The constitution itself was originally in effect from 18 August 1945 to 27 December 1945, but its enactment was ineffective due to the national revolution and socio-political conditions that were not conducive at the time.
The Indonesian National Police (Polri) used unnecessary and excessive force against demonstrators and protesters, especially concerning land dispute cases.
The government has put in place legislative and structural reforms to strengthen their effectiveness in preventing and detecting crime, maintaining public order and promoting the rule of law.
[18] Repeated allegations of torture and otherwise ill-treating detainees by security forces, particularly peaceful political activists in areas with a history of independence movements such as Papua and Maluku region, has been reported.
At least 72 people were caned for various offences, including drinking alcohol, being alone with someone of the opposite sex who was not a marriage partner or relative (khalwat), and for gambling.
The Acehnese authorities passed a series of by-laws governing the implementation of Sharia after the enactment of the province's Special Autonomy Law in 2001.
[19] Freedom of religion in Indonesia only applies to adherents of six major religious groupings, Buddhism, Catholicism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam and Protestantism.
Atheism is not legally accepted, and the criminal code contains provisions against blasphemy, penalizing those who "distort" or "misrepresent" recognized faiths.
Building a new house of worship is challenging due to the 2006 Joint Ministerial Decision, which requires approval from both congregation members and local residents.
The police tortured all LGBT citizens within the premises of the parlour, shaved the heads of transgender women, stripped their shirts and bras, and paraded them in the street while forcing to shout 'to become men'.
This event caused massive outrage from human rights organisation throughout the world, including liberal parts of Asia.
The legislation is supported by eight of the ten political parties of the country and is expected to pass before Valentine's Day, though it was suspended after President Jokowi calls for the bill to be canceled after massive amounts of protests.
[32][33] Indonesia's continuation of capital punishment, and the often corrupt judiciary and military has also led to political altercations with several human rights groups.
This left an estimated 2.6 million domestic workers – the vast majority of them women and girls – at continued risk of economic exploitation and physical, psychological and sexual violence.
[17] From the Amnesty International's 2012 Annual Report:[17] Women and girls, especially those from impoverished and marginalised communities, were prevented from fully exercising their sexual and reproductive rights.
The government failed to challenge discriminatory attitudes and cruel, inhuman and degrading practices, including female genital mutilation and early marriages.
In June, the Minister of Health defended a November 2010 regulation permitting specifically defined forms of "female circumcision" when performed by doctors, nurses and midwives.
[44] In 2005, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) carried out a policy change away from "law and order" and towards economic development to arrest separatism in Papua.
By writing and passing Section 1115, the U.S. Congress joins the Senate's earlier efforts to reduce, if not disengage, from the U.S. fiscal and political support of the Indonesian military, a change of policy which brings both houses into conflict with the Bush administration and the executives of companies such as Bechtel.
Though Section 1115 states humanitarian and legal reasons for its existence, an additional factor would be security concerns due to ongoing employment of Al-Qaeda related terrorist militia by the Indonesian military and their continued funding programs for the Al Qaeda network.
Given that the Senate opposition since 2003 has been strengthening on account of the TNI involvement in the death of Americans at the Timika mining site in 2002, the 2005 decision by Congress may reflect a desire to find more economical methods of crippling the Al Qaeda network.
SBY follows the administration of Megawati, who in 2001 gave a public speech to the TNI instructing all members that they should disregard the issues of human rights in enforcing Indonesian unity and repressing any independence movements.
After the era, Chinese-Indonesian politicians have emerged, such as Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (former Governor of Jakarta) and Hary Tanoesoedibjo (businessman and leader of Perindo Party).
There have been concerns of declining freedom of expression during the first term of the Joko Widodo administration, evidenced by the arrest, detainment, and imprisonment of many people for their social media activity being interpreted as an "insult" to the president.
On 10 June 2020, Human Rights Watch urged the Indonesian authorities to drop all charges against seven Papuan activists and students, who are on trial for their involvement in anti-racism protests last year in August.
Human Rights Watch urged the Indonesia's Khairun University to reinstate the four students who were expelled and support academic freedom and free expression.