National Disaster Declaration for Lombok’s Earthquake in Indonesia and Its Relation to International Human Rights Law

The earthquake happening in Lombok, Indonesia has brought devastation not only to the still-standing civilizations there, but also to the heart of Indonesians all around Indonesia. Despite the high number of victims and other losses, the disaster is still not acknowledged as a national disaster, assuming that the local government’s still capable in conducting the disaster management. Unequal distribution of relief and the inadequate number of relief raise complains from the victims who already suffer from the earthquake, while initially, the victims of the earthquake shall be treated no less than the other citizens who are not affected, and that the government has the responsibility in ensuring their basic rights. This paper will discuss how declaring Lombok earthquake as national disaster will be affecting better fulfillment of human rights of the citizens, based on normative analysis of the existing regulations in Indonesia.