Human Rights in Indonesia – Expert Panel
| Date | Wednesday, 21 August 2024 | Time | 11:00am – 1:00pm |
| Venue | Yasuko Hiraoka Myer Room (106) Sidney Myer Asia Centre | Location | The University of Melbourne |
The ‘Human Rights in Indonesia’ Expert Panel is a joint panel session addressing human rights issues affecting some of Indonesia’s marginalised communities, bringing together Andreas Harsono, Senior Researcher at Human Rights Watch, and Dr Otto Gusti Ndegong Madung, Chancellor of the Philosophical and Creative Technology Institute (IFTK) of Ledalero.
This event was chaired by Dr Ken M.P. Setiawan, Senior Lecturer in Indonesian Studies and Convenor of the Indonesian Studies Program at the Asia Institute, The University of Melbourne.
Discrimination Against Gender, Religious and Sexual Minorities in Indonesia – Andreas Harsono
In the first part of the session, Andreas Harsono will discuss Indonesia’s discrimination against minorities over the decades since 1952. In Pew Research Center’s 2024 report tracking global levels of religious restrictions, Indonesia ranks in the ‘very high’ category for government restrictions on religion. Indonesia’s 1945 Constitution has explicitly guaranteed freedom of religion, as does the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Indonesia is a party, yet discrimination persists. Legal definitions from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, various Presidential decrees and regulations – including the blasphemy law and the religious harmony rule – will also be outlined to provide context to the total 700 regulations that discriminate against gender, religious and sexual minorities.
Find presentation slides here.
Contemporary Issues of Human Rights in Flores Eastern Indonesia – Dr Otto Gusti Ndegong Madung
In the second part of the session, Dr Madung discusses the ‘what, why and how’ questions about contemporary issues of human rights in Flores, Eastern Indonesia. Some of the pressing issues include human trafficking and domestic violence, with women and children often being the victims. To tackle these issues, a Catholic women’s congregation in Maumere, Flores – the Sisters of the Holy Spirit (SSpS, in Latin: Servae Spiritus Sanctus) established the local NGO, Truk-F, where they have provided shelter for the victims of violence. Another critically important and pressing issue to discuss in this seminar that has deeply affected some indigenous communities in Flores is the geothermal project, considered to be controversial and problematic due to the lack of grassroots support.
Find presentation slides here.
Speaker profiles
Andreas Harsono has covered Indonesia for Human Rights Watch since 2008. Before joining Human Rights Watch, he helped found the Jakarta-based Institute for the Studies on Free Flow of Information in 1995, and in 2003 he helped create the Pantau Foundation, a journalist training organisation also based in Jakarta.
A staunch backer of the free press, Harsono also helped establish Jakarta’s Alliance of Independent Journalists in 1994 and Bangkok’s South East Asia Press Alliance in 1998. Harsono began his career as a reporter for the Bangkok-based Nation and the Kuala Lumpur-based Star newspapers, and he edited Pantau, a monthly magazine on media and journalism in Jakarta.
In Indonesian, his published books include Jurnalisme Sastrawi: Antologi Liputan Mendalam dan Memikat (with Budi Setiyono) and “Agama” Saya Adalah Jurnalisme, as well as in English: Race, Islam and Power: Ethnic and Religious Violence in Post-Suharto Indonesia.
Dr Otto Gusti Ndegong Madung is a philosopher, academic and human rights activist in Flores, Eastern Indonesia, with a particular concern for the rights of women and children.
He studied philosophy in Flores, theology in Austria, and completed his PhD in philosophy in Germany with a thesis titled, Politik und Gewalt: Giorgio Agamben und Jűrgen Habermas im Vergleich (Politics and Violence: A Comparative Study of Jűrgen Habermas and Giorgio Agamben).
He teaches philosophy, politics, and human rights at the Institute of Philosophy and Creative Technology (IFTK) in Ledalero, Maumere, Flores. His main research interests are in topics related to philosophy, politics and religious studies.
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