Indonesia - Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD)

More than twenty years since Indonesia’s political transition started, the country stands as an example of democratic progress in the ASEAN region. However, there remain challenges to inclusive and accountable governance across the different levels of Indonesia’s still young democracy.

Over the past five years, WFD has worked with Indonesia’s national and subnational legislatures as well as civil society from across the country to advance more open governance, robust parliamentary scrutiny, and better laws that protect citizens’ rights.

In 2019-20, WFD continued to focus on supporting parliaments to protect human rights by working with local legislators to help bring their laws in line with international human rights obligations, as part of our three-year programme which begin in 2018.

2016: year of first WFD programme

The Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR), or Lower House of Indonesia’s National Parliament, published its Open Parliament National Action Plan for the period 2018-2020. WFD was involved the process of developing the Action Plan and is named as one of the partners supporting its implementation. Through our Inclusive and Accountable Politics Programme supported by the UK Department for International Development, WFD has supported the DPR to form a dedicated Open Parliament team within the lower house secretariat and is currently working with that team on the development of an Open Parliament Road Map.

WFD is working with the Badan Akuntabilitas Keuangan Negara (BAKN), the public accounts committee of the lower house, to support the improvement of financial oversight by the national parliament. Through our Inclusive and Accountable Politics Programme supported by the UK Department for International Development, WFD has supported the BAKN to undertake an exchange visit to the United Kingdom to learn from the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Commons as well as the UK’s National Audit Office. Based on the findings of the visit, WFD has continued to provide ongoing technical assistance to the BAKN to develop recommended changes to the DPR’s rules of procedure that would strengthen the BAKN’s standing and mandate within the parliament and its role in the scrutiny of public finances.

Over the past three years, WFD has worked with Indonesia’s parliaments at provincial and district levels (subnational legislatures known as Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah or DPRDs) to strengthen their legislative scrutiny practices through programmes supported by the British and Canadian Embassies in Jakarta. Our technical assistance has focused on how legislative scrutiny can be applied to improve the compliance of local legislation with international human rights obligations. WFD has joined forces with the University of Jember’s Centre for Human Rights, Multiculturalism and Migration to develop modules on protecting human rights through legislative scrutiny and we are currently in the process of launching pilot legislative scrutiny inquiries with a select number of DPRDs.

Country Data

Population:

267,66

Million (2018)

GDP:

$1.042

Trillion (USD)

GNI per capita:

$3,840

(USD)

Media freedom:

65/100

(Partly Free)

Democracy index:

65/100

(partly free)

Results

Direct beneficiaries: 55 Legal drafters, 15 Public Accounts Annalists, 18 legal Analysts, 5 researchers, 20 Auditors, 22 MPs, 30 Secretariat Staff, 20 CSO activists, 45 Committee and Party experts.

5 standard operating procedures, 2 Manuals, 1 Organisation Blue Print produced.

Implementation

Improving the House of Representatives’ legislative, budget and oversight function

Underway

Promoting human rights through legislative practice

Underway

Supporting the development of an open parliament road map

Underway

News

A series of colorful notes from many different countries

An Inter-Parliamentary Exchange on Public Finances and the Pandemic: What Role for Parliamentary Financial Oversight in the Response to COVID-19?

WFD and the Indonesian Committee for Inter Parliamentary Cooperation of the House of Representatives (DPR) are hosting a webinar exploring what role parliaments have in overseeing public spending during and after the pandemic, drawing on the experiences of those parliaments that have adapted and exercised their oversight at this critical time. The COVID-19 pandemic has […]

Shoring up democracy during the pandemic and beyond

Those interested in democracy and good governance should be alive to both the risks and the opportunities posed by the coronavirus pandemic – their voices could make the difference between setback and progress.

Following the law: Combatting discrimination and human rights violations through post-legislative scrutiny

WFD’s Senior Governance Advisor, Franklin de Vrieze, explains the importance of assessing the implementation, impact and unintended effects of legislation for the protection and promotion of human rights in Indonesia. “Public expectations of parliaments’ legislative success have evolved substantially, from getting laws on the statute book to ensuring that laws are brought into effect and […]