The Asia Foundation Co-hosts on Restorative Justice Conference in Indonesia

Jakarta, November 15, 2022 — The Asia Foundation co-hosted a National Conference on Restorative Justice in collaboration with the Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Justice 2, the Indonesian Coordinating Ministry of Politics, Law and Security Affairs, and the National Development Planning Agency.

The conference was opened by Coordinating Minister Mahfud MD, who emphasized the need for Indonesia to adopt restorative justice principles as a critical part of efforts to reform the country’s criminal justice system.  

“If we don’t have restorative justice, we will never have enough police, prosecutors, and correctional facilities to handle all cases,” Mahfud MD said.

Restorative justice focuses on repairing the harm caused by crime and restoring relations to their previous state before the crime occurred. It offers an alternative to imprisonment and is therefore considered an essential mechanism to reduce chronic prison overcrowding in Indonesia. First introduced through the 2012 Juvenile Criminal Justice Law, the Indonesian government has since identified restorative justice as a priority program in its 2019-2024 National Medium-Term Plan.

The Asia Foundation’s support for restorative justice in Indonesia is part of the Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Justice 2, a three-year program supported by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The Foundation’s Deputy Country Representative in Indonesia Hana Satryo, and Director for Law Reform Mohamad Doddy Kusadrianto, attended the conference.

Mohamad Doddy said the conference was an “important forum to ensure that all stakeholders, including relevant Indonesian government agencies, have a similar understanding of the concept of restorative justice.”  A long-standing challenge for adopting restorative justice principles in Indonesia is that different law enforcement agencies have different guidelines for implementing the concept. “It is important that all agencies are on the same page when promoting restorative justice so as not to create confusion among law enforcement officers and the Indonesian public.”

The conference also marked an important milestone in implementing restorative justice in Indonesia with the launch of a government working group on restorative justice. The working group has been tasked with developing a work plan for implementing restorative justice and harmonizing existing regulations and guidelines on the concept among law enforcement institutions.  

The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia. Informed by six decades of experience and deep local expertise, our work across the region is focused on good governance, women’s empowerment and gender equality, inclusive economic growth, environment, and climate action, and regional and international relations.

Read more about the Foundation’s work in Indonesia and see more coverage of these high-level visits in our Instagram stories archive.

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