Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) is implementing a three-year programme (2016-2019) to support the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) with a series of reforms by working with MPs, committee experts, party experts, parliamentary support staff, and civil society organisations.
The DPR was labelled ineffective, unresponsive and corrupt by much of the Indonesian public as a result of various corruption scandals, consistently failing to achieve annual legislation targets and producing non-evidenced based policies. In addition, DPR’s legislative and oversight processes do not yet adhere to international human rights standards, norms and principles.
WFD is sharing knowledge about how to ensure international human rights principles are reflected in domestic law. Through increased engagement between committees, MPs and civil society, better quality evidence will be collected to inform legislation, especially where human rights are concerned.
Through a series of trainings, workshops, and study visits for legal drafters, as well as committee experts, party experts and MPs, progress is being made on legislative drafting techniques, especially drafting legislation in line with human rights principles.
Working with the DPR’s Parliamentary Expert Support Agency (BKD) and the Inspectorate General the programme will develop and implement a revised internal audit system. Increased internal monitoring and improved scrutiny of public spending will deter corrupt practices. Training has been provided to auditors under the DPR’s Inspectorate General to show them how to implement new procedures for internal audit and risk management.
Country data
Population: 261,114,560 (2016)
GDP: $932.2 billion (USD)
GNI per capita: $3,400 (USD)
Media freedom: 65/100 (Partly Free)
Democracy index: 65/100 (partly free)
Programme data
2016: year of first WFD programme
Results and Activities
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.
Status
Programme title
Planned end: March 2021
Improving the House of Representatives’ legislative, budget and oversight function
Planned end: March 2018
Promoting human rights through legislative practice
Planned end: March 2018
Related News
Team
WFD to lead new Commonwealth programme on parliamentary accountability and inclusion
WFD will implement a £4 million programme to build trust in democratic institutions and support the political engagement of minorities [...]
Helping women run for office in upcoming Sri Lanka local elections
“I had heard about the new women quota for elections but had little knowledge on how local government operates and [...]
Crafting effective legislation needs a solid understanding of society
Kashif Mahmood Tariq, a former legislative drafter from Pakistan participated in a WFD organised placement in October 2016. Following his [...]
