The Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the outline of the case of Mr. Tengku Nashiruddin Daud of Indonesia, as contained in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/171/12(a)­R.1), and to the relevant resolution adopted at its 170th session (March 2002),

Recalling that Mr. Tengku Nashiruddin Daud, outspoken Vice-Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into Human Rights Abuses in Aceh, which investigated human rights violations in Aceh when it was a military operational zone, disappeared on 24 January 2000 and was found dead a day later, his body showing signs of torture,

Recalling also that police have identified rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) as suspects; according to information provided by the Minister of Justice and Human Rights in March 2002, this appears to be based on the testimony of Ibrahim Amd, a suspect in the case of the Jakarta Stock Exchange bombing who reportedly escaped either before or after being convicted; one of the suspects has allegedly been shot dead by policemen in Aceh, while the police are still searching for the other three suspects who have fled, either to Aceh or to Penang (Malaysia); a key witness in this case, Abu Bakar Daud, has disappeared after police interrogation and has not been located since,

Recalling further that the source fears that the police may not be conducting the investigation with all due diligence and thoroughness, failing in particular to take account of a possible link between Mr. Nashiruddin Daud's murder and his activities in the parliamentary commission investigating human rights abuses committed by the military in Aceh when it was a military operational zone,

Recalling finally that Parliament, in particular its Sub-Committee on Juridical and Human Rights Issues and its Committee for Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation, is monitoring the investigation; on 11 December 2001, the House of Representatives discussed the case and heard the new Chief of the State Police, who pledged to take the investigation further and report on progress to the House,

Considering that, according to information provided by the Indonesian delegation at the Special Session of the Council in Geneva (September 2002), the police informed it prior to its departure that the investigation had remained at a standstill,

1. Thanks the Indonesian delegation for its cooperation and the observations supplied;

2. Deeply regrets that no progress has been made in this case, particularly in view of the undertaking of the new Chief of Police, as stated in Parliament in December 2001, to carry the investigation further and report thereon to Parliament;

3. Emphasises that States are under an obligation to dispense justice and to identify and bring to trial those responsible for crimes and, that, if they fail to do so in cases of murder, they are guilty of a violation, by omission, of the victim's right to life;

4. Consequently encourages Parliament resolutely to pursue its monitoring of this case, being convinced that such action will be crucial to establishing the truth; would appreciate particulars of any measures taken to this end;

5. Reiterates its requests for information on:
   1. the circumstances in which Ibrahim Amd testified to the effect that GAM rebels had abducted and killed Tengku Nashiruddin Daud, and the legal status of the former with respect to the investigation in this case, in particular whether he remains at the disposal of the investigating authorities for further questioning;

   2. the outcome of the efforts to ascertain the whereabouts of key witness Abu Bakar Daud and the testimony he gave to the police;

   3. whether the police contemplate following a line of inquiry which would take account of Mr. Daud's parliamentary monitoring activities, given that the lead it has followed up to now has yielded no result and appears to be based mainly on a statement of a suspect in another criminal case;

6. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the parliamentary authorities, inviting them to keep the Committee informed of any developments; also requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the Minister of Justice, the Attorney General, the Head of Police and the National Human Rights Commission;

7. Requests the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session (April 2003).

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