Jun 9, 2022 | CCHR, DFF, Internet Freedoms, Reports
JAKARTA – Anggota parlemen dari Asia Tenggara telah meminta Indonesia, satu-satunya anggota G20 di Asia Tenggara untuk menggunakan Presidensinya di G20 untuk “menyuarakan aspirasi Global Selatan” dan mengangkat isu-isu yang secara khusus mempengaruhi kawasan.
Dalam sebuah kertas posisi yang diterbitkan hari ini, Anggota Parlemen ASEAN untuk Hak Asasi Manusia (ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, APHR) telah mendesak Indonesia untuk mengadvokasi dalam Pertemuan Puncak tanggapan global yang lebih kuat dan lebih kreatif terhadap kehancuran ekonomi yang disebabkan oleh konflik seperti yang terjadi di Myanmar, peningkatan substansial dalam dukungan keuangan global untuk transisi energi yang berkelanjutan, dan untuk menemukan cara mengurangi dampak transformasi digital dunia terhadap hak asasi manusia dan demokrasi.
“Indonesia ada dalam posisi di mana, berbeda dari yang lain, sebagai satu-satunya anggota G20 di Asia Tenggara dan negara demokrasi terbesar ketiga di dunia, dapat mewakili kepentingan dan aspirasi Global Selatan. Negara ini telah menunjukkan kepemimpinannya di ASEAN dan sekarang memiliki kesempatan untuk melakukannya di tingkat global, di mana ia dapat secara kreatif mencari solusi untuk tantangan yang, dengan gaungnya yang khas di kawasan kita, mempengaruhi umat manusia secara keseluruhan, ”kata Charles Santiago, Ketua APHR dan Anggota Parlemen di Malaysia.
APHR berpendapat bahwa cara-cara kreatif baru diperlukan untuk menanggapi biaya manusia dan ekonomi dari krisis seperti yang menghancurkan Myanmar, Ukraina, Yaman atau Suriah, mulai dari kenaikan harga komoditas, kekurangan pasokan pangan dan energi, hingga meningkatnya perdagangan manusia dan produksi serta perdagangan obat-obatan terlarang dan senjata. Karena organisasi internasional seperti PBB, atau kelompok-kelompok regional seperti ASEAN, seringkali gagal memitigasi dan menanggapi dampak ekonomi dari krisis semacam itu, Indonesia harus mengusulkan sebuah Kelompok Kerja baru di G20 guna membahas respon dari perekonomian terbesar di dunia ini.
Berhadapan dengan perubahan iklim, telah terbukti bahwa janji saat ini dari negara-negara untuk mengurangi emisi karbon tidak akan cukup melambatkan perubahan iklim, dan kebutuhan untuk beralih ke sumber energi terbarukan menjadi lebih mendesak dari sebelumnya. APHR mendesak Indonesia untuk memimpin G20 menyetujui percepatan penghentian penggunaan batu bara dan bahan bakar fosil, tetapi juga harus secara substansial meningkatkan dukungan keuangan global untuk transisi tersebut.
Terakhir, berhadapan dengan tantangan akibat kampanye disinformasi, perpecahan dan ujaran kebencian yang tesebar secara daring, APHR mendesak G20 untuk membahas dan mengidentifikasi langkah-langkah yang dapat diadopsi untuk mengatur pasar digital agar sejalan dengan demokrasi, mengakhiri penggunaan data pribadi orang yang invasif, dan meminta pertanggungjawaban platform daring atas model bisnis mereka yang berbahaya.
Klik di sini untuk membaca kertas posisi.
Jun 9, 2022 | CCHR, DFF, Internet Freedoms, Reports
JAKARTA – Parliamentarians from Southeast Asia have called Indonesia, the only G20 member in Southeast Asia and its President this year, to “give voice to the aspirations of the Global South” and bring to the table issues that particularly affect the region, but also the world in general, at the group’s Summit which will be held in November this year in Jakarta.
In a position paper published today, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) has urged Indonesia to advocate at the Summit for stronger and more creative global responses to the devastation caused by conflicts like that of Myanmar, a substantial increase in global financial support for a sustainable energy transition, and to find ways to reduce the impact of the world’s digital transformation on human rights and democracy.
“We, Parliamentarians from Southeast Asia, are urging the Indonesian Government to use its preeminent position to promote at the G20 a form of collective and inclusive collaboration among nations to address challenges that, having a specific resonance to our region, affect humanity as a whole,” said APHR in the Position Paper.
