CRPD
Rights Tracker

• The State's efforts to raise awareness, both among state officials and the public, about the rights of persons with disabilities can be said to be less than optimal. This causes persons with disabilities to still frequently experience discrimination, stigma, inhuman treatment, and violence, both physical and psychological.

• Out of about 20 regions monitored by DPOs to compile this report, almost all of these regions have yet to provide training, counseling, education, or awareness-raising in the community about the rights of persons with disabilities. For some regions that do implement it, such as West Java, socialization is still limited to parents of persons with disabilities, not for the general public, so the public's understanding remains based on old views (charity or medical).

• The involvement of persons with disabilities in the processes of decision-making, planning, budgeting, and implementation is also still very minimal. Only a few regions involve persons with disabilities, such as in DKI Jakarta, where persons with disabilities are involved in the Musrembang (Development Planning Meeting) process. Meanwhile, in other regions, most are not involved. If they are involved, the input and opinions of persons with disabilities often do not make it into the policy.

• The government does not yet have a comprehensive national monitoring and evaluation scheme related to the accessibility of buildings and structures, including the assessment of the implementation in government buildings. Some regions conduct piloting, but not comprehensively. Building Permits (IMB) for new buildings or structures do not require aspects of accessibility and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities.

• So far, there has been no regular evaluation by regional governments regarding this matter. Evaluation and monitoring are instead carried out by Disabled Persons' Organizations (DPOs). DPOs voluntarily conduct surveys, such as a survey related to the Bus stops built along Makassar City and Takalar Regency.

• The RANHAM (National Action Plan for Human Rights) 2015 – 2019 has included the aspect of monitoring for a number of public facilities, such as airports and terminals. However, evaluation is still needed on the Action programs that have been implemented according to the interests of various types of disabilities. Maritime transport accessibility, for example, ports are accessible, but passenger ships are not yet accessible.

• In many regions, development has not given special attention to disability aspects, which results in very minimal accessibility in all forms for persons with disabilities and also hinders the inclusion and participation of persons with disabilities in all fields. Yogyakarta Province has a Regional Regulation (Perda) on Spatial Planning and Buildings that emphasizes the important aspect of accessibility for persons with disabilities, although it does not refer to the PUPR (Public Works and Public Housing) Ministerial Regulation No. 14/PRT/M/2017.

• The government also still neglects access facilities for technology, information, and communication for certain types of disabilities such as deafness, for example by providing sign language interpreters who use SIBI (Indonesian Sign Language System). The government actually uses Bisindo (Indonesian Sign Language) which is precisely not understood by the deaf community in Indonesia. The planning and implementation of spatial planning and development do not fully involve DPOs, especially those representing intellectual disabilities. This results in the lack of any information that can be understood by the intellectual disability group.

• Monitoring by Disabled Persons' Organizations in South Sulawesi, for example, states that not all public service environments provide access to information and communication. For instance, almost all elevators in hotels do not provide audio, making it difficult for persons with visual disabilities to identify which floor they are on. Furthermore, there are no zebra crossings at all that provide audio bells which would allow persons with visual disabilities to cross the street via the zebra crossing. In office environments, for example, a map board of the office environment that can provide information related to the parts of the environment for persons with hearing and speech disabilities is not yet provided.

• Public transportation in many regions, although accessibility has been attempted, is often still very limited to certain areas and types of disabilities. Services are also not always consistent, for example, officers on the busway and at the station, running text on public transportation, or other access information is not always available. For example, in South Sulawesi, the construction of 200 Bus Rapid Transportation (BRT) stops from Maros Regency to Takalar Regency is less accessible for various types of disabilities.

Buildings in accordance with PUPR Ministerial Regulation

• The PUPR Ministerial Decree No. 14/PRT/M/2017 concerning Building Requirements has been upgraded to Government Regulation No. 42 of 2020 concerning Accessibility to Settlements, Public Services, and Protection from Disasters for Persons with Disabilities. This Government Regulation No. 42/2020 regulates accessible building standards, but substantively the Government Regulation does not include strong coercive power for the Government and the private sector to implement this rule because there are no implementation orders and sanctions within it. The Government Regulation only regulates the standards of implementation.

• When it was still in the form of a Ministerial Regulation, there were obstacles arising from the PUPR Ministerial Regulation, the main one being that other sector government institutions outside of PUPR, both central and regional, did not know and understand the Ministerial Decree, and even the Public Works (PU) Offices in provinces or districts/cities still have some that do not understand building and structure accessibility. Based on DPOs' monitoring for this LoI response, Regional Governments have not fully understood the PUPR Ministerial Decree and consequently it is not made one of the mandatory reference documents in infrastructure development by the PU Office. Private contractors who do not understand the importance of physical accessibility for persons with disabilities do not refer to this policy. In some areas, the PU Office hands over development to regional apparatus organizations and only receives notification, thus being unable to ensure the implementation of the Ministerial Decree.

• The lack of understanding regarding accessible buildings occurs in almost all regions. In West Java, 2 Community Health Centers (Puskesmas) that are called disability-friendly, the access to transportation, roads, and sidewalks are still unable to comfortably lead persons with disabilities to the Puskesmas. Likewise in other regions, government offices that provide public services in the region are not yet fully accessible.

