A/HRC/8/23 Page 5 for the first time in Indonesia’s history. This was followed by the strengthening of democratic processes in 33 provinces by introducing direct elections of governors, district heads and other local officials, aimed at enhancing the autonomy of the Indonesian regions and at enhancing the accountability of the regional governments towards their constituents. In this regard, Indonesia strongly adheres to the principle that democracy provides a political structure within which human rights can be guaranteed. 12. Decentralization will remain a central issue on Indonesia’s reform agenda for years to come, with implications for (a) the quality and delivery of the modalities of public services, (b) intra-regional relationships as well as relations between the regions and the central Government, (c) distribution of public funds, and (d) interaction between beneficiaries and public administration officials at the local level. However, the implementation of Indonesia’s decentralization schemes and institutions will continue to improve as the capacity of its national and local stakeholders will increase, including in the field of human rights. 13. For this reason, Indonesia is confident that the heads of local government legal bureaus at the provincial and district levels will produce regulations which cater to the aspirations of their constituents and are consistent with the mandates of the existing national legislation and the ratified human rights instruments, as governed by Law No. 10 of 2004. Heads of local Government legal bureaus are consequently also expected to play an important liaison role between the local Government and local human rights defenders. Thus, Indonesia intends to involve the heads of local Government legal bureaus and members of criminal investigation units of the national police in its delegations to future sessions of the Human Rights Council and in dialogues with treaty bodies. Indonesia believes that this will enable the national police to strengthen their criminal investigation methods to comply with human rights standards. 14. Indonesia referred to its national efforts to finalize its long-standing Criminal Code revisions and the Law on Criminal Procedure. A wide array of national human rights NGOs, national human rights institutions and human rights activists worked together in the National Alliance for the Revision of the Criminal Code, which actively contributed to the drafting of the Bill. The Bill is now being disseminated and to complement it, the Alliance in 2006-2007 took measures to: conduct focused group discussions and public discussions to collect inputs from various regions such as Java, Sumatra, Batam, Western Nusa Tenggara, Sulawesi and Papua; to compile key documents such as thematic working papers (11 have been compiled), an inventory of issues (Daftar Inventaris Masalah), leaflets, and various campaign means; develop a website for the dissemination of all relevant information concerning the deliberation of the Criminal Code Bill in order to encourage public participation in the deliberation. Indonesia thanked all those who have helped its work through their constructive criticism, such as Amnesty International. 15. Indonesia is disseminating the Bill to all concerned segments of Indonesian society to determine which of its elements need revision, repeal, or insertion of new elements. The synergy between the Government and public efforts will lead to a more human Criminal Code which guarantees the rights of the citizens, of the perpetrators, and of the victims of crimes. In the area of criminal policy, the Bill raises the minimum age for criminal responsibility from 8 to 12 years and seeks to reduce the imprisonment for minors by applying non-custodial penalties. Torture is included among the crimes covered by the draft in the Penal Code Bill. Nevertheless, critics consider that the Bill still needs to be more specific in its definitions of “other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” in order for such definitions to be punishable by law. In this regard, Indonesia expressed its openness with regard to tapping into the knowledge of United Nations experts to enrich the legal substance of the Bill, and relevant recommendations made by special procedures following their country visits were compiled for reference. The completion of