Indonesia: New government must ensure accountability for human rights violations

The incoming government in Indonesia must enter a new chapter for the promotion and protection of human rights as the country transitions under the leadership of Prabowo Subianto, Amnesty International Indonesia said ahead of his inauguration as president on 20 October 2024.

The new government must take immediate and effective measures to uphold the human rights of everyone in the country and ensure accountability for human rights violations, something that the previous Joko Widodo administration persistently failed to do.

While the Jokowi government achieved some infrastructural developments and economic growth, it was beset by troubling patterns of human rights violations.

“These rights abuses—ranging from repression of the right to freedom of expression, marginalization of Indigenous communities, environmental neglect, conflict in Papua and the entrenched culture of impunity—constitute a flagrant breach of Indonesia’s international human rights obligations and commitments,” said Amnesty International Indonesia’s executive director Usman Hamid.

“The new government and leadership must make it a top priority to end these egregious human rights violations and ensure a more just and inclusive society.”

During Jokowi’s administration, human rights defenders, journalists, and environmental activists faced repression, despite Indonesia’s outward claims of progress in human rights and the rule of law.
From January 2019 to October 2024, Amnesty International Indonesia recorded at least 454 cases of attacks against 1262 human rights defenders, including Indigenous people.

One of the most glaring examples was the crackdown on peaceful protests and dissent.

Demonstrations opposing controversial laws were met with repressive measures by security forces, with numerous reports of intimidation, harassment, excessive use of force, arbitrary arrests, and beatings. This included laws such as the Job Creation Law in 2020 and the revision to the Regional Elections Law in 2024, as well as development policies, like the national strategic projects that threaten Indigenous community.

“The new administration must recognize that protest is not a threat to the state, but a fundamental aspect of the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly as guaranteed by the Constitution and international human rights treaties to which Indonesia is a state party,” Usman Hamid said.

The Electronic Information and Transaction (EIT) Law remains a deeply problematic law that continues to criminalize human rights defenders and stifle critical voices in Indonesia even though the law has been revised twice, in 2016 and 2024.

Over the years, it has transformed into a tool to suppress criticism of the government, stifling the right to freedom of expression and intimidating those who sought to hold the authorities to account for human rights violations. Human rights defenders were frequently targeted, facing legal charges simply for speaking out against allegations of corruption, environmental destruction, or abuses of power.

From January 2019 to September 2024, Amnesty International Indonesia recorded at least 521 cases with 554 people charged under the EIT Law for defamation and hate speech.

“These actions revealed deep-seated issues of repression and impunity, where the government failed to allow people to freely express their views and address their grievances, ” said Usman Hamid.

Marginalization of Indigenous peoples and environmental neglect

Indigenous peoples and local communities continue to face repression.

Poco Leok residents in Manggarai Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province have been opposing the government’s seizure of their land for the construction of a Geothermal Power Plant, part of the national strategic projects. On 2 October 2024, several protesters, including women, fell after being pushed and one resident fainted after being kicked by an officer. The police also arrested and allegedly beat four residents.

Similar treatment of protesters occurred in the Mandalika Circuit in Nusa Tenggara Barat ahead of the MotoGP races last September. Authorities banned banners and demonstrations during the event, reflecting the ongoing repression of critical voices, particularly from local Indigenous communities whose lands were seized for the Mandalika Circuit and Special Economic Zone without fair compensation.

The national strategic projects threaten to displace Indigenous peoples from their ancestral lands, with little to no consultation or compensation.

“The government does not seem to care about free, prior and informed consent. The Indigenous and local people have merely been seen as an impediment to development,” said Usman.

In Papua, the new Trans-Papua Highway cuts through indigenous territories without proper consultation. Similarly, Merauke’s indigenous people in South Papua reject the national strategic food estate project, citing its aggressive implementation without prior agreement or consultation.

In North Sumatra, the Batang Toru Hydroelectric Dam project threatens Indigenous communities living near the Batang Toru forest and its ecosystem, including Tapanuli orangutan habitat.

In Central Java, the Kendeng cement factory moved forward with minimal consultation and lack of adequate compensation despite opposition from the Indigenous Sedulur Sikep community.

In East Kalimantan, the ongoing new capital’s development threatens the rights of Dayak Paser Indigenous communities, whose lands are located within and around the planned construction zone.

In many cases, such projects also led to environmental degradation, as forests were cleared, ecosystems were disrupted, and local communities were left to bear the brunt of the ecological consequences.

“The new president and government should prioritize sustainable development that respects Indigenous land rights and access to justice and effective remedies and ensures that affected communities have a meaningful say in decisions that impact their livelihoods. The rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities must be effectively respected and safeguarded in all national development projects,” said Usman Hamid.

Humanitarian crisis in Papua

Violence involving state security forces and Papuan pro-independence groups is ongoing and has resulted in casualties. According to Amnesty International’s information, between February 2018 and August 2024, there were at least 132 cases of unlawful killings in Papua, resulting in the deaths of at least 242 civilians. A significant portion of these incidents, 83 cases involving 135 victims, were attributed to security forces.

During the same period, at least 55 military personnel (TNI) were killed in 37 cases, 16 police officers (Polri) in 14 cases, and 42 members of Papuan pro-independence groups (OPM) in 27 cases of unlawful killings.

These killings heighten tensions, especially for innocent Indigenous Papuans who remain victims.

“We call on the new president and government to evaluate the existing heavy security approach in the region. For the past decade, the intensified military deployment has only been resulting in more human rights violations. The new government must uphold the human rights of everyone in the country and ensure justice and accountability for human rights violations,” said Usman Hamid.

Broken promises and unresolved past rights abuses

In his 2014 presidential campaign, Joko Widodo pledged to address past human rights violations and end impunity. However, a decade later, these promises remain unmet. Suspected perpetrators of human rights violations continue to enjoy impunity while victims are routinely denied access to justice and effective remedies, including in the 12 cases acknowledged by the president in January 2023.

Until now there has been no concrete action from the Attorney General to advance these cases to the investigation and prosecution stages, in accordance with the mandate of Law No. 26 of 2000 on Human Rights Courts.

This lack of accountability extended to unresolved and ongoing human rights violations, with law enforcement and state officials rarely facing consequences for their actions.

“If Indonesia is to move forward, the new president and his administration must immediately prioritize respect for human rights, accountability and the rule of law. This includes reopening or conducting thorough, independent, impartial, transparent and effective investigations into past human rights violations, ensuring access to justice and effective remedies for victims, and strengthening existing legal rules and institutional mechanisms to prevent and redress future violations,” said Usman Hamid.

“A government that fails to confront its past is doomed to repeat it, and the new administration has the obligations to ensure that Indonesia’s history of impunity is not carried into the future.”