APHR suggests that new creative ways are necessary to prevent the human and economic costs of crises such as those devastating Myanmar, Ukraine, Yemen or Syria. As international organizations like the UN, or regional groups like ASEAN, have often failed to prevent atrocities, Indonesia should propose a new Working Group at the G20 to discuss responses from the largest economies in the world to those crises.
On the climate change front, it has become evident that current pledges from states to reduce carbon emissions will not be sufficient to slow climate change, and the necessity to transition to renewable sources of energy is more urgent than ever. APHR urges Indonesia to lead the G20 to agree to accelerate the phasing out from coal and fossil fuels, but it must also substantially increase global financial support for such a transition.
Lastly, and in face of the challenges posed by the spread online of disinformation campaigns, divisiveness and hate-speech, APHR urges the G20 to discuss and identify measures that can be adopted to regulate the digital marketplace along democratic lines, put an end to invasive use of people’s personal data, and hold online platforms accountable for their harmful business models.
Click here to read the position paper.
Jun 8, 2022 | CCHR, DFF, Internet Freedoms, Opinion Articles
By Eva Kusuma Sundari.
Indonesia has made a long journey since the fall of president Soeharto in 1998, from military dictatorship to a vibrant democracy in which most of its citizens enjoy greater political freedoms. This accomplishment has been accompanied by an impressive economic growth that has placed the vast archipelago in the Group of 20, where it is the only country representing ASEAN.
By holding the G20 presidency this year, and hosting the group’s summit in November, Indonesia has a unique position to give a voice to the often-sidelined aspirations of the Global South.
The Indonesian government should use that position to promote a form of inclusive collaboration among nations to address challenges that affect humanity as a whole. Among them are the need for stronger and more creative global responses to issues like the devastation caused by armed conflicts such as in Myanmar or Ukraine, the need to increase financial support for a sustainable energy transition, or the impact of the world’s digital transformation on human rights and democracy.
Indonesia has succeeded in sending its military back to the barracks. The country’s recent history of dictatorship, turmoil, and democratization has given it an invaluable wealth of experience that can provide a distinct advantage in its perspective on conflicts and their consequences.
Alongside other countries like Malaysia, Indonesia is already leading efforts within ASEAN to find peaceful solutions to the crisis in Myanmar, acting on the belief that only democracy and stability can foster economic development.
Now Indonesia could use the experience gained by its own history and propose a new working group at the G20 to discuss judicious responses from the largest economies in the world to crises like the one in Myanmar or those plunging countries such as Ukraine, Syria or Yemen into chaos. And, as the third biggest democracy in the world and the country with the largest Muslim population, Indonesia is particularly suited to play a role as peacemaker in the Muslim world.
Wars throughout the world are having devastating consequences that are not confined within national borders: from rising commodity prices, shortages of food and energy supplies, to increases in human trafficking and the production and trade of illicit drugs and weapons. In Myanmar, poverty has skyrocketed to rates not seen in 20 years.
The community of nations is in dire need of alternative platforms to explore new ways to tackle such crises. These platforms would work as complementary channels to global organizations like the United Nations, or regional groups like ASEAN, that have often failed to prevent atrocities, or alleviate the worst consequences of these wars. The G20 could be one of them and Indonesia is uniquely suited to initiate the discussion.
Meanwhile, the need for a sustainable energy transition is already in the G20 agenda, and Indonesia should be commended for acknowledging the importance of taking collective action to phase out fossil fuels and adopt renewable sources of energy.
The stakes have never been higher. The latest study from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has confirmed that current pledges to reduce carbon emissions will not be sufficient to slow global warming.
All countries must cut global emissions by 43 percent and reach net-zero carbon emissions by the early 2050s to avoid a climate catastrophe. Implementing a sustainable energy transition that takes into account the needs and perspectives of all the people involved is both the most efficient and cost-effective way to do so.
As a vital step, Indonesia must lead the G20 to agree to accelerate the phasing out from coal and fossil fuels, and to ensure there is sufficient financial support to do so. With its presidency, the country finds itself in the position to push for G20 countries to increase their financial commitments and assistance to those facing major barriers in their energy transition.
Last, but by no means least, as economies and societies at large increasingly move toward digitalization, it is no longer possible to ignore the powerful role played by “tech giants”, or big technological companies, in particular Google, Amazon, Meta, and Apple, in shaping not only the world economy, but the state of democracy and human rights globally.
