Justice For All? - UNDP

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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Key Justice-Related Issues from
the Perspective of the Poor and
Disadvantaged
A persistent theme that emerged throughout
the five provinces was an emphasis on the
economic dimension of justice, a clear reflection
of priorities in communities where
daily life often revolves around the myriad
challenges of maintaining an adequate livelihood.
In particular, equality, evenness and
non-discrimination in the distribution of
government services and assistance was
cited as central to achieving justice by respondents
across all provinces. This and
other key justice-related issues raised by
interviewees and FGD participants can be
grouped into six categories:
- Access to Government Services and
Assistance
- Ownership and Management of Land
and Natural Resources
- Gender Violence and Discrimination
- Employment and Labour Rights
- Criminality and Inadequate Law
Enforcement
- Post-Conflict Security, Property
Rights and Other Issues
The results of the quantitative research
corresponded closely with the results of the
qualitative research outlined above, with
survey respondents across the five provinces
nominating ‘poverty’, ‘education’ and
‘public health’ as the three most commonly
encountered issues in their village. Other
frequently cited issues included ‘land
disputes‘, ‘unemployment’, ‘domestic
disputes’ and ‘criminality’. Apart from minor
fluctuations around the mean, there were
no striking differences in the responses of
men and women when the data from the
five provin-ces is combined.
Community Awareness of Rights
Remains Low
The qualitative phase of the assessment
found that community awareness of specific
rights protected or established by Indonesian
law is low. The assessment did, however,
document many instances in which poor
and disadvantaged citizens have taken action
that demonstrates a general awareness
of their rights in a wide range of areas,
including property ownership, healthcare,
education, access to government subsidies
and freedom from domestic violence. Yet,
even though citizens have often taken
the initiative to complain to a relevant government
agency, they frequently appear
at a loss for what to do if (as is often the
case) no improvement occurs as a result of
their complaint. At other times, citizens
perceive a breach of their rights but take
no action for reasons including their weak
bargaining position, expense, embarrassment,
a desire to preserve social harmony
and suspected police complicity in criminal
activities.
Choice of Forum – Informal Justice
Mechanisms Preferred
The choice of the formal or informal justice
system to resolve a problem is influenced
by a complex and interrelated set of factors,
Justice For All? - An Assessment of Access to Justice in Five Provinces of Indonesia