"In such a situation or condition, we can showcase our best performance," Damanik said while joining Komnas HAM commissioners’ handover ceremony for the 2022–2027 term via teleconferencing from Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday.
The independent status has allowed commissioners to focus on making optimal efforts to perform the agency's duties of mediation, dissemination and education, monitoring and investigation, and research and assessment.
"Including to establish cooperation with other government or non-government entities," the agency head added.
He said that Komnas HAM’s success in maintaining its independence as a state agency working on human rights issues is an outstanding achievement.
The agency head then commended the human rights commission's performance, saying its recommendations on human rights issues have seldom invited complaints from national institutions.
Damanik said that the Indonesian Police, which has often worked with the agency, has never rejected the agency's recommendations. The national police also accepted Komnas HAM’s recommendations following the Kanjuruhan Stadium tragedy of October 1, 2022, without any objections, he noted.
The Indonesian Military also lauded the agency's work in the investigation of a recent murder and mutilation case involving military officers and the presentation of relevant recommendations on the incident, he added.
He also expressed his gratitude to national media and journalists who have worked together with the human rights agency. He said that journalists are inseparable from the mission of defending and advancing human rights in Indonesia by disseminating information on human rights.
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Translator: M Zulfikar, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Suharto
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