must be prioritized and targeted.
Priorities for the next five years
- Priorities
for the next five years are as follows:
- − Providing
larger subsidies for the education sector, in particular for elementary
education (elementary and junior secondary
schools);
- − The
National Action Plan to implement Act No. 20/99 and Act No. 1/2000 will be
completed (by the Department of Manpower in
cooperation with ILO), and followed
up by developing a system of monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of
ILO Conventions
Nos. 138 and 182;
- − Research
and compilation of data on children in a situation of economic exploitation need
to be pursued since available data
are inadequate for designing effective
programmes;
- − Rehabilitation
and reintegration measures need to be developed, particularly as part of the
implementation of Act No. 1/2000
(ILO Convention No. 182);
- − Design
and adoption of an act that provides comprehensive protection for the child in
accordance with international standards
ratified by Indonesia.
2. Drug abuse (art. 33)
Situation
- The
1992 initial report did not cover the issue of drug abuse. One reason for this
is that this is a hidden issue about which little
is known. Even today, data on
drug abuse cannot be confirmed. Therefore, estimates will be based on the only
data guaranteed to
be accurate, which are data from the Drug Dependency Hospital
established in Jakarta in 1972.
- Since
initial available data do not include preceding years, description of the
situation in the present report will start from 1996.
In that year, 2,090
patients were registered at the Drug Dependency Hospital. Based on the
assumption that each patient treated
at the Drug Dependency Hospital represents
200 other people, who, for various reasons, are not receiving medical care, the
number
of narcotic abusers would be in excess of 400,000. Children under the
age of 19 account for one quarter of this figure.
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- Relevant
measures and policies adopted during the current reporting period are outlined
below.
- First,
on legislative measures, two key pieces of legislation were adopted during the
current reporting period: Act No. 5/1997 concerning
Psychotropics and Act No.
22/1997 concerning Narcotics. The latter act provides for fairly heavy
sanctions against producers and
dealers of narcotics, the death sentence being
the maximum penalty (art. 80).
- Also
during the current reporting period, Indonesia ratified two international
instruments on narcotics and psychotropics, namely
the United Nations Convention
on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 (ratified by Act No. 8/1996) and the United
Nations Convention against
Illicit Traffic in Narcotics Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances of 1988 (ratified by Act No. 7/1998).
- An
important administrative measure adopted during the current reporting period was
the drawing up of the Indonesia Drug Control Master
Plan in 1997, which
covers the period 1999-2000 to 2003-2004. This plan describes programmes
aimed at reducing demand and repressive
action to reduce supply.
- Currently,
the Department of Health, assisted by international organizations including
intergovernmental organizations (WHO, UNAIDS,
USAID and AusAID), is undertaking
a Rapid Assessment Response on Injecting Drug Use in anticipation of a spread in
the use of intravenous
drugs and the risk of the spread of fatal diseases such
as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C.
Figure 6
Figure 7
Progress made
- Some
progress can be reported in this area. For instance, integration of the issue
of narcotics into education for children, in which
the Department of Education
and Culture, in cooperation with UNICEF, has developed modules of Skills for a
Healthy Life through a
physical health improvement programme that includes
information and skills for resisting pressure to use narcotics.
- Also,
it should be noted that the recent mushrooming of community initiatives focused
on eradicating narcotics is thought to have
come about as a result of intensive
campaigning on narcotics and psychotropics.
- However,
it is most unfortunate that the measures adopted since 1997 have yet to
effectively reduce the level of drug abuse among
children, as indicated by the
data below.
- Figure
6 above shows a sharp rise in the number of patients being treated by the Drug
Dependency Hospital. In the space of just two
years (1997-1999), the number of
patients almost doubled, although the data for 1999 cover only up to the month
of November. One
likely reason for this sharp increase is that users and their
families are more aware of the need to seek professional help, but
it could also
reflect the fact that narcotics abuse has spread to all levels of society.
- Of
greater concern is that, when broken down by age, the figures reveal a large
number of child drug abusers. Based on data for 1998
(see figure 7 above),
children under 19 account for 40.6 per cent of all narcotics abusers. Data
from 1999 show no significant change,
although the percentage is lower (37.2 per
cent). Data from the Drug Dependency Hospital also indicate that 63 per cent of
outpatients
and inpatients are still in school or higher education. This
situation could deteriorate since juvenile drug abusers are apparently
more
easily influenced: as well as being users, they are also coaxed into becoming
dealers. The number of child drug dealers, however,
is not yet known.
