State responsibility and victim protection: an evaluation of non-judicial measures for human rights violations in Indonesia
Keywords:
Victim Protection; Human Rights Violations; Legal Policy; Non-Judicial; Restorative JusticeAbstract
This study examines the safeguarding of victims of serious human rights violations in Indonesia, with an emphasis on legal philosophy, policy frameworks, and the challenges encountered in implementation, including non-judicial methods. Indonesia has experienced a variety of significant human rights violations shaped by the dynamics of political violence and social instability. The existing legal framework designed to protect victims, including the Human Rights Court and the National Commission on Human Rights, faces significant challenges in implementation. These challenges arise from inconsistencies between national policies and their execution in the field, overlapping authority among various institutions, and insufficient oversight mechanisms. This research identifies notable challenges in non-judicial resolution, particularly the limitations faced by the non-judicial resolution team created under Presidential Decree No. 17 of 2022 in delivering effective redress for victims. Additional concerns encompass the collection of inaccurate data, disparities in the distribution of assistance, and insufficient coordination between governmental bodies and civil society organizations. The study suggests a distinct delineation between executive and oversight entities and advocates for more structured data gathering. It emphasizes the importance of civil society in the monitoring and execution of policies. A coordinated and equitable strategy that emphasizes restorative justice and enhances non-judicial mechanisms is essential for improving the protection of victims.
Downloads
References
ABSOR, A. M. “Juridical analysis of human rights protection in the era of digital transformation: Perspective of laws and regulations”, Indonesia Media Law Review, V. 2, nº 2, 2023. https://doi.org/10.15294/imrev.v2i2.69472
AMANCIK, A.; SAIFULLOH, P. P. A.; MASYHAR, A.; NUR, A. I. “Breaking the Cycle of Injustice: Revolutionizing Human Rights Violations Resolution Through the 1945 Constitution”, Lex Scientia Law Review, V. 8, nº 2, 2024, p. 777–816. https://doi.org/10.15294/lslr.v8i2.7460
AMIRUDDIN. “Komnas HAM, investigating serious human rights violations: Dynamics and challenges”, Journal of Southeast Asian Human Rights, V. 5, nº 2, 2021, p. 244–254. https://doi.org/10.19184/jseahr.v5i2.28118
APTEL, C. “The Rights of Victims of Serious Violations of International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law: A Human Rights Perspective”, In: ANKUMAH, E. A. (ed.), The International Criminal Court and Africa: One Decade On, Cambridge: Intersentia, 2016, p. 401–418. ISBN 978-1-78068-485-7. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781780684857.016
ARMITAGE, D. The Declaration of Independence: A Global History. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 2007. ISBN 0-674-02282-3.
BAIRD, N. “The Universal Periodic Review and West Papua: Beyond Invisibility?”, International Journal on Minority and Group Rights, V. 32, nº 1, 2024, p. 24–60. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718115-bja10158
BEITZ, C. R. The Idea of Human Rights. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2011. ISBN 0-19-960437-1.
BENSEL, R. F. “The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen: The French Revolution”, In: The Founding of Modern States. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2022, p. 199–328. ISBN 978-1-00-924724-5. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009247245.006
BIJL, P. “Legal Self-fashioning in Colonial Indonesia: Human Rights in the Letters of Kartini”, Indonesia, V. 103, 2017, p. 51–71. https://doi.org/10.5728/indonesia.103.0051
BLAU, J.; MONCADA, A. Human Rights: A Primer. Taylor & Francis, Oxford, 2015. ISBN 978-1-317-25799-8.
BOB, C. The International Struggle for New Human Rights. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 2009. ISBN 0-8122-2129-X.
BRAITHWAITE, J. “Restorative Justice: Assessing Optimistic and Pessimistic Accounts”, Crime and Justice, V. 25, 1999, p. 1–127. ISSN 01923234. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1147608. Accessed on: 29 Nov. 2022.
BREAKEY, H. “What Human Rights Aren’t for: Human Rights Function as Moral, Political and Legal Standards – but Not as Intervention-Conditions”, In: Conscience, Leadership and the Problem of ‘Dirty Hands’, Leeds: Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2015, V. 13, p. 41–59. Research in Ethical Issues in Organizations. ISBN 978-1-78560-203-0. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1529-209620150000013003. Accessed on: 11 Apr. 2025.
CORNWALL, A.; NYAMU-MUSEMBI, C. “Putting the «Rights-Based Approach» to Development into Perspective”, Third World Quarterly, V. 25, nº 8, 2004, p. 1415–1437. Available at : http://www.jstor.org/stable/3993794.
