Pros and Cons of Removing the Religion Column in Indonesian Identity Cards (Analysis of the Impact and Regulation on Human Rights)

Abstract

The removing of the religious column on the national identity card raised pros and cons. has begun. In one side, there are many beliefs cannot be accommodated by the administration system in religion colomn, but in the other sides, the provision of the beliefs protection instead if religion is still bias. This study aims to analyze the pros and cons of removing of religion identity at the national identity card. The method used at this study is literature study with some comparative analysis of laws and regulations concerning the freedom of religion and belief both national and international legal system. The study found that initially, the aim of removing the religion column was to accommodate the rights of adherents of beliefs, which began to spread to the idea of ​​eliminating the religion column for all religious communities in Indonesia. This study also found that after the issuance of the Constitutional Court decision No. 97/PUU-XIV/2016, adherents of a belief can list their belief in the column of religion on their identity cards. The decision claimed to recognize and include religious beliefs as a new identity column on the KTP is a significant development of the government's commitment to guaranteeing equal rights for all Indonesian people regardless of diversity of religions and beliefs. Furthermore, guarantees for freedom of religion and belief are strictly regulated in Article 28 E and 29 paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution. In addition, these guarantees are also regulated in the Law on Human Rights and the ICCPR.