- Assuming
that each patient undergoing treatment at the Drug Dependency Hospital
represents 200 other drug users who, for various reasons,
are not receiving
medical care, the total number of narcotics abusers amounts to 1.6 million
people, 640,000 of whom are children
under the age of 19. The actual
number is very probably far greater since drug abuse has already spread to rural
and urban areas,
among both the poor (street children, for instance) and the
rich. Of great concern is the epidemiological evidence that, at the
Drug Dependency Hospital, 84 per cent of patients are opium users
(heroin) and 42 per cent are injecting drug users. Although the
likelihood of
the spread of HIV among injecting drug users cannot be confirmed, clinical data
from a small sample indicate that more
than 10 per cent are infected with HIV
and 70 per cent with hepatitis C.
Factors and difficulties
- Notwithstanding
the numerous, fairly extensive measures adopted and the successes achieved with
regard to this issue, the rise in
narcotics abuse among children may be due to
the factors enumerated below.
- Regarding
legislation, there has been much criticism that provisions fail to give adequate
protection to children who have become
narcotics abusers. Based on existing
legislation, a child who uses and/or deals in narcotics and psychotropics, is
regarded as an
offender and is subject to fairly heavy sanctions. Act No.
22/1997 on narcotics, for instance, states as follows:
- − The
parents of an under-age abuser are required to report the child to an official
appointed by the Government for treatment
(art. 46, para. 1);
- − The
parents of an underage abuser who fail to report the child will be subject to a
prison term of six months and a fine of
Rp 1 million (art. 86, para. 1);
- − In the
event that an underage abuser is reported, no penal sanctions shall apply
(ibid., para. 2).
- According
to the provisions of article 46, the definition of “under age” is in
line with Act No. 3/1997 concerning Juvenile
Courts, which sets the
age of criminal responsibility at 8 years. In other words, only
children under the age of 8 who are reported
will not be subject to penal
sanctions. There are very few, if any, narcotics abusers aged under 8. This
means almost all child
drug abusers will be treated as offenders and be subject
to penal sanctions, and, if they are involved in dealing, may even face
the
death penalty (art. 80).
- In
terms of administrative measures, there are weaknesses in coordination, a lack
of equipment, and a shortage of professional staff,
in particular non-medical
staff with expertise in child drug abuse. This means that key services, such as
detoxification and rehabilitation
(including, for instance, methadone
maintenance), are very limited, if not non-existent. Likewise,
postdetoxification services,
which currently are more commonly provided by
private agencies, are seldom accompanied by adequate professional
supervision.
- Prevention
programmes, such as drug eradication programmes or risk and harm reduction
programmes, like needle exchange programmes
and needle cleaning programmes, as
well as education, information and communication measures, are still limited.
Very few schools
have education programmes on the hazards of narcotics and ways
to avoid them. Information on prevention available to the public
is also very
limited.
- The
public is not particularly trusting of services provided by the State, such as
Pamardi Siwi (provided by the police) or even the Drug Dependency
Hospital. The public tends to consider these services as means of
“penalizing”
children.
- With
regard to recovery and reintegration into the family and society, very few
measures have been adopted. To date, there is only
one Drug Dependency Hospital
in Indonesia, located in Jakarta. Although the Department of Social Affairs
(the Ministry of Health
and Social Affairs) has rehabilitation units for child
and young narcotics abusers, unfortunately they are severely restricted in
number and capacity. Thus, the process of recovery and reintegration into the
family and society is more commonly handled by NGOs.
Priorities for the next five years
- The
priorities for the coming five-year period are as follows:
- − Repressive
action to reduce supply (supply reduction action will remain at current levels
and intensity);
- − Development
of better coordinated, better integrated services (at administrative level),
including the development of prevention
programmes, in particular education
programmes. Pending amendments to legislation that treats the child as an
offender, it is necessary
to develop policy to minimize sanctions against child
drug abusers;
- − Improving
coordination and developing rehabilitation facilities. Social and education
programmes, as well as information
and communication programmes, need to be
developed as a preventative measure.
3. Sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (art. 34)
Situation
- Little
was known of the sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and commercial exploitation
of children before UNICEF, in cooperation with
the Department of Social Affairs,
began an initiative to analyse the situation in 1997. The present report,
therefore, will begin
by describing the situation in 1997, based on this
analysis of the situation.
