Komnas HAM: Legal Protection For Persons With Disabilities Is Not Optimal

Illustration of a person with a disability or disabilities. Shutterstock

JAKARTA - The existence of Human Rights (HAM) for people with disabilities has been recognized in Indonesia. Commissioner for Studies and Research of the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas) Sandrayati Moniaga said that the provision of legal protection from the state to persons with disabilities, including intellectual and developmental disabilities, was not optimal.

"The implementation is still problematic, among others, our criminal justice system is not in accordance with the reality of people with disabilities," said Sandrayati, quoted on Saturday, November 6.

According to him, the criminal justice system still has two problems so that it is not yet optimal in providing legal protection for persons with disabilities, namely criminal procedural law procedures that are still not appropriate and assistance for persons with disabilities that has not been regulated.

Sandrayati Moniaga also explained several rules that guarantee legal protection for persons with disabilities. One of them is Law Number 8 of 2018 concerning Persons with Disabilities.

In it, Sandrayati continued, it has been stated that the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia guarantees the survival of every citizen, including persons with disabilities, having the same legal standing and human rights as Indonesian citizens.

There is also Article 2 paragraphs (1) to (3) Government Regulation Number 39 of 2020 concerning Adequate Accommodation for Persons with Disabilities in the Judicial Process.

In general, it is stated that law enforcement agencies consisting of the Indonesian National Police, the Attorney General's Office of the Republic of Indonesia, the Supreme Court and its lower judicial bodies, and the Constitutional Court, as well as other institutions related to the judiciary are required to provide adequate accommodation for persons with disabilities in the judicial process.

"So, it's clear that there are quite a lot of laws and regulations," said Sandrayati Moniaga.

"I want to invite us to think together, move together, encourage the protection, promotion, enforcement and fulfillment of law, human rights, especially for people with intellectual disabilities and comprehensive or comprehensive development," Sandrayati urged.

Both of these issues should be resolved by the government, especially law enforcement agencies by accommodating the judicial process, such as adapting it to the age of persons with disabilities, facilitating their effective role as victims or witnesses, and ensuring that they get assistants or translators.

They also need to get facilities that are easily accessible, such as in the form of media aids, facilities, and infrastructure during trials, investigations, and other early stages.