We welcome the report on Indonesia by the UN Committee against Torture's observations and recommendations on Indonesia. The Committee welcomed Indonesia's accession to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 2006. It also welcomed the visit to Indonesia by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Dr Manfred Nowak, in November 2007 as well as visits by the former UN Special Representative for Human Rights Defenders and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers.
However, the Committee expressed concerns about abuses in a number of areas, including allegations of torture and ill-treatment of suspects in police custody, the disproportionate use of force by the security forces and the harassment of human rights defenders. It puts forward a number of recommendations and Indonesia has been asked to respond to some of these recommendations within a year. We look forward to seeing the response from the Indonesian authorities.
Our Embassy in Jakarta monitors closely the human rights situation in Indonesia and we continue to raise issues of concern with the Indonesian authorities. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Annual Human Rights Report for 2007 sets out our concerns on the human rights situation in Indonesia, including reports of threats against human rights defenders. The full report can be found at:
www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/publications/annual-reports/human-rights-report