- Incidents
of sexual abuse are not properly recorded for several reasons, including the
lack of support facilities and the “dark
number” factor. It is
estimated that, of all cases of abuse identified, around 60 per cent of victims
were children under
the age of 18. The majority of victims are girls, although
male victims have also been recorded.
- With
regard to the commercial exploitation of children, analysis of the situation
revealed that all forms of commercial exploitation
(child prostitution,
trafficking of children for sexual purposes and child pornography) exist in
Indonesia, involving both female
and male children, on a very small scale, with
the exception of sexual trafficking of children.
- As
for child prostitution, it is estimated that children account for 30 per cent of
all sex workers operating in Indonesia, which
is equal to around 40,000-70,000
children. Although several cases of child sexual trafficking can be quoted,
their number and extent
cannot be determined. There are also indications of
cases of child pornography, although the situation is less serious than that
of
child prostitution or sexual trafficking of children.
- Legal
protection for child victims of sexual abuse (in the Criminal Code) are fairly
inadequate since the effective agelimit for statutory
rape is set too low, at 12
years, and the maximum penal sanctions for abusers are too light compared with
the maximum penal sanctions
for perpetrators of “rape” in general.
Likewise, the Criminal Code currently in effect in Indonesia does not provide
protection for prostituted children and victims of child pornography.
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- Unfortunately,
to date, Indonesia has adopted no legislative or other measures in this
regard.
- One
significant relevant measure in this context is that, during the current
reporting period, Indonesia participated in the World
Congress Against
Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, held in Stockholm in August 1996 and
lent support to the adoption at
that congress of the Stockholm Declaration and
Agenda for Action. A further measure relevant to the commercial exploitation of
children
was the ratification of ILO Convention No. 182 through Act No.
1/2000.
- Unfortunately,
until the end of the current reporting period (June 2000), Indonesia had not
elaborated a national agenda for action,
as mandated by the Stockholm Congress.
However, it is hoped that the drawing up of the National Action Plan, mandated
by ILO Convention
No. 182, will pave the way for providing protection to
child victims, in particular child victims of commercial sexual
exploitation.
- With
regard to measures to protect child victims of sexual abuse, it is hoped that
the amendments currently being made to the Criminal
Code will provide more
adequate protection for child victims of sexual abuse (and child victims of
commercial sexual exploitation).
Progress made
- Due
to the absence of any effective measures to provide protection for child victims
of sexual abuse and commercial sexual exploitation,
no progress can be reported
thus far.
- Meanwhile,
the social reality is that the sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children
seem to be on the increase, in particular
as a result of the economic crisis
that began in 1997.
A new problem in this regard is that paedophilia,
involving foreign nationals for instance, is becoming more
commonplace.
PAEDOPHILIA IN BALI
Since 1996, researchers from Udayana University, Bali, have been conducting
a very detailed ethnographic research into the involv1ement
of foreign tourists
in the sexual exploitation of children. Up to 1999, 11 foreign nationals have
been identified as having been
frequently married to and divorced from children
under the age of 13, in particular girls from one village in Karangasem. Among
those identified are people photographing children in exotic poses, collecting
children’s underwear, and taking children to
watch pornographic films.
The 11 people identified (German, Australian, American and French), and who
have been observed closely
for a long period of time, in fact often
“swap” children with one another. Several paedophiles have also
been identified
as sending children overseas. They purchase houses in remote
and isolated villages. As yet no foreign paedophiles have been arrested
and
jailed in Bali. The researchers themselves are afraid to make a report since
these paedophiles belong to a powerful network,
which could put the
researchers’ safety at risk.
|
Factors and difficulties
- Apart
from the lack of commitment from legislators and of awareness on the part of
bureaucrats to providing better protection for
child victims of sexual abuse and
(commercial) sexual exploitation, an objective difficulty exists regarding the
legal system currently
in force in Indonesia, a system which, with regard to
both civil and public law, was inherited from the colonial legal system (certain
similarities exist between the two). Therefore, comprehensive measures are
needed to review and improve the legal system in Indonesia.
- Also,
it should be noted that the persistently strong moral religious approach to
reproduction and sexuality in general often obfuscates
the practical importance
of providing protection for victims.
