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Both ENDS and partners worry about the Indonesian Omnibus Law
News / 19 October 2020
Both ENDS together with 13 other Dutch NGOs and trade unions have written to the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation to express their deep concerns over the hasty approval of the so-called Omnibus Law on Job Creation by the Indonesian parliament.
Fundamentally, the law deregulates many sectors closely associated with human rights and environmental risks, such as the extractives and agri-business industries (eg mining, timber and palm oil), in favour of investors and at the cost of workers, local communities and the environment. "The Omnibus Law legalises all the dirty practices of investors, such as land-grabbing, destruction of the environment, and ignoring human rights, including the rights of indigenous peoples. The potential consequences should not be underestimated", says Djayu Sukma of the organisation Yayasan Masyarakat Kehutanan Lestari in West Kalimantan.
Human rights at stake
The law contains over 1,200 articles and amends over 70 other laws and regulations on issues from employment conditions and entitlements, to environmental protections, social safeguards, land-use planning, and authority over resource license allocation.
Indonesian CSOs, trade and labour unions, environmentalists and human rights organisations vigorously oppose the Omnibus law. "The Omnibus Law will undermine current human rights and environmental legislation more than another measures," says Andi Muttaqien of the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM) in Jakarta. "The government wants to make Indonesia more attractive to investors and promises that this will create jobs," says Muttaqien. "But if we look at the details, the law is actually very bad for the Indonesian people."
Pushed through parliament
The Indonesian Government pushed the Omnibus Law through the law-making process on the basis that it is needed to attract foreign investment to Indonesia and to boost the Indonesian economy after the economic impacts of the COVID pandemic. However, local NGOs claimed the government was using the cover of the COVID lockdown to rush the law through parliament and avoid public scrutiny and accountability. The law was passed on Monday 5 October 2020, less than a year after it was introduced to parliament, with very limited public debate and consultation.
Public protests and mass demonstrations against the law have erupted in many Indonesian cities. Local organisations accuse the Jokowi administration of deliberately undermining human rights, contravening Indonesia's commitments to international norms like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement, and jeopardising the integrity of Indonesia's democratic and law-making processes.
Consequences for Dutch trade relations
The deregulation of large parts of the Indonesian economy has significant consequences for the Netherlands and other global trading partners, especially those committed to responsible business conduct and sustainable development.
Both ENDS, other Dutch NGOs and the Netherlands' two largest labour unions are calling on the Dutch Government to raise these concerns with the Indonesian Government and to initiate an open dialogue with Indonesian government and civil society representatives about the potential consequences of the Omnibus Law for sustainable development in Indonesia and for relationships with the Netherlands and EU.
Michael Rice
Read more about this subject
Blog / 16 June 2020
The political and industrial elites in Indonesia grasp their opportunity
By Daniëlle Hirsch and Michael Rice
In September 2019, the streets of Jakarta were filled with angry demonstrators protesting against the Omnibus Employment Law. The law will ease the rules for mining, make it much more difficult to hold companies liable for criminal acts and severely restrict the power of the national anti-corruption committee. At the moment, such protests are completely impossible in Indonesia because of the COVID-19 crisis and the associated lockdown measures. And Indonesian people already had few other means of exerting influence on decision-making and legislative processes.
Global civil society pushes for mandatory environmental and human rights rules in the EU
On 23 July 2020 a global network of NGOs working to strengthen corporate accountability for environmental destruction and human rights abuses, including Both ENDS, published an open letter to European Commission DG Justice Commissioner Reynders. The letter is a response to his recent commitment to propose legislation in 2021 on both corporate due diligence and directors' duties as part of an initiative on sustainable corporate governance.
Call for investigation of the death of Indonesian human rights defender Golfrid Siregar
Earlier this month, we learned that Golfrid Siregar, an Indonesian environmental lawyer working for our partner organisation WALHI died under suspicious circumstances. We call for a thorough and transparent investigation and have brought the case to the attention of the Indonesian embassy in The Hague and to the Netherlands' embassy in Jakarta.
News / 22 April 2013
NEW VIDEO: 'Mapping our Future' for survival of local communities in Indonesia
Between 2010 and 2013, Both ENDS, within an alliance of Indonesian and Dutch organisations and universities, conducted a pilot project to improve the spatial planning in the district of Sanggau in West-Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo, Indonesia, to help local communities with the recognition of their land rights. We can show you a beautiful documentary about one of the villages in this district, Terusan.
Letter / 9 October 2020
Letter to Minister Kaag about Indonesian Omnibus Law
News / 22 November 2016
Is coastal defense project in Jakarta promoting Dutch business interests or protecting the city?
A Dutch economic trade mission is visiting Indonesia from the 21st to the 24th of November. Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who heads the mission, is accompanied by Minister Ploumen (Foreign Trade and Development), Minister Schultz van Haegen and State Secretary Dijksma (Infrastructure and Environment).
Letter / 23 June 2020
Letter to European Commissioner Reynders on mandatory environmental and human rights rules in the EU
A global network of NGOs working to strengthen corporate accountability for environmental destruction and human rights abuses, including Both ENDS, published an open letter to European Commission DG Justice Commissioner Reynders. The letter is a response to his recent commitment to propose legislation in 2021 on both corporate due diligence and directors' duties as part of an initiative on sustainable corporate governance.
