REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia will not respond to a report issued by International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), calling for the eradication of death penalty for narcotic drug convicts.

The Indonesian delegate to the 58th Commission on Narcotic Drugs (NCD) session, Bali Moniaga, said the Indonesian government has decided firmly not to respond to the report, according to a press statement from the National Anti-Narcotics Agency (BNN) received on Saturday (14/3).

It said Indonesia and several other countries have criticized the report issued by the INCB, which appeals to countries, which are still defending death penalty and implementing it for sentencing narcotic convicts, to reconsider their stance.

During the CND session in Vienna, which will be held from March 9 to 17, INCB will push for a consensus on the eradication of death penalty so that the decision can be translated into law in all countries.

The Executive Director of Harm Reduction International also made a suggestion to the United Nations to stop operational aid to countries that still implement death penalty for drug convicts.

In the statement Moniaga, who is also a BNN expert on law and international affairs, said Indonesia and several other countries had reminded the INCB President about the mandate and main task of INCB, which is to find solutions for fighting against narcotic threats in line with the mandate from three International Conventions that regulate narcotic control, and called on it to not intervene in the implementation of death penalty or interfere with the jurisdiction of a country.

Moniaga said Indonesia is facing a serious threat due to illegal narcotic distribution, adding that the number of narcotic users continues to rise every day and a lot of crimes are also a result of narcotic abuse in the country.

He said narcotic crimes are also having a destructive effect on the younger generation and the nation.

Moniaga said traffickers are not only targeting adults, but also elementary school children, and in view of that Indonesia is striving to reduce narcotic demand through prevention and rehabilitation efforts and by making it an important priority.

He said Indonesia has started taking concrete steps to dynamically reduce narcotic demand by rehabilitating 100,000 narcotic abusers.

To protect the country from narcotic drug kingpins, Indonesia will consistently impose the strongest penalty possible on them, including the death penalty, he said.

He said the decision is constitutional and in line with the urgency and is in the interest of protecting the nation.

"One important thing is that Indonesia has never targeted a certain person or country with regards to the implementation of the death penalty, but has is done it, based purely on the crime a perpetrator has committed," he stated.

Moniaga said the imposition of the death penalty is a way of protecting Indonesia from narcotic attacks that have become relentless and are stemming from across the border.

Despite protests from various parties, he said the implementation of the death penalty in Indonesia does not violate human rights.

"We are fully aware that narcotics have become a serious threat for the Indonesian nation and therefore we will do our best to protect the nation," he said.

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