DANIELI, Y. International Handbook of Multigenerational Legacies of Trauma. Springer, Boston, 1998. Springer Series on Stress and Coping. ISBN 978-0-306-45738-8.
DE CAMPOS MELO, C.; DE MELLO SCHETTINI, A. B.; DE SOUSA SOARES, M. C. C. “Truth Commissions and Tribunals in the Global South: Contributions to Transitional Justice Theory”, In: Human Rights Interdependence in National and International Politics, Abingdon: Routledge, 2024, p. 40–60.
DEMBOUR, M. B. “What Are Human Rights? Four Schools of Thought”, Human Rights Quarterly, V. 32, nº 1, 2010, p. 1–20. Available at : http://www.jstor.org/stable/40390000.
DEWANTO, H. “Settlement of Gross Human Rights Violations in the Perspective of Local Wisdom in Indonesia (Case Study of Tanjung Priok)”, Jurnal Dinamika Hukum, V. 22, nº 2, 2022, p. 286–298. https://doi.org/10.20884/1.jdh.2022.22.2.3239
DONNELLY, J. Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 2013.
DWORKIN, R. Law’s Empire. Belknap Press, Cambridge, 1986. ISBN 978-0-674-51836-0.
EIDE, A. “Human Rights Requirements to Social and Economic Development”, Nutrition and Human Rights, V. 21, nº 1, 1996, p. 23–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/0306-9192(95)00057-7
EIDE, A. “The World of Human Rights: As Seen from a Small, Industrialized Country”, International Studies Quarterly, V. 23, nº 2, 1979, p. 246–272. https://doi.org/10.2307/2600244
ELDRIDGE, P. “Human Rights in Post-Suharto Indonesia”, The Brown Journal of World Affairs, V. 9, nº 1, 2002, p. 127–139. Available at : http://www.jstor.org/stable/24590278
ERAWATI, A.; ISWANDARI, H. “Ownership of Medical Records in Indonesia: Discourse on Legal Certainty and Justice”, Udayana Journal of Law and Culture, V. 6, nº 2, 2022, p. 184–203. https://doi.org/10.24843/UJLC.2022.v06.i02.p04
FEYTER, K. De; PARMENTIER, S.; BOSSUYT, M.; LEMMENS, P. Out of the Ashes: Reparation for Victims of Gross and Systematic Human Rights Violations. Intersentia, Cambridge, 2006. Available at : https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1500104707.
FREEMAN, M. “The Philosophical Foundations of Human Rights”, Human Rights Quarterly, V. 16, nº 3, 1994, p. 491–514. ISSN 02750392, 1085794X. https://doi.org/10.2307/762434
GRINDLE, M. G. Politics and Policy Implementation in the Third World. Online. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1980. Available at : http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1m323qj.
GUNAKAYA, W. Hukum Hak Asasi Manusia. Penerbit Andi, Yogyakarta, 2019. ISBN 978-979-29-6364-9.
HADIPRAYITNO, I. I. “Defensive Enforcement: Human Rights in Indonesia”, Human Rights Review, V. 11, nº 3, 2010, p. 373–399. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12142-009-0143-1
HAFNER-BURTON, E. M. “A Social Science of Human Rights”, Journal of Peace Research, V. 51, nº 2, 2014, p. 273–286. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022343313516822
HAKIM, L.; KURNIAWAN, N. “Membangun Paradigma Hukum HAM Indonesia Berbasis Kewajiban Asasi Manusia”, Jurnal Konstitusi, V. 18, nº 4, 2021, p. 869–897. https://doi.org/10.31078/jk1847
HATHERELL, M.; WELSH, A. The Struggle for the National Narrative in Indonesia. Springer, Singapore, 2021. ISBN 9789811638114.
HUGHES, G. “The Concept of Dignity in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, Journal of Religious Ethics, V. 39, nº 1, 2011, p. 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9795.2010.00463.x
IRAWAN, A. D.; SHOLAHUDIN, U. “Analisis Penegakan Hukum Dan Hak Asasi Manusia Di Indonesia”, Jurnal Citizenship Virtues, V. 4, nº 2, 2024, p. 848–857. https://doi.org/10.37640/jcv.v4i2.2082
ISHAY, M. “What Are Human Rights? Six Historical Controversies”, Journal of Human Rights, V. 3, nº 3, 2004, p. 359–371. https://doi.org/10.1080/1475483042000224897
ISHAY, M. The History of Human Rights: From Ancient Times to the Globalization Era. University of California Press, Oakland, 2008. ISBN 0-520-25641-7.