Priorities for the next five years
- The
priorities for the coming five-year period are as follows:
- − Completing
the National Plan of Action mandated by ILO Convention No.182, and drawing up a
National Agenda for Action, as
mandated by the Stockholm World Congress Against
Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children. These two documents should be
comprehensive
and integrative, so that they can be used as a platform for
building programmes for prevention, protection, psychosocial recovery,
and
social reintegration of child victims of commercial sexual exploitation;
- − At the
legislative level, given that the Criminal Code is a most essential compilation
of penal law special attention will
also be given to the drawing up of a new
criminal code, currently under way, in particular to providing more adequate
protection
for child victims of sexual abuse and of sexual exploitation. Also,
priority will be given to drawing up the Child Protection Act,
also currently in
process;
- − At the
administrative level, the surveillance system will be improved, in particular in
law enforcement institutions. In
this regard, cooperation will be forged at
international level (both bilateral and multilateral), in particular with regard
to the
principle of extraterritoriality and child sexual trafficking;
- − At the
social and educational level, relevant social and education measures will be
adopted to ensure compliance with the
principles and provisions contained in CRC
relevant to this issue, in particular by taking advantage of the opportunity
provided
by regional autonomy through decentralized approaches (pending
amendments to legislation at the national level).
4. Sale, trafficking and abduction (art. 35)
Situation
- To
date, little is known about the situation concerning the sale, trafficking and
abduction of children, although several cases have
been reported. The mass
media, particularly newspapers and magazines, reported 15 cases of child
abduction from January to March
2000. In general, the children involved were
under 10 years of age. In the cases reported, perpetrators admitted having
abducted
the child to be used for sexual purposes, for work, or to accompany the
perpetrator’s wife at home. Until 26 April 2000, no
children were
reported missing.
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- With
regard to this issue, no measures were adopted during the current reporting
period. However, it should be noted that cases of
abduction and sale of
children are normally handled as criminal cases under the Criminal
Code.
Progress made
- No
progress can be reported on this issue during the current reporting
period.
Factors and difficulties
- The
main difficulty lies in the fact that no analysis has been made of this
situation, so that systematic measures to protect children
from being sold,
trafficked or abducted cannot be undertaken. In this regard, it should be noted
that there is a conceptual problem
with regard to differentiating between sale
and trafficking, and to the difference between trafficking and trafficking for
sexual
purposes as a part of the commercial exploitation of children.
Priorities for the next five years
- The
most relevant priority is to conduct an analysis of the situation as a platform
for adopting systematic measures needed to tackle
this issue.
5. Other forms of exploitation (art. 36)
Situation
- Other
forms of exploitation can perhaps be reported using several examples.
Exploitation of child celebrities is a case in point.
According to a report in
one daily newspaper published in Jakarta in February 2000, from journalist
observations and interviews
with the parents of these children, it is known that
several child celebrities are forced to work more than six hours a day recording
in recording studios (for films and advertisements). If that is the case, this
undoubtedly cuts into their play and recreation time.
This is also in violation
of ILO Convention No. 182, which has been ratified by Indonesia.
- Another
notable example is the frequent eruption of ethnic conflicts and social
tensions, especially lately. According to reports,
children of school age and
young people are for the most part often enticed into or allowed to be involved
in social unrest, looting
and plundering. As a consequence, many children have
been injured or have even lost their lives. Although no exact figures are
available, television reports on the unrest and looting in various regions of
Indonesia do indicate that children are involved.
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- No
measures have been adopted during the current reporting period in response to
other forms of exploitation of children.
Factors and difficulties
- It
should be noted that issues such as exploitation of child celebrities are not
yet given serious attention in Indonesia. Meanwhile,
in cases of unrest
involving children, the political situation sometimes dampens the desire to
uphold the law.
Priorities for the next five years
- One
challenge for the protection of children in this regard concerns public
perception of the forms of exploitation of children.
D. Children belonging to minority or indigenous groups (art.
30)
Situation
- Minority
groups in Indonesia can be categorized on the basis of religious, ethnic and
geographical differences as follows:
- − Groups
whose religion differs from that embraced by the majority;
- − Isolated
indigenous groups.
- One
minority group then are those who profess a religion other than Islam.
