WOC Laden with the Human Rights Violations

Jakarta Independent Media Center

World Ocean Conference (WOC) with its theme "Climate Change Impacts to Ocean and The Role of Ocean to Climate Change" held in Manado, North Sulawesi, 11-14 May 2009, and to be continued with the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) on 15 May 2009. CTI is intended to protect the coral reefs, sustainability of fisheries resource and food security.

WOC laden with civil and political rights violations, event before its implementation traditional fisherfolks have not been given a place to express their rights on nature. Police officer conducting repressive action to dismiss the activities of civil society, arresting and threatening activists and fisherfolks who are voicing their rights. The crisis experienced by the fisherfolks never become the attention of WOC. Practices undertaken by the security forces reflect that the State repress rights of freedom of association, assembly and deliver public opinion as guaranteed and protected by the Constitution.

Aftermath of WOC, civil rights violations potentially occur when state delegation take part in the agreement did not involving fishing or coastal communities,. State security apparatus will criminalize fisherfolk using pretext they violates the agreement made by the state. But in WOC agenda, the fisherfolks have been ignored and their traditional rights and traditional management is not recognized by the state and the actors involved in the WOC.

WOC also breach economic, social and cultural rights. This can be seen from the policy issued by the government, which prohibits fishing of sea along the WOC arena. Jargon WOC as a forum for the world of people far from reality. WOC thus far from portrait of marine and crisis that experienced by fishermen.

The principle issues is being neglected by both of this international meeting is a constitutional rights of traditional fisherfolks and the people who live in coastal regions and small islands. WOC agenda will put fisherfolks’ live as supplier of protein into poor and misery condition.

For the civil society movement, particularly the fisherfolks and environmental movements in Indonesia, WOC is just a tool to legitimize liberalization marine resources and impoverish fishermen by the various development policies. WOC is a serious threat to the sovereignty maritime countries such as Indonesia. Indeed, CTI project ligitimized Indonesia sea resources selling. CTI weakening archipelago country sovereingnity, like Indonesia and the countries third world, particularly the traditional fisherfolks. WOC - CTI propound free market conservation. As a evident, the expansion of conservation Sawu Sea from 40 thousand ha to be 400 thousand ha, and planned to be 4 million hectares, which will be announced at the event WOC. This is the result of a cooperation among The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Department of Marine and Fisheries. They even forbade the Bajo Lamalera traditional community to conduct traditional hunting whales since April 2009, as an indicator of fishermen's access to and control of their marine resources being dissociated.

Indication of the free market conservation associated with the development of Business and Biodiversity Offsets Program (BBOP), upon it WWF, TNC and CI and the other international financial institutions and oil companies such as Shell, Rio Tinto, Anglo American and Newmont already joint. This program will taking conservation area into mine area through the scheme of biological diversity compensation (biodiversity offset). Also clearly, WOC legalized tailing or waste mining disposal into the sea of island countries and countries third world.

National Council of WALHI, Khalisah Khalid said that "because WOC laden with human rights violations and have the agenda to weakening sovereignty of country, civil society movement in Indonesia, which consists of the environmental movement, human rights organizations and farmers' organizations and fisherfolks call to countries involved in the WOC to call out their delegation from the World Ocean Conference (WOC). We also urge all civil society to do not agree of Manado Declaration wich will be made in WOC.

Civil society movement in Indonesia also condemn the repressif action which still practiced by SBY-JK administration. Voicing opinions in public space is a people right guaranteed and protected by the Constitution State.