JUNAEDI, J. “The Existence of Human Rights Court as a National Effort to Eliminate the Severe Violation of Human Rights in Indonesia”, Indonesia Law Review, V. 4, nº 2, 2021, p. 176–195. https://doi.org/10.15742/ilrev.v4n2.110
JUWANA, H. “Human Rights in Indonesia”, In: Human Rights in Asia, Abingdon: Routledge, 2006, p. 364-383.
KAUFMAN, E.; FAGEN, P. W. “Extrajudicial Executions: An Insight into the Global Dimensions of a Human Rights Violation”, Human Rights Quarterly, V. 3, nº 4, 1981, p. 81–100. https://doi.org/10.2307/762112
KUMAR, K. “1 the Nature and Focus of International Assistance for Rebuilding War-Torn Societies”, In: KUMAR, K. (ed.), Critical Roles for International Assistance. Online. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1997, p. 1–38. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781685858377-004
LAMB, R. “Historicising the Idea of Human Rights”, Political Studies, V. 67, nº 1, 2019, p. 100–115. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032321717752516
LAZO, P. “Labeo, Paulus and Ulpian: Causal Reasoning and Contract Liability”, Vergentis, V. 16, 2023, p. 43–58. https://doi.org/10.12800/vg.16.2
LIPPERT-RASMUSSEN, K. “Equality of Opportunity and Affirmative Action”, In: SARDOČ, M. (ed.), Handbook of Equality of Opportunity. Cham: Springer, 2024, p. 147–168. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-55897-9_87
LIPPMAN, M. “The Protection of Universal Human Rights: The Problem of Torture”, Universal Human Rights, V. 1, nº 4, 1979, p. 25–55. https://doi.org/10.2307/761784
MARKOU-PAPPAS, N.; RAGAZZONI, L.; TRUPPA, C.; SALIO, F.; BARONE-ADESI, F.; LAMINE, H. “Navigating Challenges, Solutions and Requirements in the Provision of Trauma Care in Conflict Settings by Humanitarian Actors: A Scoping Literature Review”, Conflict and Health, V. 19, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13031-025-00643-7
MARZUKI, S.; ALI, M. “The Settlement of Past Human Rights Violations in Indonesia”, Cogent Social Sciences, V. 9, nº 1, 2023, p. 2240643. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2240643
MCCRUDDEN, C. “Human Dignity and Judicial Interpretation of Human Rights”, European Journal of International Law, V. 19, nº 4, 2008, p. 655–724. https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chn043. Accessed on: 29 Sept. 2024.
MERON, T. “State Responsibility for Violations of Human Rights”, In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting (American Society of International Law), 1989, V. 83, p. 372–385. Available at : http://www.jstor.org/stable/25658498.
MOHAMED, E. M. A.; LUCERO-PRISNO, D. E. “The Effects of Sudan’s Armed Conflict on Economy and Health: A Perspective”, Health Science Reports, V. 8, nº 2, 2025, p. e70424. https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.70424. Accessed on: 12 Apr. 2025.
MOYN, S. The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 2010. ISBN 978-0-674-04872-0. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvjk2vkf
NATALIS, A.; SURAYDA, H. I. “Overcoming Legal Barriers: Ensuring Justice for Persons with Disabilities Victimized by Sexual Violence”, Revista Direito e Sexualidade, V. 5, nº 1, 2024, p. 163–195. https://doi.org/10.9771/rds.v5i1.58997
NAYYAR, D. “Discrimination and Justice: Beyond Affirmative Action”, Economic and Political Weekly, V. 46, nº 42, 2011, p. 44–53. Available at : https://www.epw.in/journal/2011/42/special-articles/discrimination-and-justice-beyond-affirmative-action.html.
NAZRIL, M. M.; Juliandi, D.; Hikmah, L. J.; Nabela, N.; Nazmah, F.; Putera, M. L. S. “Implementasi Hukum HAM di Indonesia: Tantangan dan Solusi”, Perspektif Administrasi Publik dan hukum, V. 1, nº 4, 2024, p. 01–15. https://doi.org/10.62383/perspektif.v1i4.42
NOWAK, M. Introduction to the International Human Rights Regime. Brill, Boston, 2021. The Raoul Wallenberg Institute Human Rights Library. ISBN 978-90-04-47907-4.
NURKHOLIS, A; WALUYO, B. “Alternative For Fulfilling The Rights Of The Victims Of Past Gross Violation Of Human Rights In Indonesia”, In: 3rd International Conference on Law Studies “Law Enforcement in Pandemic Covid-19 Era: Experience And Comparation in Global Context Law Policy on Transnational Issues”, 2023, p. 1–25. ISBN 978-97-93-59916-8. Available at : https://conference.upnvj.ac.id/index.php/icols/article/viewFile/1557/1093#page=9.
