Overcoming Stagnation

Komnas Perempuan, in collaboration with five state institutions under the Cooperation for the Prevention of Torture (KuPP), presents this report to mark twenty five years of Indonesia’s ratification of the Convention Against Torture (CAT) through Law No. 5 of 1998. While Indonesia has made important normative progress, including the recognition of freedom from torture as a non derogable right and the adoption of various human rights instruments, implementation remains limited. The absence of periodic state reporting since 2008 has created a significant gap in assessing compliance and progress.

This report responds to that gap by providing a comprehensive assessment of torture and other ill treatment in Indonesia. It examines a wide range of contexts, including law enforcement processes, detention settings, private spheres, social institutions, and customary practices. Particular attention is given to gendered dimensions of torture, in line with Komnas Perempuan’s mandate to eliminate violence against women.

The findings show that torture remains systemic and persistent. It occurs in arrest and interrogation processes, is enabled by weak oversight and reliance on confessions, and is reinforced by poor conditions in detention facilities. Practices amounting to torture are also found beyond formal detention, including in mental health institutions, orphanages, and rehabilitation centers. At the same time, accountability remains weak, past human rights violations remain unresolved, and victims continue to face barriers in accessing justice and recovery.

The report concludes that torture in Indonesia reflects a structural gap between legal commitments and lived realities. It calls for strengthened accountability, more effective protection for victims, and comprehensive efforts to prevent torture in all its forms.