President Joko Widodo Church leaders in Indonesia have criticised the government for using the country’s drugs problem as an excuse for rejecting the UN recommendation to abolish the death penalty.
The recommendation, put forward at the 27th session of the UN Universal Periodic Review in Geneva, which reviewed Indonesia’s human rights situation, was rejected by Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly, who led the her country’s delegation in Geneva, Switzerland.
She said the death penalty was an integral part of President Joko Widodo’s fight against narcotics, which she claimed was one of the top-three causes of death among Indonesian youths.
However, Fr Paulus Siswantoko of the Indonesian bishops’ Commission for Justice, Peace and Pastoral for Migrant People said the death penalty is not a deterrent, and the government’s insistence on keeping it exposes its failure to handle the drugs problem.
“Drug-related crimes and serious violence continue to occur unabated,” he said.