According to records from the Department of Religious Affairs, religious
minorities make up around 12.7 per cent of the population
(Protestant,
6.04 per cent; Catholic, 3.58 per cent;
Hindu, 1.83 per cent; Buddhist, 1.03 per cent; and
others, 0.32 per cent), while
the majority (87.21 per cent)
are Muslim.
- Legislation
in force prior to the beginning of the current reporting period that
discriminates against minority religions includes:
(a) Presidential
Decree No. 1 of 1965 concerning Prevention of Religious Profanity or
Blasphemy, which states that the Indonesian
Government recognizes only certain
religions (art. 1). This decree became law following the enactment of Act
No. 5 of 1969 concerning
Declaration of Several Presidential Decrees and
Presidential Regulations as Acts;
(b) Circular Letter of the Minister of Home Affairs No. 477/4054
dated 18 November 1978 concerning Guidelines for Completing the
“Religion” Column in the Appendix to Circular Letter of
the
Minister of Home Affairs No. 221-a of 1975.
- Other
restrictive provisions in effect prior to the beginning of the current reporting
period, affecting, in particular, Indonesian
citizens of Chinese extraction by
effectively restricting their organization of religious and traditional
activities, are contained
in the discriminatory Presidential Instruction
No. 14 of 1975 concerning Chinese Religions, Beliefs and Traditions.
- On
indigenous groups, Presidential Decree No. 111 of 1999 concerning
Developing the Social Welfare of Indigenous Communities states
that indigenous
communities are “communities that reside or range in geographically remote
and isolated places, are isolated
in a sociocultural sense, and/or remain
underdeveloped compared to the Indonesian people in general. They generally
live in remote
highlands, remote lowlands, coastal areas or marshland, and
marine estuaries”.
- It
should also be noted that in Indonesia there are around 360 ethnic groups, more
than half of which are to be found in the province
of Papua. Some live in
remote areas far from public service facilities.
- Conflict
arising from the violation of the rights of indigenous people continues to rage
throughout Indonesia - between the Sugapa
people of North Sumatra and PT. Inti
Indorayon Utama, between the Moi people of Sorong and PT Intimpura, and between
the Amungme
and Kamoro peoples and PT Freeport Indonesia in Irian Jaya. In
Sulawesi, the Kali people have been forced to accept a hydroelectric
project on
Lindu Lake, and in Toraja the development of coffee plantations is encroaching
more and more on indigenous land. In East
Kalimanta, the Bentian people, who
call themselves “Sempekat Jato Rempangan”, are in conflict
with PT Kalhold Utama. In August 1994, the Dayak people in Sandai and Sungai
Laur Subdistricts in Ketapang
Regency, West Kalimantan, were in conflict with PT
Lingga Teje, a holder of forest industry concessions. The Ombo Lake case in
Java
involving the Kanekes people also demonstrates that land rights and
indigenous rights are being increasingly encroached upon by development
projects.
- In
1996, the Social Welfare Data and Information Centre of the Department of Social
Affairs reported that the total population of
indigenous people amounted to 2
million. By 1998, this figure had fallen to 1.2 million people or around
215,789 families spread
throughout 18 provinces of Indonesia. People under
the age of 20 (children) account for an estimated 45 per cent of this
figure.
- Based
on data from the Department of Social Affairs (1995), the habitats of indigenous
groups can be divided into four categories:
(a) Highland
communities, such as the Dani, Ekari, Ngalum and Lani in Irian Jaya (Papua), the
Tolare in Central Sulawesi, the Bukit
Dayak in South Kalimantan, and the Baduy
in Lebak;
(b) Interior communities, such as the Punan, Kenyah and Manyuke in
Kalimantan, the Wana in Central Sulawesi, the Anak Dalam, Talang
Mamak and Sakai
in Sumatra, and the Tugutil in Halmabera;
(c) Coastal and marshland communities, such as the Asmat and Muyu of Irian
Jaya, and the Akit and Bonai of Sumatra;
(d) Marine estuary communities, such as the Bajau and Laut of the Riau
Archipelago.
- These
groups cannot be categorized as indigenous peoples as defined in article 1 (b)
of ILO Convention No. 169 but are more correctly
categorized as tribal
peoples, whose social, cultural, and economic conditions and status are governed
by the customs and traditions
of the community or by special laws and
regulations.
