MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on human rights situation in Indonesia
13.6.2017 - (2017/2724(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure
Cristian Dan Preda, Esther de Lange, Jeroen Lenaers, Sandra Kalniete, Mairead McGuinness, Brian Hayes, Lefteris Christoforou, Marijana Petir, Ivan Štefanec, József Nagy, Milan Zver, Dubravka Šuica, Pavel Svoboda, Tunne Kelam, Patricija Šulin, Krzysztof Hetman, Jarosław Wałęsa, Željana Zovko, Sven Schulze, Tomáš Zdechovský, Ivana Maletić, Claude Rolin, Romana Tomc, László Tőkés, Bogdan Brunon Wenta, Eduard Kukan, Csaba Sógor, Adam Szejnfeld, Giovanni La Via, Deirdre Clune, Elżbieta Katarzyna Łukacijewska, Laima Liucija Andrikienė, Jaromír Štětina, Jiří Pospíšil, Andrey Kovatchev, Seán Kelly, Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso on behalf of the PPE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0424/2017
The European Parliament,
̵having regard to its previous resolutions on Indonesia,
̵having regard to the EU-Indonesia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which entered into force on 1 May 2014,
̵having regard to the EU Local statement on freedom of religion or belief and freedom of expression of 9 May 2017,
̵having regard to the 6th European Union-Indonesia Human Rights Dialogue of 28 June 2016,
̵having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948,
̵having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Indonesia ratified in 2006,
̵having regards to Rule 135 of its Rules of Procedure,
A.whereas Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous nation, the world’s largest Muslim majority country and the third largest democracy; whereas the Indonesian population is known for its many different ethnicities, languages and cultures and has 6 official religions being Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism;
B. whereas Indonesia is an important partner of the EU; whereas relations between the EU and Indonesia, a G20 member, are strong; whereas the EU and Indonesia share the same values as regards human rights, governance and democracy;
C. whereas Indonesia, by becoming a State party to the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights in 2006, expressed its commitment to respect and protect fundamental rights;
D. whereas Indonesia expressed its commitment to prevent torture and other acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, by ratifying the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 1998;
E. whereas Indonesia and the EU share the same motto: “Unity in Diversity” or in Indonesian: “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika”;
F. whereas Indonesia resumed capital punishment in 2013 and has executed a number of convicts;
G. whereas on 17 May 2017 in the province of Aceh, for the first time a homosexual couple received caning as a punishment for homosexual practices, which is considered illegal under Sharia law in Aceh;
H. whereas 141 men were arrested for “violating pornography laws” in a police raid on a gay club in Jakarta on 21 May 2017;
1.Underlines the importance of the strong and deep relationship between the EU and Indonesia;
2. Regrets the resumption of the death penalty; calls on the authorities to establish a moratorium on all executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty;
3. Is concerned about the recent human rights violations in Indonesia, which are the result of the growing intolerance towards religious, ethnic and sexual minorities;
4. Is concerned about the increasing use of violence against religious minorities in Indonesia, including Christians; welcomes the security measures taken by Indonesian authorities to protect Christian worshippers and their premises;
5. Is concerned about the abuse of existing regulations on blasphemy by Indonesian authorities in order to prosecute members of religious and ethnic minorities; condemns the use of the current Indonesian blasphemy law for political purposes; regrets that over 100 Indonesians have been convicted of blasphemy in the past decade;
6. Is concerned about the situation in West Kalimantan, where the Christian Governor Cornelis was faced with aggression by several radical Muslim organisations, after he criticised those who promote intolerance and radicalism in his province; strongly condemns the aggression against Mr. Cornelis when he was visiting Bandah Aceh on 27 May;
7. Strongly condemns the caning of two homosexual men of 20 and 23 years old in Aceh on 22 May 2017, being the first time authorities in Aceh caned people for homosexual practices; strongly condemns the fact that homosexuality is illegal under Aceh Islamic Criminal Code, which is based on the Sharia; stresses that the punishment of the two men is a cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment which may amount to torture under international law;
8. Recalls that Indonesia has expressed its commitment to prevent torture and other acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, by ratifying the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 1998; recalls the Indonesian Government that the provisions of this Convention also apply to the Special Region of Aceh;
9. Calls on the authorities in Aceh to prevent further persecution of homosexuals and to decriminalise homosexuality by amending its Islamic Criminal Code; is also concerned about the growing intolerance towards the Indonesian LGBTI community outside Aceh; strongly condemns that, despite homosexuality not being a crime under Indonesia's Criminal Code, 141 men were arrested in a police raid on a gay club in Jakarta, on 21 May 2017;
10. Is concerned about the announcement of the police in West Java it will soon form an “anti-gay task force” and about its statement that ‘LGBT will not be accepted in society’; stresses that the police has a duty to enforce the law and to protect vulnerable minorities and not to persecute them;
11. Calls on the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs to address these worrying developments in the next human rights dialogue between Indonesia and the EU;
12. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Government and Parliament of Indonesia, the Secretary-General of ASEAN, the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights and the UN Human Rights Council.