• In the tourism sector, a number of service providers, such as hotels, have started to provide accessible services. As in Makassar, South Sulawesi, hotels that provide accessible facilities are no more than 10 hotels.

Independence of Persons with Disabilities

• Meanwhile, the fulfillment of physical accessibility is still merely normative fulfillment of obligations, not to ensure accessibility and independence for persons with disabilities. As a result, the construction of these facilities and infrastructure does not comply with standards, such as the construction of guiding blocks that do not meet the needs of persons with visual disabilities. The construction of ramp facilities in buildings and structures is often steep and does not support the independence of persons with disabilities.

• In Riau Province, for example, some accessibility constructed does not comply with standards, such as the inclined plane ramp built at the old Riau Governor's office, making it difficult for wheelchair users to use it. In Maluku, public transportation facilities are still not possible for people with intellectual disabilities to travel alone due to the lack of easily understandable information. In South Sulawesi, almost all public transportation is not disability accessible. In Yogyakarta, accessibility is only in a few areas as piloting, such as Malioboro, Jl. Jendral Sudirman, bus stops that already provide ramps (although very steep), while districts/cities are still not accessible. The results of monitoring by disabled persons' organizations in Bantul Regency, Yogyakarta, state that the satisfaction level of persons with disabilities with infrastructure development is still very low.

• In Papua, the results of field monitoring at one government office, namely the Jayapura City Dukcapil (Department of Population and Civil Registry) or a one-stop building in the Jayapura mayor's office complex, are not yet accessible to persons with disabilities. The service center is on the second floor and there is no pathway for wheelchair users or persons with disabilities using canes. There is a special room for persons with disabilities, but the persons with disabilities in that room are not served, due to difficulties in mobility to the second floor.

Involvement in regional planning and development

• According to monitoring by disabled persons' organizations, persons with disabilities are not involved in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of regional development at almost all levels in the regions, from province to district/city. This is due to the low understanding and awareness of duty bearers and the lack of socialization of the Principles of Article 2 of Law No. 8 of 2016 and the CRPD. The implementation of full participation is not carried out.

• The participation of disabled persons' organizations in some regions is carried out by the Regional Government (Pemda), such as in Yogyakarta, where DPOs are involved in the drafting of the Regional Action Plan (RAD) for DPOs and CSOs. However, this participation is viewed by DPOs as tokenistic participation, only invited and present, while input and suggestions from disabled persons' organizations are not utilized (included as policy). A similar situation occurs in almost all regions that involve DPOs in policy making.

Driving License (SIM) and Transportation

• Although a special SIM D (Driving License D) for persons with disabilities has been prepared, in its implementation, persons with disabilities still face difficulties in obtaining the license. Apart from the process suddenly halting at the police station when applying for a SIM (as experienced by persons with disabilities in Riau who applied for SIM collectively), some regions have not yet implemented SIM D even though it has been affirmed through the Regulation of the Chief of the Indonesian National Police. In South Sulawesi, for instance, Jeneponto and Gowa are among the regions that implement SIM D for persons with disabilities, but not for other regions in South Sulawesi Province. Furthermore, for Indonesia as a whole, due to the requirement of spiritual and physical health, deaf persons cannot possess a SIM D.

Accessible Housing

• Not many housing complexes, whether subsidized by the Government or by the private sector, provide accessible buildings for various types of disabilities or special slots (concessions) for persons with disabilities.

• The central and regional governments have the responsibility to encourage the implementation of Article 27 of Law No. 8/2016 by conducting socialization and cross-sectoral coordination. Furthermore, Article 42 of Law No. 8/2016 also obligates every higher education provider to facilitate the formation of a disability service unit to provide socialization on disability understanding and inclusive education systems to educators, education staff, and students. Rising awareness is also encouraged in the National Action Plan for Human Rights (RANHAM) 2015 – 2019, the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) 2014-2019, and a number of other programs at the national level.

  
  

• Nevertheless, the increase in awareness and socialization of existing regulations has not been optimal; on the ground, there are no guidelines or minimum service standards accompanied by regular monitoring and evaluation from the central and regional governments. The Minimum Service Standards issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, which serves as a guide for regions in planning and budgeting, also do not comprehensively include the aspect of disability awareness.

  
  

• The campaign and socialization programs created have also not focused on women with disabilities. This leads to a low level of understanding among state and government officials regarding the rights of persons with disabilities, both in terms of fulfilling their rights and in terms of protection from violence or exploitation. For example, it is very difficult to obtain a sign language interpreter for women with disabilities dealing with public services, including in law enforcement processes.

Proposed List of Issues:

1. The Indonesian government's official report to the CRPD Committee states that the Ministry of Social Affairs conducts socialization through discussions, seminars, workshops, and training for private companies to encourage the employment of persons with disabilities. What are the sustainable programs and how does the Ministry of Social Affairs coordinate with relevant ministries such as the Ministry of Manpower, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Transportation, and the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises to increase awareness of disability rights and inclusive education to the private sector?

2. What are the efforts of the Government of Indonesia to ensure that every Ministry, Institution, and all Regional Governments at the provincial and district/city levels have a women-with-disabilities perspective?