Indonesia – Indigenous rights advocates from across Indonesia presented alarming evidence of systematic persecution to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Rights during a critical meeting in the Republic of Congo in late May 2025.
The Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) led a delegation that briefed Dr. Albert K. Barume on escalating patterns of criminalization, intimidation, and forced displacement affecting indigenous peoples across the archipelago. The meeting (see photo on top, source Suara Papua), held on the sidelines of the First Global Congress of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities from Forest Basins in Brazzaville on 26-30 May 2025, highlighted how state authorities and corporations systematically target indigenous leaders as part of a coordinated strategy to silence resistance to land seizures and resource extraction projects.
AMAN Secretary General Rukka Sombolinggi emphasized that the violence against indigenous communities represents "a systematic and structured pattern" rather than isolated incidents, with a deliberate focus on criminalizing traditional leaders who serve as the backbone of community resistance. This strategic approach involves multiple tactics, including legal persecution, political intimidation, surveillance of activists' families, prohibition of traditional dress, and restrictions on media reporting about indigenous issues.
The delegation presented specific cases from multiple regions that illustrate the scope of persecution. In West Papua, the permanent presence of armed forces has forced indigenous peoples to abandon their villages, preventing farming, education, and basic livelihood activities while making indigenous women particularly vulnerable. Indigenous representatives from the region underlined the urgent need for a direct visit by the UN Special Rapporteur to West Papua. AMAN representatives also revealed how conservation projects are being used as pretexts to displace Meratus Mountain communities from ancestral lands in South Kalimantan, with indigenous people facing criminal charges for traveling through their traditional territories.
The testimonies extended to North Maluku, where indigenous leaders receive direct threats and criminal summons, forcing them to seek refuge in Jakarta while facing police pursuit. Mining companies control approximately 29,200 hectares of customary land. They have collaborated with traditional sultanates to undermine customary authority, with company leaders captured on audio questioning the legitimacy as a tribal leader. In Tano Batak, two indigenous leaders named John and Tony were detained for defending customary territory, exemplifying what AMAN describes as strategic arrests designed to paralyze entire communities.
Dr. Albert K. Barume responded positively to the delegation's presentations, expressing openness to complaints and readiness to facilitate the UN's allegation letter mechanism to the Indonesian government.