VZCZCXRO1677
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #1926/01 1940933
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 130933Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5440
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 0907
RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY PRIORITY 3363
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 0594
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY 1590
RHHJJPI/USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001926 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ID
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR REVIEWS KEY HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES IN 
MEETING WITH UN OHCHR CHIEF 
 
REF: A. JAKARTA 01647 
 
     ¶B. JAKARTA 01785 
 
JAKARTA 00001926  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary:  On July 11, Ambassador Hume met with 
visiting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour. 
 The meeting was wide-ranging and candid, focusing on key 
human rights issues facing Indonesia.  Both the Ambassador 
and Arbour agreed that Indonesia generally has made strides 
in protecting human rights, although the Indonesian security 
forces needed to make further progress.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) Ambassador Hume met July 11 with UN High Commissioner 
for Human Rights Louise Arbour, who was visiting Indonesia 
July 9-12 at the invitation of the Indonesian government.  On 
July 10 in Bali, Arbour opened the 14th Annual Workshop on 
the Framework on Regional Cooperation for the Promotion and 
Protection of Human Rights in the Asia-Pacific Region.  She 
used that meeting to energize participants from the ten ASEAN 
countries to work toward agreement on a regional human rights 
declaration and framework mechanism.  Arbour also held 
meetings in Jakarta on July 11 with the Department of Foreign 
Affairs, human rights groups, and UN agencies.  She visited 
Aceh on July 12, returning to Jakarta to meet with President 
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on July 13.  Arbour's visit follows 
the recent assessment trip of the Special Representative of 
the Secretary General on the Situation of Human Rights 
Defenders Hina Jilani to Indonesia from June 5-12, 2007 (Ref 
A). 
 
CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM 
----------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The Ambassador and High Commissioner shared 
cautious optimism about the state of human rights in 
Indonesia.  Arbour noted with pleasure the emergence of a new 
generation of GOI leaders who are more open to discussing 
past and present domestic abuses compared with past leaders. 
She believed that this development was supported by the 
presence of sophisticated, outspoken human rights activists 
and organizations that operate, largely unimpeded, throughout 
the country.  She also mentioned a lively mass media that was 
generally permitted to report on sensitive human rights 
issues.  In Arbour's view, the presence of such conditions 
served as a strong indicator of a fertile environment for 
continued progress.  Cultivating and empowering the forces of 
change already present in the country could serve as the most 
productive way for the UN and USG to promote further 
improvements, she advised. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) On the international scene, Arbour has received 
positive signals from the GOI on its increased willingness to 
play a leadership role at the Human Rights Council in Geneva. 
 She has encouraged the GOI to this end, while also noting 
that the GOI should use its influence in the Organization of 
the Islamic Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement.  Arbour 
noted that while the GOI seemed keen to engage bilaterally on 
economic and social human rights issues, she was disappointed 
in its inability to press effectively the Government of 
Malaysia to renegotiate the Memorandum of Understanding on 
Migrant Workers, signed in May 2006, meant to provide 
enhanced protections to Indonesian workers in Malaysia. 
 
ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER 
-------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Ambassador Hume and Arbour agreed that the GOI's 
critical shortcoming lies in its failure to fully implement 
human rights protections and hold violators accountable for 
past abuses.  Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights 
(Komnas HAM), for example, has historically excelled at 
conducting comprehensive investigations into past abuses, but 
momentum falters once cases reach the Attorney General's 
Office for prosecution, indicating a lack of political will. 
The failure to produce accountability for past abuses by the 
Commission of Truth and Friendship Indonesia-Timor Leste and 
the Ad Hoc Human Rights Tribunal for East Timor were cited by 
Arbour as among the most prominent examples of missed 
opportunities. 
 
ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM 
-------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Ambassador Hume agreed with Arbour's 
characterization that the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) are 
the "elephant in the room" when it comes to resolving the 
country's most critical human rights challenges.  Ambassador 
 
JAKARTA 00001926  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Hume told Arbour that promoting human rights reform among the 
security forces, both the military and police, was among his 
highest priorities in his new position.  He added that the 
U.S.-Indonesia military relationship would only grow stronger 
if the GOI security sector can continue to demonstrate human 
rights progress and accountability.  Arbour enthusiastically 
welcomed this statement, indicating that the USG was one of 
the few actors in a position to make a positive impact in 
this area.  She said that curtailing the military,s business 
activities and encouraging greater civilian control of the 
military were particularly pressing issues. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The Ambassador emphasized the progress made in 
civil-military relations in recent years, such as the 
decrease in high-level political appointments for active and 
retired military personnel and the military's self-imposed 
prohibition on active personnel seeking elected office. 
Referring to the recent Human Rights Watch report on abuses 
in the Papua Highlands, Arbour noted that the incidents cited 
in the report, while requiring further investigation and 
possible prosecution, were allegedly perpetrated primarily by 
the police rather than the military, possibly indicating a 
shift away from the more systemic TNI abuses witnessed in the 
past.  On the issue of the TNI's limited budget, which 
necessitates a reliance on military business ventures, the 
Ambassador noted that U.S. assistance was helping the TNI 
overcome its structural budgetary obstacles. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Arbour and Ambassador Hume discussed the prospect 
of expanded Indonesian participation in UN peacekeeping 
missions.  Arbour mentioned Darfur as a possible mission for 
Indonesian troops (Ref B).  Both agreed that unit and 
individual vetting for past human rights abuses prior to 
deployment on UN peacekeeping missions could, in time, serve 
as an additional mechanism for encouraging security sector 
adherence to recognized human rights standards and practices. 
HUME