Statement on Indonesia UPR

Agenda Item: 6 UPR

Title: Freedom of religion or belief in Indonesia – UPR Outcome Review of Indonesia

Organisation: Christian Solidarity Worldwide

Speaker:Sini Maria Heikkila

21 September 2017

Thank you Mr President.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide congratulates Indonesia on its engagement with the UPR in May 2017. We welcome the government of Indonesia’s acceptance of 12 recommendations related to freedom of religion or belief. However we remain concerned that a similar number of recommendations did not enjoy full support.

Since the second UPR review of the country in 2012, the situation of Christians, Ahmadiyya, Shi’a, Buddhists, adherents of traditional indigenous beliefs and others has deteriorated. Christians in the Aceh Singkil regency have faced violence, threats, and destruction and forced closure of churches since October 2015. Churches such as GKI Yasmin in Bogor and HKBP Philadelphia in Bekasi remain forcibly closed, and the Ahmadiyya mosque in Depok has also been forced to close. In August 2016 St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Medan survived an attempted suicide bombing. These cases illustrate rising religious intolerance in Indonesia, as its strong pluralistic tradition comes under threat.

It is concerning that no UPR recommendations were made regarding the treatment of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. Since 2005 the Ahmadiyyas have experienced serious violations of freedom of religion or belief, including incidents of violence; and a Joint Ministerial Decree introduced in 2008 prohibited promulgation of Ahmadiyya teachings. While there has been some improvement under the current government, Ahmadiyyas still face intimidation and obstacles to conducting their religious activities. We urge Indonesia to immediately review the 2008 anti-Ahmadiyya decree and work towards its repeal.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide is also concerned that the government of Indonesia did not fully accept a number of recommendations regarding the repeal of the blasphemy laws. On 9 May 2017 the governor of Jakarta, known as ‘Ahok’, was found guilty of blasphemy and sentenced to two years in prison after he had been falsely accused of criticising a Qu’ranic verse during his campaign. This is just one example of the abuse of these laws, which are incompatible with international human rights law and harmful to religious pluralism.

We urge Indonesia to immediately review these laws and work towards their repeal. We also urge Indonesia to invest further in initiatives to promote interfaith harmony and dialogue.

Thank you Mr President.