Titled “Human Rights in Indonesia – One Year into the New Administration,” the event featured a panel of speakers. Binota Moy Dhamai, an expert on the mechanism on the rights of Indigenous peoples, offered short introductory remarks about the role of the mechanism, which provides the Human Rights Council with expertise and advice on the rights of Indigenous peoples and assists member states in achieving the goals of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Wirya Adiwena, from Amnesty International Indonesia, spoke about the recent protests in Indonesia triggered by public outrage over government spending and corruption as well as economic hardship and frustration. “The protests escalated after a 21-year-old motorcyclist taxi driver was killed when a police vehicle hit him during a demonstration in Jakarta,” said Adiwena. “His death intensified anger against the authorities.” The police responded with violence, and repression against protesters, which further fueled public anger. Defe Wabiser, from the Pusaka Foundation, a nongovernmental organization that advocates for Indigenous rights in Papua, spoke of the 250 Indigenous tribes in West Papua, and that recognition of them as indigenous people has stalled. “A specific Indigenous Peoples Bill which would further streamline the process for legal recognition of Indigenous rights has now been sitting with Parliament for 14 years,” she said. “Ten sugarcane companies are operating in West Papua, contributing to the destruction of the rain forest, including the removal of sago palm trees, the starch from which is part of the traditional diet of West Papuans.” This is forcing Indigenous people to change their food patterns, which in turn is having a detrimental impact on their health. Wabiser emphasized the interconnectedness of the Indigenous people with their lands and forests. Dr Albert K. Barume, UN special rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples, said carried out an unofficial visit to West Papua recently. “One issue of concern – the lack of recognition of Indigenous people,” he said. He hopes that his report – which he presented to the Human Rights Council on 23 September – will help states better understand what Indigenous people’s rights are about. “The recent unrest in Jakarta was very visible to the world, but the unrest in West Papua is invisible to the world,” he said. The WCC co-sponsored an oral statement delivered by Franciscans International during the 60th Session of the UN Human Rights Council. “We are particularly alarmed by the situation in Merauke, where Indonesia’s National Strategic Project (PSN) is forcibly displacing Indigenous Papuans from their lands,” reads the statement. “Covering an area of over 2 million hectares on the customary lands of the Malind, Maklew, Khimaima, and Yei tribes, the project is estimated to negatively impact over 50,000 Indigenous Papuans.” Business permits that allow private actors to appropriate customary land are being issued without the free, prior, and informed Consent of Indigenous peoples, while military forces have been deployed to secure the project and restrict access. “The PSN in Merauke is also one of the largest deforestation projects in the world,” continues the statement. “From January 2024 to June 2025, 22,272 hectares of natural ecosystems, including forest (9,835 hectares), Melaleuca swamp, savanna, and grassland, were razed to accommodate sugarcane and rice plantations.” The statement notes that this is at odds with the government’s claim that the clearing of forested areas would be mitigated as much as feasible. “We urge the Indonesian Government to immediately re-evaluate the PSN in Merauke in light of the significant harm to the environment and Indigenous peoples,” reads the statement.
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