NUSSBAUM, M. “Capabilities as Fundamental Entitlements: Sen and Social Justice”, Feminist Economics, V. 9, nº 2-3, 2003, p. 33–59. https://doi.org/10.1080/1354570022000077926
OSTAPENKO, H. “The Role of Legal Certainty Principle in Provision of Access to Justice in Ukraine in Wartime”, Access to Justice in Eastern Europe, V. 6, nº 3, 2023, p. 1–13. https://doi.org/10.33327/AJEE-18-6.3-a000306
PÉREZ-LEÓN-ACEVEDO, J. P. “Non-compensatory Reparation Modalities in UN Legal Sources: Focus on Gross Violations of Human Rights”, In: ZICCARDI CAPALDO, G. (ed.), The Global Community Yearbook of International Law and Jurisprudence 2022, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023, p. 155–172. ISBN 978-0-19-775226-5. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197752265.003.0010. Accessed on: 04 Dec. 2025.
PERRY, M. J. “Morality and Normativity. Legal Theory”, V. 13, nº 3-4, 2007, p. 211-255. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1352325208070092
PERRY, M. J. Interrogating the Morality of Human Rights. Edward Elgar Publishing, Northampton, 2023. Elgar Studies in Human Rights. ISBN 978-1-03-530627-5.
PERRY, M. J. Toward a Theory of Human Rights: Religion, Law, Courts. Online. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2006. ISBN 978-0-521-86551-7. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511499197
POHLMAN, A. Indonesia and Post-New Order Reforms: Challenges and Opportunities for Promoting the Responsibility to Protect. July 2010. Available at : https://r2pasiapacific.org/files/478/2010_research_report_indonesia_postneworderreforms_promoting_r2p.pdf.
PRIYOSANTOSO, R. “Hak Asasi Manusia di Indonesia: Tinjauan Politik Hukum Era Reformasi”, Jurnal Ilmu Kepolisian, V. 15, nº 3, 2021, p. 196–205. https://doi.org/10.35879/jik.v15i3.341
PROTECTION INTERNATIONAL. 2020: A Dark Page in the History of Human Rights in Indonesia. Online. 2020. Available at : https://www.protectioninternational.org/news/2020-a-dark-page-in-the-history-of-human-rights-in-indonesia/.
PURWANTI, A.; PRABOWO, R. A. “Women Rights Fulfillment as the Victim of Gross Human Rights Violation: Urgency for the Sexual Violence Eradication Bill”, Indonesia Law Review, V. 8, nº 3, 2018, p. 303–315. https://doi.org/10.15742/ilrev.v8n3.509
RAHARDJO, S. Ilmu Hukum. PT. Citra Aditya Bakti, Bandung, 2000.
RAWLS, J. A Theory of Justice: Revised Edition. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1971.
ROACH, K. “The Disappointing Remedy? Damages as a Remedy for Violations of Human Rights”, University of Toronto Law Journal, V. 69, nº Supplement 1, 2019, p. 33–63. https://doi.org/10.3138/utlj.69.s1.002
ROSHWALD, M. “The Concept of Human Rights”, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, V. 19, nº 3, 1959, p. 354–379. https://doi.org/10.2307/2105226
RYNIAK-OLSZANKA, I. “The Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Indonesia in the Context of ‘Responsibility to Protect’”, Studia Iuridica, nº 96, 2023, p. 301–317. https://doi.org/10.31338/2544-3135.si.2023-96.15
SALMÓN, E.; PÉREZ-LEÓN-ACEVEDO, J. P. “Reparation for Victims of Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law: New Developments”, International Review of the Red Cross, V. 104, nº 919, 2022, p. 1315–1343. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1816383122000297
SARDOL, S. M. “Human Rights Arrangement on Indonesian Law”, Rechtsidee, V. 1, nº 1, 2014, p. 85–100. https://doi.org/10.21070/jihr.v1i1.105. Accessed on: 22 Jan. 2024.
SCHRÖTER, S. “Progressive and Conservative Women’s Movements in Indonesia”, In: Women’s Movements and Countermovements: The Quest for Gender Equality in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014, p. 79–107.
SEFKOW-WERNER, V. “Consistent Inconsistencies in the ECtHR’s Approach to Victim Status and Locus Standi”, European Journal of Risk Regulation, 2025, p. 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1017/err.2024.95
SEN, A. “Elements of a Theory of Human Rights”, In: Justice and the Capabilities Approach, Abingdon: Routledge, 2017, p. 221-262.
