Prime Minister Chrétien announces Canada's support for Indonesian Human Rights Commission

JAKARTA - Prime Minister Jean Chrétien announced today that Canada will assist the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights, known as Komnas Ham, in its efforts to increase its ability to promote and protect human rights.

The project, to be carried out by the Canadian Human Rights Commission in cooperation with other Canadian and Indonesian institutions, is to include technical assistance, staff exchanges, training in monitoring of human rights issues, study of international instruments, public education, as well as the development of human rights study centres.

"Canada has maintained close relations with the Indonesian Human Rights Commission since its creation in 1993," Mr. Chrétien said. "We have agreed to translate these good relations into concrete cooperation activities over the next year, to increase the Commission's institutional capacity to advance human rights issues."

The $300,000 project, financed by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), emerged from Prime Minister Chrétien's offer to cooperate in the area of human rights during his visit to Indonesia in November 1994. In addition to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, partners are expected to include the Quebec Human Rights Commission, the University of Ottawa's Human Rights Research and Education Centre, the Canadian Human Rights Foundation, as well as non-governmental organizations.

Funding for this initiative was provided for in the February 1995 federal Budget and is therefore built into the existing fiscal framework.

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