The services these tech giants offer come at a huge cost. By harvesting and selling our personal data in order to predict and shape consumers’ behavior, they track our online behavior in every view, click, purchase, and interaction, in order to analyze and monetize it. The profits obtained by these enormous companies on the back of people’s personal data are bigger than some rich countries’ gross domestic product.
Their unregulated money-making model is also allowing them to profit from the spread of disinformation, divisiveness, and hate. And these phenomena are undermining democracy, stability, and social cohesion in many countries, from the United States, where conspiracy theories like Qanon are spreading like fire, to the Philippines, where online disinformation is rampant.
Indonesia leads the streamlining of digital issues in the various working groups of the G20, and rallies for an inclusive, empowering and sustainable digital transformation aimed at a resilient recovery from the pandemic. But it must also ensure that these discussions do not take place without addressing the damage that the Big Tech’s business models are having on people’s individual rights and democracy worldwide.
Indonesia is not new to playing a central role in world affairs. In 1955, it organized the Bandung Conference, a watershed moment that led to the creation of the Non-Aligned Movement. The world has changed enormously since then, but Indonesia finds itself now in a position where it can once again represent the interests and aspirations of the Global South and help to find solutions to problems that deeply affect all the inhabitants of this planet.
Eva Kusuma Sundari is a board member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), and a former member of Indonesian House of Representatives.
This article first appeared in The Jakarta Post.
May 30, 2022 | CCHR, Statements
The Russian military invasion of Ukraine is soon passing its fourth month. During this time, we have witnessed appalling violations of humanitarian law, international law and the international order. This invasion has come with not only grave humanitarian consequences but also long-term environmental costs.
Since the start of the invasion, we have witnessed a range of reports on the attacks on civilian infrastructure, such as water, energy, industry and transport, some of them likely to cause widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment. Many of these attacks appear to have lacked a definite military target, and may thus violate the laws of war. Academic researchers and civil society have highlighted the environmental destruction in Ukraine, as demonstrated in the joint statement to the UN Environmental Assembly and the open letter from Environmental Peacebuilding Association with co-signees. Criminal accountability for Russia’s actions is now being investigated by the Ukrainian Prosecutor, by the International Criminal Court (ICC), and multiple national prosecution offices under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
We, the members of Ecocide Alliance, an international parliamentary alliance for the recognition of ecocide, are dedicated to building peace through protecting ecosystems and biological diversity. We strongly maintain that environmental security is a precondition to ensuring national and international security.
However, pursuing individual criminal responsibility for environmental atrocities has been largely ignored and under-prosecuted at both the national and international level. For instance, the ICC Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) has never prosecuted war crimes under Article 8(2)(b)(iv) of the Rome Statute, which explicitly protects the natural environment. Nor has the OTP pursued crimes against humanity allegations in the context of mass environmental harm, relating to countries such as Cambodia or Brazil. This is, despite the fact that the OTP issued their Policy paper on case selection and prioritisation in 2016, undertaking to prioritise such cases.
Therefore, we call on the international community to: support local efforts to monitor environmental damage (e.g. Ecoaction, or other agencies); set up mechanisms to collect and share data, which could serve as evidence in potential cases concerning environmental crimes; and support organisations to analyse and build criminal cases based on such data, such as the Climate Counsel.
Ukraine is one of many countries where armed conflicts are destroying the natural environment in a severe and widespread manner. The horrific invasion of Ukraine serves as a pivotal moment when international and national institutions have the opportunity to address international crimes associated with environmental destruction.
The most effective way to enforce criminal accountability long-term, however, is to amend the Rome Statute to explicitly include ecocide as a fifth crime against peace – not limited only to war time. This would enable the ICC and national justice systems to address the most serious environmental crimes and to reduce one of the roots of conflicts, namely, the scarcity and inequitable distribution of natural resources following exploitative land-grabbing. Now, if ever, would be the time for the international community to finally draw a global moral red line concerning environmental atrocities, and put an end to impunity for ecocide.