SEN, A. “Human Rights and Capabilities”, Journal of Human Development, V. 6, nº 2, 2005, p. 151–166. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649880500120491
SHESTACK, J. J. “The Philosophic Foundations of Human Rights”, Human Rights Quarterly, V. 20, nº 2, 1998, p. 201–234. Available at : http://www.jstor.org/stable/762764
STACY, H. Human Rights for the 21st Century: Sovereignty, Civil Society, Culture. Stanford University Press, Redwood City, 2009. ISBN 0-8047-4539-0.
STEELE, J. “Damages in Tort and Under the Human Rights Act: Remedial or Functional Separation?”, The Cambridge Law Journal, V. 67, nº 3, 2008, p. 606–634. https://doi.org/10.1017/S000819730800069X
SUBAWA, I. M.; HERMANTO, B.; RATU, I. A. M.; HATTORI, M. “Observance of the Legal Choice for the Settlement of Indonesia’s Past Gross Violations of Human Rights”, Yuridika, V. 39, nº 2, 2024, p. 231–256. https://doi.org/10.20473/ydk.v39i2.44828
TAMANAHA, B. Z. “Functions of the Rule of Law”, In: MEIERHENRICH, J.; LOUGHLIN, M. (eds.), The Cambridge Companion to the Rule of Law, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021, p. 221–236. Cambridge Companions to Law. ISBN 978-1-316-51213-5. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108600569.013
TAMPUBOLON, M. Human Rights in Indonesia. Iksad, Ankara, 2024.
TASIOULAS, J. “Towards a Philosophy of Human Rights”, Current Legal Problems, V. 65, nº 1, 2012, p. 1–30. ISSN 0070-1998. https://doi.org/10.1093/clp/cus013. Accessed on: 03 Dec. 2025.
TIBAKA, L.; ROSDIAN, R. “The Protection of Human Rights in Indonesian Constitutional Law after the Amendment of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia”, FIAT JUSTISIA: Jurnal Ilmu Hukum, V. 11, nº 3, 2018, p. 266–288. ISSN 2477-6238, 1978-5186. https://doi.org/10.25041/fiatjustisia.v11no3.1141. Accessed on: 03 Apr. 2021.
WEISSBRODT, D. “Protecting the Right to Life: International Measures Against Arbitrary or Summary Killings by Governments”, In: The Right to Life in International Law. Leiden: Brill, 1985, p. 297–314. ISBN 978-90-04-48229-6. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004482296_018
WICAKSONO, R. M. T. A. D. “Reviewing Legal Justice, Certainty, and Legal Expediency in Government Regulation Number 24 of 2018 Concerning Electronically Integrated Business Services”, Lex Scientia Law Review, V. 5, nº 1, 2021, p. 1–24. https://doi.org/10.15294/lesrev.v5i1.44905. Accessed on: 06 Feb. 2023.
WIRATRAMAN, H. P. Press Freedom, Law and Politics in Indonesia: A Socio-Legal Study. 2014. Thesis (Doctoral)- Faculteit der Rechtsgeleerdheid, Leiden University, 2014.
YÜCEL, Z. “From Natural Law to Universal Declarations: Implications for International Human Rights Treaties and the Responsibility to Protect”, Journal Of Management And Economics Research, V. 21, nº 4, 2023, p. 54–87. https://doi.org/10.11611/yead.1307685
YZAGUIRREIRRE, V. G. Y. G. “Legal Certainty and Predictability”, Archiv für Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie, V. 110, nº 4, 2024, p. 551–571. https://doi.org/10.25162/arsp-2024-0027
ZLOBINA, A.; BETTINSOLI, M. L.; MIRANDA, M. P.; FORMANOWICZ, M. “Back to Basics: Human Rights Violations and Dehumanization”, Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, V. 51, 2023, p. 101263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2023.101263
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Those authors who have published with this journal, accept the following terms:
The authors cede all their copyrights to the magazine Cadernos de Dereito Actual, which will be in charge of disseminating and always quoting the author.
The authors agree not to send the article or publish it in another magazine.
The authors are allowed and recommended to disseminate their work through the Internet (e.g., in institutional telematic archives or on their website) before and during the submission process, which can produce interesting exchanges and increase the number of citations of the published work, provided that reference is made to Cadernos de Dereito Actual.
All contents published in the magazine are protected under a "Creative Commons - Attribution - Non-Commercial" license. Everyone has the right to freely access the contents of the magazine.