From forced evictions to school admission bribes, the legal problems faced by Indonesia's poor can be insurmountable. Too often they are the source of their poverty.
Last week, the Indonesian Government took action to give poor Indonesians access to legal advice and representation by accrediting 310 legal aid organisations across the country.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono invited accredited organisations to a ceremony at the Presidential Palace, where they signed agreements with the Ministry of Law and Human Rights for funding from the national budget.
President Yudhoyono acknowledged the barriers poor Indonesians face in realising their constitutional right to equal treatment before the law.
'Our hope for the future is that legal aid organisations will ensure the constitutional right of every person to get recognition, security, protection, and fair legal certainty and equal treatment before the law,' President Yudhoyono said.
'I consider that access to justice is a basic human need, alongside shelter, food, water, sanitation and physical security.'
Australia, through the Australia Indonesia Partnership for Justice, supported the Ministry of Law and Human Rights in setting up the new system and conducting the accreditation process.
'Australia congratulates Indonesia on the launch of its first ever legal aid system,' the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Greg Moriarty, said.
'We are pleased to support the Indonesian Government's initiative to provide free lawyers to help poor people resolve conflicts.'
Australian support also enabled legal aid organisations to attend the signing ceremony and a related workshop on implementation of the legal aid system.
According to a 2012 survey by the World Bank, there are only about 1,000 legal aid lawyers working to provide services to 120 million Indonesians living on less than $2 a day. Legal aid organisations have been hampered by limited resources and funding.
The Australia Indonesia Partnership for Justice will continue to work with the Indonesian Government and non-government organisations to increase the number of lawyers offering free legal services across the country and to improve the quality of these services.