Signatories:
ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights and Ecocide Alliance, along with the following Members of Parliament:
Rodrigo AGOSTINHO, deputy at the Federal Assembly (Câmara Federal), Brazil
Alejandro AGUILERA, Deputy of the National Assembly, Venezuela
Alexandra ATTALIDES, Member of the House of Representatives, Cyprus
Natalie BENNETT, Member of the House of Lords, United Kingdom
Saskia BRICMONT, Member of the European Parliament (Belgium)
Samuel COGOLATI, Federal Deputy, Belgium
Eufemia CULLAMAT, Member of the House of Representatives, Philippines
Rosa D’AMATO, Member of the European Parliament (Italy)
Eleonora EVI, Member of the European Parliament (Italy)
Leah GAZAN, Member of Parliament, Canada
Simon HOLMSTRÖM, member of the Åland parliament, Finland
Andrés Ingi JÓNSSON, Member of Alþingi, Iceland
Rebecka LE MOINE, Member of Parliament, Sweden
Monica LENNON, Member of the Scottish Parliament, Scotland
Caroline LUCAS, Member of the Parliament, United Kingdom
Raphaël MAHAIM, Member of the Parliament of the canton of Vaud, Switzerland
Elizabeth MAY, Member of Parliament, Canada
Patrick McHEFFEY, Trustee, Patchogue, New York, USA
Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN, Member of the European Parliament (Finland)
Josep PUIG I BOIX, Member of the Catalan Parliament, Spain
Janet RICE, Senator, Australia
Caroline ROOSE, Member of the European Parliament (France)
Inés SABANÉS, Deputy, Spain
Lindsey SCHROMEN-WAWRIN, City Councilmember, Port Angeles, Washington State, USA
Marie TOUSSAINT, Member of the European Parliament (France)
Lammert VAN RAAN, Member of Parliament, Netherlands
Larissa WATERS, Senator, Australia
Susanne ZIMMER, Member of Parliament, Denmark
May 11, 2022 | CCHR, Opinion Articles
By Kasit Piromya.
As US President Joe Biden is due to meet with leaders from Southeast Asian countries this week at the US-Asean Summit in Washington from May 12-13, one issue on which Washington bears an enormous responsibility — and from which Asean countries suffer enormous consequences — will be high on the agenda: climate change.
As the biggest economy in the world and the country responsible for more emissions than any other over the past three centuries, the United States ranks as the biggest single contributor to climate change, a dubious honour that China may be now chasing.
Meanwhile, Southeast Asia is among the regions where the climate crisis is the most destructive, as it threatens the livelihoods, security and rights of the more than 680 million people who live in areas prone to natural disasters, including typhoons, floods and droughts.
This kind of destruction is to a large extent caused by advanced economies like the United States and, to put it bluntly, they have an obligation to pay for the damage their model of development has inflicted on the planet. It is America’s responsibility to financially assist Asean, as well as poorer regions, in moving towards a just, sustainable and resilient green economy.
While our region has committed to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, the commitments of Asean members under the Paris Agreement are far from sufficient to halt global warming.
One of the main obstacles to speedier and stronger climate action in the region is not just the lack of political will, but also the costs involved. Transitioning from fossil fuels to clean and renewable energy sources requires enormous financial investments up-front. This is all the more difficult at a time when the region already needs to mitigate its debt crisis after having borrowed money to support the post-pandemic economic recovery. And here is precisely where the United States can and should help Southeast Asia, by making sure that Asean members get access to international climate funds and by financially contributing to support their energy transitions.
Sadly, the US government’s financial support for the bloc on this matter falls way short of the mark. At last year’s US-Asean Summit, President Biden pledged to double the climate finance contributed by his predecessor Barack Obama, raising the figure from US$3 billion (103.8 billion baht) to $5.7 billion, with the stated intention to “make the US a leader in international climate finance”.
However, that pledge does not reflect the US’s fair share of the $100 billion climate finance goal, promised by rich nations to less wealthy countries to help them mitigate and adapt to climate change. According to an analysis by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), the United States should contribute between $43 billion and $50 billion each year to climate finance, based on its gross national income and cumulative emissions.
If Washington wants to protect its long-term strategic interests in Southeast Asia, particularly now that China is becoming increasingly assertive in the region, it should step up its commitment to climate finance at this week’s US-Asean Summit to help members of the bloc further reduce their carbon emissions.
Moreover, the US could use its preeminent position at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to ensure a more equitable distribution to developing countries of the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). SDRs are international reserve assets that can be traded between the central banks of IMF member countries to support the global recovery process from Covid-19 and address the climate crisis in the Global South — Latin America, Asia, Africa and Oceania.
A test of Washington’s willingness to cooperate with Asean in ensuring the region’s economic stability and tackling the climate change crisis would be to use its influence at the IMF to support a reallocation for developing countries of the SDRs’ funds as non-repayable grants instead of loans.