- One
problem that particularly concerns children belonging to indigenous groups is
that in general these children have no access to
basic education, health or
other social welfare services. These children generally live with their parents
and communities in remote
areas (physically isolated due to the habitat in which
they live) and are prevented from communicating with the outside world
(sociocultural
isolation). They also have strong traditions and have difficulty
accepting values from outside, leaving them more underdeveloped
than the people
of surrounding communities. In terms of level of welfare, these indigenous
groups are categorized as very poor.
Measures adopted (1993-June 2000)
- The
main legislative measure adopted by Indonesia with regard to the rights of
children belonging to minority or indigenous groups
was the adoption of Act
No. 39 of 1999 on Human Rights, article 22 of which
states:
1. Everyone has the right to freedom to choose his religion
and to worship according to the teachings of his religion and beliefs.
2. The State guarantees everyone the freedom to choose and practise his
religion and to worship according to his religion and beliefs.
- These
provisions indicate a shift in the attitude of the Government of Indonesia, by
legally eradicating past discriminatory administrative
practices which
recognized the existence of only certain religions (Islam, Protestant
Christianity, Catholicism, Balinese Hinduism
and Buddhism).
- With
the entry into force of Act No. 39/1999, discriminatory provisions
contained in previous regulations, in particular in Presidential
Decree
No. 1 of 1965 and Circular Letter of the Minister of Home Affairs
No. 477/74054 dated 18 November 1978 referred to above were
revoked. Also,
as a follow-up to Act No. 39/1999, Presidential Decree No. 6/2000
concerning Revocation of Presidential Instruction
No. 14 of 1967 concerning
Chinese Religions, Beliefs and Traditions was issued. This means that
henceforth Chinese religious and
traditional activities may be organized without
the need for a special licence as in the past.
- With
regard to indigenous groups, during the current reporting period the Government
of Indonesia, through the Department of Social
Affairs (now the Ministry of
Health and Social Affairs), has worked towards improving the welfare of these
groups in Indonesia through
various policies and programmes in implementation of
Decree No. 05/HUK/1994 of the Minister of Social Affairs on ameliorating
the
social welfare services provided to indigenous groups, through the
Indigenous Peoples’ Social Welfare Programme. The essential
goal of this
programme is to improve the welfare of indigenous communities, including their
children.
- Following
the issue of Presidential Decree No. 111 of 1999 on Developing the Social
Welfare of Indigenous Communities, the name of
this programme was changed to the
Indigenous Community Social Welfare Programme (ICSWP).
- The
technical policy aimed at optimizing the implementation of the Programme is
directed towards:
(a) Improving the quality and reach of social
services (clothing, food, housing, education and health) for children and
families;
(b) Improving the degree of coordination through ICSWP Work Teams, which
include stakeholders from the Government, higher education
establishments, NGOs,
traditional/community leaders and international consultants;
(c) Consolidating the role of ICSWP consultation forums in regions or
environments where indigenous communities live;
(d) Building the role of civil society, particularly NGOs, in empowering
indigenous groups.
- As
a consequence of Presidential Decree No. 111/1999, Decree
No. 05/HUK/1994 of the Minster of Social Affairs and the technical policy,
the Government is making a more serious effort to improve the development of
indigenous groups by establishing teams of experts and
intersectoral work teams
at both the national and regional levels, entrusted with the task of drawing up
plans for and implementing
and monitoring programmes that are appropriate to the
local sociocultural system.
- Between
1997 and 2000, budget allocation through the Department of Social Affairs
for this initiative increased on average by 75 per cent annually.
In the 1998/99 fiscal
year, Rp 35 billion were allocated, up by
88 per cent over the 1997/98 budget of
Rp 18.6 billion.
- Key
activities implemented include a sociocultural approach and motivation, the
setting up of social operations units, undertaking
sociocultural and
environmental research, and providing guidance in settlements, in consolidating
social conditions and in developing
indigenous communities.
- Activities
carried out in 1998-1999 can be categorized into the following four groups, by
type of service provided:
(a) Insitu development, or development of
communities built on lands originally belonging to indigenous groups;
(b) Exsitu development, or development of communities built on suitable new
locations (involving 7,894 families);
(c) Community incentive development that focuses on the community’s
own capacity to contribute to the provision of public and
social facilities.
