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SPEECH<br />

Socialisation of the Convention Against Torture through Curriculum<br />

for Police Education<br />

By:<br />

Police General (Retire) Drs. Chairuddin Ismail. LLM.*<br />

Teacher and Member of the Senate at the Police Academy (Perguruan Tinggi Ilmu Kepolisian, PTIK) in Jakarta<br />

Universally, the function of police is to fight crime, maintain<br />

law and order, and to protect and serve people. In the same<br />

time, the police organization contains two shapes that are different,<br />

even often opposite - the strong hand of law and society and<br />

the soft hand of law and society. These two shapes must be<br />

adjusted to a rhythm in accordance with the conditions that police<br />

are facing, in a spectrum on choices that is better off when it is<br />

based on individuality and personality.<br />

In practise, illegal actions that are coloured by torture are also<br />

known of. Amongst other purposes, torture is used to get a<br />

statement or a confession from a witness or a suspect. Indeed,<br />

police are authorised to use force and violence, including use of<br />

fire arms, when it is necessary. However, this must be limited by<br />

the boundaries of law. The balance between violence and<br />

resistance must be considered. Use of excessive violence is illegal.<br />

The illegal violence above can be divided in two categories.<br />

berita 7 First, Kontra police brutality s No. 8/Vlll/2003 to avoid disturbance, and violence of police<br />

force during raids and arrests of dangerous suspects. Secondly,<br />

harassment and torture that are conducted by police against a<br />

suspect when he is under police control. Both the first and the<br />

second category are illegal and should not be conducted by police<br />

or other law enforcing bodies in a democratic country.<br />

Socialisation of the Convention Against Torture<br />

Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading<br />

Treatment or Punishment, also known by its abbreviation CAT, was<br />

established by resolution 39/46 of the General Assembly on 10<br />

December 1982. CAT stipulates an absolute prohibition of<br />

torture, without exceptions. There are no circumstances that make<br />

torture lawful, and there are no possibilities to defend in court<br />

torture that has taken place. Not even during emergencies that<br />

threaten the nation, as mentioned in Article 4 of the International<br />

Convention on Civil and Political Rights, can torture be allowed.<br />

The ban is also emphasised in the 1949 Geneva Convention and<br />

the Additional Protocol of 1977, which forbids torture in all of<br />

its forms in circumstances where the mentioned humanitarian<br />

instruments are applicable.<br />

The CAT established personal responsibility for law enforces<br />

who commits torture; order from commanders or extraordinary<br />

circumstances cannot justify torture (Article 2 section 2). Further,<br />

the convention urges state parties to include the ban of torture<br />

in the curriculums for education and training of law enforcers<br />

(Article 10 section 1), and to include in regulations and<br />

instructions that are related to the implementation of their<br />

functions (Article 10 section 2)<br />

The substances of the prohibition are actually to a large<br />

instance already incorporated in the personnel regulations<br />

and instructions for police, and part of the Indonesian Penal<br />

Code, and manuals for implementing operations. It is<br />

repeatedly stated that personnel must act in accordance with<br />

the law and norms in the community. The Kapolri<br />

Instruction No.Pol: Ins/06/II/1973, dated 22 February 1973<br />

(before the Indonesian Penal Code) as an example, instructs<br />

the head of police to increase and improve the monitoring<br />

of arrest, detention, investigation, searches and seizure that<br />

are undertaken by police. It is further instructed that<br />

commanders should act firmly through legal procedure<br />

against all police personnel and other individuals that are<br />

involved in incidents of harassment leading to the death or<br />

injury of a person in detention.<br />

The Ethical Code for Indonesian Police, validated through<br />

decision No.Pol : Kap/32/VII/2003 1 July 2003 of the<br />

Head of Indonesian Police lays out Ethic of Service for<br />

member of the police force, Ethics for the Institution as<br />

well Ethics for the Nation, in 20 articles. Amongst them are<br />

Article 5 B, which says that members of the police force<br />

cannot inflict suffering through misuse of authority and the dependence<br />

of the parties that are involved in the case. In addition, members of<br />

the police must save the lives of individuals at the first available possibility;<br />

act with respect towards everyone and not show arrogant attitude due<br />

to their authority. Further, it is compulsory that use of police authority<br />

is based on legal norms and in respect of religious norms, politeness,<br />

decency, and humanitarian values (Article 6 section 1). The Ethical<br />

Code for Police also prohibits members of the police force to:<br />

commit an act that humiliates the dignity of women, neglects under<br />

aged children or humiliates the dignity of mankind. However, it is<br />

empirically showed that in reality police brutality and torture<br />

still is committed by the police. There is no getting away<br />

with such behaviour. There are disciplinary regulations,<br />

administrative regulations, and criminal procedure. Some<br />

senior officers have even been dismissed from their positions.<br />

Under these circumstances I find it difficult to make a simple<br />

conclusion that CAT is not getting any attention or that there<br />

is no protection of human rights.<br />

No.03/V-VI/2004

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