Indonesia's Human Rights Ministry Opens Public Forum for Policy Input

Indonesia's Ministry of Human Rights (KemenHAM) is actively seeking public engagement to shape national development policies, viewing the advancement of human rights as a collective endeavor. Deputy Minister of Human Rights Mugiyanto highlighted this commitment during a Human Rights Consultation Forum on August 27, 2026.

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This forum is the best opportunity for us in government to hear input from our civil society colleagues about what we need to do and how to do it.

The forum served as a crucial platform for the government to gather insights from civil society organizations (CSOs) on necessary policies and their implementation. "This forum is the best opportunity for us in government to hear input from our civil society colleagues about what we need to do and how to do it," Mugiyanto stated.

More than 100 CSOs participated in the hybrid event, addressing a wide range of topics including democracy, civil liberties, freedom of religion, the right to safety, environmental concerns, cultural rights, welfare, and economic issues. Mugiyanto stressed the importance of meaningful participation, ensuring that public input is not only heard but also considered and acted upon, with clear follow-up explanations.

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Everyone talks about meaningful participation. But participation is meaningless if input is heard but not implemented. The voices of all groups must be heard, considered, and then the follow-up explained.

"Everyone talks about meaningful participation. But participation is meaningless if input is heard but not implemented. The voices of all groups must be heard, considered, and then the follow-up explained," Mugiyanto asserted. He urged CSOs, universities, NGOs, and journalists to help monitor the implementation of the forum's recommendations, reinforcing KemenHAM's ongoing commitment.

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Recommendations from this forum must be jointly monitored by our NGO friends, campuses, CSOs, and journalists. This commitment is what KemenHAM holds onto to this day.

These principles of participation are being applied to key national policies, such as the revision of Law Number 39 of 1999 concerning Human Rights and presidential regulations on business compliance with human rights. The ministry plans to map all input into a Human Rights Recommendation Matrix, categorized by thematic clusters, and integrate these into the Government Work Plan. Furthermore, KemenHAM will publish a Public Feedback Report within 30 working days, detailing the actions taken.

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This is not a place to convey the government's views to the public. It is precisely the opposite; we want to listen more.