News / 8 May 2019
The "Heart trumps hates" campaign calls on the Dutch to choose for solidarity
Organisations join forces against polarisation
A broad coalition of organisations has joined forces for peace, human rights, equal opportunities for all and a society where discrimination and exclusion are actively opposed. Under the name "Heart trumps hates", the organisations call upon the public to sign a manifesto and to vote against divisions and for connection at the European elections on May 23rd 2019. On Sunday May 19th an event takes place in Utrecht, where visitors can make a joint statement. People in ten other European countries will also take action on this day.
News / 21 July 2020
Is the Netherlands insuring a controversial gas extraction project in Mozambique?
At the end of last week, oil and gas company Total announced that, through its export credit insurer Atradius DSB, the Dutch government is participating in a funding package for a controversial gas extraction project in Mozambique. The project, in which various Dutch and foreign companies are involved, is having a deep impact on the local population and the natural environment in the area. Which Dutch companies the government will be insuring is not yet clear.
News / 2 August 2019
EU unveils 'Action Plan' on Deforestation
The EU is still one of the world's largest importers of deforestation: EU demand for commodities like soy, palm oil, beef, coffee and cacao requires millions of hectares of tropical rainforest to be cleared. This deforestation has significant biodiversity and climate impacts, and is often linked to human rights violations and violence against local communities and indigenous peoples. Both ENDS and partners have been actively lobbying the EU Commission to adopt a robust action plan to address and prevent human rights violations and deforestation 'embodied' in EU imports of agricultural commodities.
Letter / 7 February 2020
Kota Kinabalu Statement on Palm Oil and Freedom of Expression
Civil society organisations from around the world condemn the statements by representatives of palm oil companies during a meeting with the Malaysian government. In this meeting, the company representatives called critical NGOs "toxic entities" and asked the Malaysian government to not let these NGOs into the country. Both ENDS' partners have published a reaction in which they defend their right "to expose the realities we face in their communities about the impacts of the palm oil sector".
Press release / 18 September 2020
Boskalis doesn't have to share documents on controversial project; fishing communities will not get crucial information
18 september - The court in Rotterdam today ruled that Dutch dredging company Boskalis does not have to make information on the social and environmental risks of its sand extraction operations in the coastal zone near Makassar, Indonesia, available to local fishing communities affected by the activities. Environmental and human rights organisation Both ENDS had initiated legal action against the company. The court declared Both ENDS inadmissible and did not consider the case. Both ENDS brought the action on behalf of Indonesian fishing communities after Boskalis had rejected repeated requests to provide information on the impact of its activities.
Press release / 1 September 2020
Both ENDS brings legal action against Dutch dredging company on behalf of fisherfolk in South Sulawesi
Environment and human rights organisation Both ENDS is bringing legal action against Boskalis, after the Dutch dredging company continually ignored requests for information on a controversial sand extraction project in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Boskalis is extracting sand off the coast of Sulawesi for expansion of the port in the capital, Makassar. The extraction activities are affecting fishing grounds, making it impossible for local fisherfolk to earn their livelihoods.
Publication / 27 June 2018
Supply chain solutions for people and forests
Blog / 18 January 2019
Unambitious and uninspiring: the European Commission's proposal for stepping-up action on global deforestation
By Michael Rice
After five years of equivocation the European Commission has proposed a 'roadmap' for stepping-up EU action to address its contribution to global deforestation. Despite the escalating impact of EU trade in forest-risk commodities, regardless of repeated calls from the European Parliament for regulatory measures and contrary to the conclusions of the Commission's own feasibility study in support of legislative intervention, the Commission has ruled-out out any new initiatives, let alone any legislative measures. The Commission's solution to this complex problem: policy coherence.
Land rights for Indigenous Peoples to protect their forests
Institut Dayakologi works to preserve Indigenous Peoples' livelihoods and cultures in West Kalimantan. One of their central goals is to gain ancestral land rights for Indigenous communities. This is not only essential for the security of these communities, but also for the forests and ecosystems on which they depend for their livelihood, identity, culture and customs.
Global Alliance for Green and Gender Action (GAGGA)
GAGGA rallies the collective power of the women's rights and environmental justice movements to realize a world where women can and do access their rights to water, food security, and a clean, healthy and safe environment.
Publication / 29 May 2019
Like Fish on Land: The impacts of hydroelectric power projects on resettled communities in Uganda and Laos
A Negotiated Approach for Inclusive Water Governance
A Negotiated Approach envisages the meaningful and long-term participation of communities in all aspects of managing the water and other natural resources on which their lives depend. It seeks to achieve healthy ecosystems and equitable sharing of benefits among all stakeholders within a river basin.
Rights for People, Rules for Corporations – Stop ISDS!
Indigenous communities in Paraguay saw their attempts to regain their ancestral lands thwarted by German investors. In Indonesia, US-based mining companies succeeded to roll back new laws that were meant to boost the country's economic development and protect its forests. This is the level of impact that investment treaties can have on social, environmental and economic development and rights. Why? Because of the 'Investor-to-State Dispute Settlement' clauses that are included in many such treaties.
Together with environmental justice groups from the Global South, Both ENDS works towards a sustainable, fair and inclusive world. We gather and share information about policy and investments that have a direct impact on people and their livelihood, we engage in joint advocacy, we stimulate the dialogue between stakeholders and we promote and support sustainable local alternatives.
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