Ministry of Defense: Presidential Regulation on Business and Human Rights is Waiting for Menko Airlangga

JAKARTA - The Director of Human Rights Instrument Preparation and Evaluation (HAM) of the Ministry of Human Rights (Kemenham) Sofia Alatas said that the process of completing the Presidential Regulation on the Implementation of Business and Human Rights Compliance Assessment only remains to wait for approval from Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto.

"We communicate with his staff, Mr. Airlangga, in fact it has been approved, it's just waiting for his signature," Sofia said in a dialogue on business and human rights in Jakarta, Tuesday, quoted by Antara.

He explained that the regulation in the form of a Presidential Decree requires a response from the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs because the Presidential Decree will be related to Indonesia's membership in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

After being processed at the ministry, according to him, the draft Presidential Regulation will be submitted to the Ministry of State Secretariat for further approval by the President.

Sofia explained that this Presidential Decree is a continuation of Presidential Decree Number 60 of 2023 concerning the National Business and Human Rights Strategy (Staranas).

Later, the Presidential Decree will be mandatory for business actors, especially from the middle class upwards.

According to him, the Presidential Decree will encourage companies to respect human rights by maintaining sustainability for the surrounding environment. Including, the Presidential Decree is directed so that there is no more business activities that damage the environment that have the potential to cause disasters.

"If at this time the policy is very important. Companies will not carry out something without a clear policy," he said.

He said that his party was also coordinating with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), relevant ministries/institutions, State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN), and business and trade actors.

Sofia also hopes that all parties must know the existence of the Presidential Decree if it is implemented later.

"So, that at this time the Presidential Decree is passed, it does not make 'oh I don't know, I don't understand', no. We have involved them, because this must be the Presidential Decree that has an effect on related ministries," he said.