By doing so, Asean would be able to accelerate its energy transition and commitment to the global climate change objective of reducing emissions.
The challenges posed by climate change cannot wait. Asean members should join forces at the summit this week to secure a meaningful and stronger commitment from the US for climate finance in the region, at a time when more ambitious climate-related improvements are urgently needed.
Kasit Piromya is a former Foreign Minister of Thailand, and a Board Member of Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).
This article first appeared in The Bangkok Post.
Nov 15, 2021 | CCHR, Opinion Articles
By Kasit Piromya
At the recent COP26 climate conference in the Scottish city of Glasgow, Indonesia was one of more than 40 countries that pledged to transition away from “unabated coal power generation” in the next few decades.
Although Indonesia endorsed just three of the pledge’s four clauses – excluding Clause 3, related to issuing new permits for coal-fired projects – it was a step in the right direction from the world’s biggest coal exporter, and one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases globally, for which coal comprises a significant amount. In its pledge, Indonesia promised to reach net zero by 2060, or sooner with international assistance, and said it would “consider accelerating coal phase out” into the 2040s, on the condition that it receives international financial and technical assistance.
The caveat is in many ways a reasonable one. After all, wealthier countries have been the main cause of global emissions, while developing nations have felt the bulk of their impacts.
While Indonesia deserves support in these efforts, it also deserves considerable scrutiny. After all, within days of signing onto a pledge to end deforestation by 2030, the first major announcement at COP26, Indonesia appeared to renege on its commitments, with Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar reportedly calling the pledge “clearly inappropriate and unfair”. Yet, between 2001 and 2019, Indonesia lost more than 26 million hectares of forest, a 17 percent decrease in tree cover since the turn of the century, and one of the main drivers of greenhouse gas emissions in Southeast Asia in recent decades.
On top of halting deforestation and ending its reliance on coal, there are many other areas where Indonesia can step up its response to the climate crisis. In late September, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) published a report, Building Back Better: Southeast Asia’s transition to a green economy after COVID-19, which evaluated whether the recovery measures taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the region, including Indonesia, promoted a transition to a green economy.
Indonesia’s performance in almost all areas of the report was deeply disappointing. Of the 11 “green policies” identified as those that can accelerate a green economic transition, Indonesia had adopted just three. This included a US$240 million capital injection into PT Kereta Api Indonesia, the state-owned rail company, supporting clean transport infrastructure, and reducing traffic congestion as part of its National Economic Recovery Program. It also took measures to accelerate solar energy production.
In contrast, however, Indonesia had the dubious distinction among the countries of the region of adopting all four negative policies identified as contributing to global emissions. These included providing subsidies for environmentally harmful industries and products such as oil exploitation, deregulating environmental standards, and supporting polluting businesses such as airlines, while providing them with no incentives to adopt more climate-friendly practices. Also in 2020, Indonesia’s House of Representatives passed the Mining Law, which allows automatic mining permit extensions of up to 20 years. Mining activities are likely to increase greenhouse gas emissions from land use, which already accounts for almost half of the country’s total emissions.
There’s much that can be done. The measures adopted as part of the COVID-19 economic recovery, and pledges made during COP26, present a unique opportunity to ensure Indonesia moves away from the current destructive economic model, and instead builds back better.
Some progress has been made at COP26. On the sidelines of the event, Indonesia, as well as the Philippines, signed an agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to establish an Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM), an “ambitious plan that will upgrade Indonesia’s energy infrastructure and accelerate the clean energy transition,” according to Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati. This builds upon the IEA-Indonesia Energy Transition, which was agreed in March.
These are welcome steps that require careful scrutiny, while other steps are also required. This includes encouraging dialogue between constituents and policy makers on the impacts of climate change on their communities, as well as the harms caused by laws such as the Mining Law. The government must also put in place green conditions for supporting large businesses, including state-owned enterprises, as well as promote policies that provide job training in sectors that are positive to the green economy, including renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Finally, the Indonesian government must be part of this unprecedented moment in history, and drastically shift away from its reliance on coal, which has done so much to destroy our planet. This means removing fossil fuel subsidies, phasing out coal by 2040, and creating an environment that enables the growth of renewable energy investment.
Lawmakers lie at the heart of fulfilling these climate change commitments and after our global leaders met in Scotland, now is the time for us to hold them accountable and ensure they move beyond vague platitudes made in the corridors of power, and toward real policies that improve people’s lives, and protect our planet.
The article originally appeared in the Jakarta Post
