By 
21-05-2026 | Eva Talma | Asia Team Researcher, Global Human Rights Defence.
No long after the public outcry due to the acid attack by four Indonesian soldiers against Andrie Yunus, a human rights activist, the Indonesian Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai announced on April 30 that the government would amend Indonesia’s 1999 Human Rights Law to allow authorities to determine who is a recognized human rights defender.
According to an interview with a national media, Natalius Pigai, the Indonesian Human Rights Minister, explained that there will be a team of assessors that will choose whether a person is an activist or not in Indonesia. Therefore, a human rights defender could no longer be considered a human rights activist, for example if they are acting in exchange for remuneration, and this despite their status as an activist.
During a public consultation event in Jakarta, Natalius Pigai justified his decision by saying that this would ensure the protection of human rights defenders from criminalization and reinforce the national human rights judicial system, notably by providing broader investigative authority, including plans for national human rights institutions to have their own investigators.
Despite the explanation of a progressive law, this amendment raises concerns about a greater state intervention in civil society and possible limits on freedom of expression. This right is protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Indonesia is a party. Also, it does not correspond to the definition of Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which affirms that anyone, individually and in association with others, has the right to be a human rights defender, as long as they oppose human rights violations by peaceful means.
Furthermore, it could also lead to dangerous consequences and conflict of interest if on the one hand government has the authority to choose the legitimacy of human rights defenders, while on the other hand, it is often the one violating human right itself.