The target group in this category involves 1,918 families, while 4,699 families
receive upgrading;
(d) Relocation in Transmigration Locations: this is an integrated programme
involving the Department of Social Affairs, the Department
of Transmigration,
the Department of Health, the Department of Religious Affairs, the Department of
Agriculture, the Department of
Forestry, the Department of Education and
Culture, the Department of Home Affairs and regional government, which
prioritizes target
communities living in physical and sociocultural isolation
that renders them underdeveloped in several aspects of their lives.
- In
addition to the above activities, to improve family welfare start-up capital
assistance for income-generating activities has been
given to 3,495 families
spread across 83 groups
in 57 locations. This programme is one way of
improving family welfare, which it is hoped will ultimately have a positive
impact
on the quality of life and welfare of the children belonging to these
indigenous groups.
- One
activity relevant to the protection of the rights of children belonging to
indigenous groups is an intersectoral programme facilitated
by Regional Work
Teams aimed at empowering indigenous groups to improve the access their children
have to basic education and healthcare
facilities.
- Efforts
to improve ICSWP by providing protection for the rights of the child have been
made through a consultative forum between ICSWP
Work Teams and Heads of
Provincial Offices of the Department of Social Affairs and Heads of Regency
Bureaux of Social Affairs, as
well as through participation in a training
seminar on Childcare Skills for Social Workers or Workers at Government or
Private Social
Institutions, held on 29 July 1996, the aim of which was to
extend the reach of social childcare services to include children belonging
to
indigenous groups.
- Efforts
towards appropriate development of indigenous communities based on local
sociocultural systems are also being made by NGOs,
such as Yayasan Kemajuan dan
Pengembangan Asmat in Jakarta, Yayasan Bimbingan dan Santunana Masyarakat Baduy
in west Java, Yayasan
Bina Masyarakat Pedalaman in east Kalimantan, Yayasan
Penyantunan Anak Masyarakat Terasing in south Sulawesi, Yayasan Bina Desa and
Lembaga Studi Masyarakat Terasing in Irian Jaya.
- One
notable example of participatory development and empowerment of indigenous
groups is a joint NGO initiative undertaken by the
Consortium for the
Development of the Nusa Tenggara Highlands, which between 1993 and 1996 designed
a model of development employing
participatory rural appraisal (PRA). Also,
Studio Driya Media (an NGO), in cooperation with several other NGOs (including,
among
others, Mitra Tani, World Education, Bina Swadaya, LP3ES and Yayasan
Mandiri), widely publicizes the PRA method for application in
many provinces,
particularly in underdeveloped rural areas of Kalimantan, west Java,
west Nusa Tenggara, east Nusa Tenggara, among
others.
- Raising
awareness of the importance of taking into consideration local tradition,
language and social institutions, the PRA method
provides a sensitive approach
to the diversity of indigenous sociocultural systems. Many studies employing
PRA identify child welfare
as an issue, as well as a public need to improve
education and health. The diversity of sociocultural systems must be understood
and viewed as a resource or source of social capital existing in these
communities. In many parts of Indonesia local sociocultural
systems have
undergone change and have begun to disappear. However, if local cultural
characteristics are revitalized in appropriate
ways, this will, over time, make
a significant contribution towards national development.
Progress made
- With
the enactment of Act No. 39 of 1999, children and parents belonging to religious
groups will no longer be subjected to discriminatory
practices. They will have
equal access to basic education and healthcare services and will be allowed to
enjoy their own culture,
practise their own religion and use their own language.
- Likewise,
with regard to religious education, every school must provide appropriate
lessons to all children, irrespective of their
professed religion. Also, every
child has the legal right to worship or celebrate religious festivals in
accordance with his religious
beliefs.
- The
total population of indigenous people amounts to 1,198,294, with only 49,061
families now having access to basic social services.
Meanwhile, 202,695 other
families have no access to social services, the majority (65 per cent)
of whom live in the province of
Papua. In this province, 5,936 families
belonging to indigenous groups currently have access to basic social services,
while 135,500
families, or 735,765 people, continue to have no access to such
services.
- The
setting up of regional work teams has prompted sector units and regional
government to develop social infrastructure and facilities
by building roads,
markets, schools and healthcare facilities. Also, there is an initiative to
develop a referral system for children
belonging to indigenous groups allowing
them access to services offered by their nearest ChildConcerned Social
Institution.
- Due
to the absence of an integrated monitoring and evaluation mechanism, in
particular with regard to social protection for children,
data on child
education and welfare development are not monitored.
