The Urgency in Amending Law No. 16 of 2017 on Mass Organisation (UU Ormas) project ensures Protection of Minority Rights and the Democratic Space in Indonesia. The Indonesian government finally passed the Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 2 of 2017 on Mass Organisation (widely known as Perppu Ormas) into Law No. 16 of 2017 in November 2017. A number of provisions in the new law show clear indications of how it is a threat to the rights of minority groups in Indonesia and the democracy, specifically by putting heavy restrictions on freedom of assembly and association.

To the minority groups, not only is this law a threat to their freedom of association and assembly, but also to their freedom of religion and belief. Through this project, (The Indonesian Human Rights Monitor) IMPARSIAL together with the Civil Society Coalition, will utilise the window of opportunity to revise the law as it became the priority agenda of the 2019 National Legislation Program (Prolegnas Prioritas) in the Parliament.

The project focuses on the following major activities:

• Formulating an Academic Paper and a Draft Revision Bill of Law No. 16 of 2017 on Mass Organisations
• Mainstreaming the Revision of Law No. 16 of 2017 on Mass Organisation and Public Campaign
• Lobbying Activities to Policy Stakeholders
• Assessments of the Situation of the Freedom of Association and Assembly (FOAA) in Indonesia.

The goal of the project is to ensure that Law No. 16 of 2017 on Mass Organisations is revised, guaranteeing the protection of minority rights and democratic space in Indonesia, giving them the freedom of association and assembly.

Through the passage of the Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 2 of 2017 on Mass Organization (often referred to as Perppu Ormas) into Law No. 16 of 2017 the Indonesian government ratified a piece of legislation that had a number of sections that pose a threat to the rights of Indonesia’s minority groups and democracy. It is particularly restrictive in the areas of freedom of assembly and association. Not only did this new law threaten minority groups’ freedom of association and assembly, it also threatened their freedom of religion and belief. Religious blasphemy was regulated by the new Law’s multi-interpretive and broad-meaning article 59 clause (3) point b. Under this provision, the government could abolish any organization that is believed to be desecrating a specific religion and impose criminal sanctions on its members unilaterally (without due process of law).  

In response to this pressing issue, Imparisal, in collaboration with the Civil Society Coalition, proposed to the Parliament to change Law No. 16 of 2017 (the Law) on Mass Organizations, which affected the rights of Indonesian minorities, notably religious minorities.   

Imparsial is unique in its campaigning to support policy reforms that are guided by human rights.  Its work includes advocating for alternative policies for the death penalty moratorium and its abolition (advocacy of the Penal Code or RKUHP), adopting human rights principles and standards in the prevention and handling of hate speech and terrorism threats (advocacy of the Anti-Terrorism Law and draft Presidential Regulation on the Handling of Terrorism), and strengthening the protection of minorities’ freedom of religion or belief (advocacy of the Anti-Terrorism). Imparsial also monitors the state of human rights in Indonesia, including the role of security forces, capital sentence, situations involving freedom of religion or belief, violence against human rights defenders, hate speech, and other issues. 

Imparsial worked to ensure that the amendment of the Law protects minority rights and the democratic space in Indonesia are protected. The scope of its intervention was to formulate an academic paper (Naskah Akademik or NA) and a draft revision bill of the Law which protects the rights of minority groups and the democratic space in Indonesia. It also sought to influence the policy makers to adopt human rights norms and standards in the revision of the Law, to build a public awareness and support for the revision of the Law which pose a threat to freedom of assembly and association (FOAA) and its impact on rights of minority groups and the democratic space in Indonesia; and to observe and monitor the implementation of the Law. 

“We appreciate the activities carried out by IMPARSIAL with the support of Voice because the IMPARSIAL program not only defends freedom of religion and belief, but it also raises awareness of the importance of advocating for the Law on Mass Organizations because it involves issues of freedom of association and assembly that should be guaranteed by the state.” – Budidaya (community of religious belief) 

Imparsial project’s proudest achievement was when it collaborated with civil society groups to draft an academic paper on the second amendment to the Law and pushed the revised agenda into the national legislation program (Prolegnas) for the years 2020-2024.  

The academic paper on the Ormas Law modification, published by Imparsial in partnership with the civil society coalition, was required so that the DPR (the House of Representatives) had an official document to propose the revised national legislation program agenda, both annually and on a five-year basis (2020-2024). Members of the civil society alliance for freedom of association, as well as the House of Representatives’ expert staff, known as ATAP, were involved in the academic study (Association of Experts Staff parliament). Since the expert staff to members of parliament were to study the academic paper that has been planned on the second amendment of the Law, the advocacy goal was to ensure that discussions in the DPR were carried out well both before and after being determined as Prolegnas. 

Collaborative Approach: The most important approach to the project’s success was the collaboration with various stakeholders. This included LGBTQ+ groups such as Arus Pelangi, Support Group and Resource Center on Sexual Studies (SGRC), and Sex, Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE-SC); religious minority groups such as Jakatarub, Jamaah Ahmadiyah Indonesia (JAI), and Ikatan Jamaah Ahlul Bait Indonesia (IJABI); and human rights groups such as Kontras. 

Key Lessons: When approaching influential people in the DPR and or those who work on the substance of the issues Imparsial was advocating for, such as DPR staff experts, the lesson learned from the implementation of this project was that project implementation must pay attention to political opportunities, one of which was the political constellation in the DPR. Furthermore, because of the increasingly diverse backgrounds of groups that speak out on the issues the organization was fighting for, lobbying must be done together in order to raise political pressure on politicians. 

Despite the fact that it is vital for minority groups to realize their other rights, the question of minority group freedom of association has received very little attention in public debate or law. As a result, continued advocacy for better guarantees and the protection of freedom of association and assembly is required.