Factors and difficulties
- With
regard to religious minorities, the provisions set forth in Act No. 39 of
1999 are not easily understood by the general public,
as this is a sensitive
issue in Indonesia. To implement these provisions government regulations are
needed to affirm the right of
everyone to freely choose his religion and to
worship according to the teachings of his religion and beliefs, and that the
State
guarantees everyone the freedom to choose and practise his religion and to
worship according to his religion and beliefs.
- Concerning
indigenous groups, several difficulties in improving their social welfare have
been identified at ICSWP consultative forums.
Difficulties often encountered in
providing protection for children belonging to indigenous groups include the
following:
- − Because
programme goals are still limited to family targets, social welfare improvement
programmes targeted at indigenous
communities do not prioritize child protection
initiatives;
- − Some
social protection initiatives for children are not properly monitored due to the
absence of an integrated and intersectoral
information, monitoring and
evaluation programme;
- − Limited
awareness on the part of policy makers, programmes and projects of the
importance of implementing the rights of the
child to enjoy his or her own
culture, to profess and practise his or her own religion, and to use his or her
own language, as set
forth in article 30 of CRC, means initiatives tend to be
mainstream cultureoriented rather than indigenous cultureoriented;
- − Since
available education and healthcare facilities are geographically outside the
reach of indigenous communities, their
participation in education and access to
healthcare facilities are limited. However, efforts to take children out of
these communities
to attend school continue to meet with resistance from local
leaders;
- − The
limited number of teachers in indigenous communities means that teachers
teaching near isolated or in remote indigenous
communities generally come from
outside the community itself, bringing with them cultures and traditions that
differ from those of
the children they are teaching;
- − Social
workers providing social assistance encounter difficulties communicating with
and relating to indigenous communities,
due to their geographical isolation and
other geographical factors and a lack of adequate facilities and infrastructure,
and of communication
tools;
- − The
limited capacity of social workers for applying participatory approaches (such
as PRA) that are sensitive to the diversity
of sociocultural systems means these
systems are not optimally utilized in the process of developing indigenous
communities, even
though the local sociocultural system constitutes a source of
social capital that has grown and flourished from generation to generation
and
remains deeply rooted in the community.
Priorities for the next five years
- With
regard to religious minorities, efforts will be made to harmonize regulations
and national and local administrative practices
so as to bring them into line
with Act No. 39 of 1999 on Human Rights.
- As
for indigenous groups, the aim for the next five years is to gradually raise the
quality of life of children belonging to these
groups to that of Indonesian
children in general, and to provide them equal access to basic education and
health-care services.
- Another
goal is to improve the level of welfare of children belonging to underdeveloped
indigenous communities in isolated and remote
locations.
- The
strategy for achieving these goals will include empowerment of families and
communities; participation by local leaders and the
community; protection of
local potential and culture, including the protection of territorial and
traditional rights; optimization
of the use of local resources; partnerships and
cooperation with NGOs; decentralization of project implementation; and
integration
of territorial mapping in order to afford children the maximum
possible access to education and healthcare services.
- Components
of these activities will include:
- − Ethnographic
studies and needs analysis for the protection of the rights of children living
in isolated indigenous communities;
- − Integrating
article 30 and other relevant articles of CRC into handbooks on empowering
indigenous communities;
- − Widely
publicizing ILO Convention No. 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples
in Independent Countries, and then lobbying
the Government of Indonesia to
ratify this Convention;
- − Conducting
studies and/or writing academic papers on the rights of children belonging to
indigenous communities, in particular
the rights referred to in
articles 24-31 of CRC;
- − Providing
social guidance and counselling on the importance of protecting the
child’s rights to continue to live in
his or her own cultural setting, to
profess and practise his or her own religion and to use his or her own
language;
- − Developing
integrated infrastructure and establishing social operations units, structuring
and developing public facilities,
and providing education and healthcare
facilities;
- − Implementing
outreach programmes and developing a referral system for children who wish to
participate in formal education
or to have access to social institutions;
- − Improving
children’s access to basic healthcare services;
- − Providing
health, reproductive, and nutrition services for children and
women.
-----
[*] For the initial report submitted
by the Government of Indonesia, see CRC/C/3/Add.10, for its consideration by the
Committee, see
documents CRC/C/SR.79-81 and CRC/C/15/Add.25.
GE.03-42850 (E) 230903
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