Indonesia, West Papua – This 11-page report lists cases and developments including human rights violations and their patterns; developments in the armed conflict and its impact on civilians; significant political shifts in Indonesia affecting West Papua; and international responses and initiatives.
Human rights
The human rights situation between January and March 2026 remains dire. The reporting period was characterised by a significant rise in documented cases of arbitrary detention and torture. There are two major patterns in this trend. First, HRM observed a significant rise in arbitrary detentions in conflict zones, particularly in the Dekai District of Yahukimo Regency. Yahukimo has already become the top hotspot of armed violence throughout 2025 with 35 armed clashes, and ten such incidents between January and March 2026. Security forces targeted indigenous Papuans, mostly young adults, including females and minors. Most of them were released the following day without being charged. Intensified patrols and raids further contribute to this trend, with security forces applying interrogation methods that violate Indonesian criminal procedure and human rights law.
Second, a significant number of these arbitrary detentions were reportedly accompanied by torture. Officials used coercive and violent measures to extract information about the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) or to force confessions from detainees. These developments took place alongside ongoing military operations in the regencies Intan Jaya and Puncak, reportedly involving battle drones, mortars and air strikes in civilian populated areas across the central highlands. As a result, the number of internally displaced persons continues to rise (see section on Conflict below).
Indigenous communities are more than ever at risk of losing their land as a result of ruthless economic development projects and the expansion of security force infrastructure in West Papua. In the South Papua Province, the Strategic National Project (PSN) for the development of more than 2 million hectares of sugar cane and rice is rapidly being implemented by the military, while legal efforts and protests by customary landowners are ongoing. Since late 2024, a growing body of evidence has documented serious procedural violations, the dismantling of indigenous land rights, incidents of violence against community members who resist, and the systematic exclusion of affected communities from decision-making processes.
In the Biak Numfor Regency of Papua Province, state agencies have launched a systematic land-grabbing campaign across the regencies of Biak Numfor, Supiori, and Waropen. In the Impewer area of East Biak District, a major land dispute has erupted over plans to construct the headquarters for Infantry Battalion TP 858/MSB. The Warbon Indigenous Community of Saukobye Village in North Biak faces a separate but related threat from the planned construction of a national spaceport by the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN).
Various incidents during the reporting period illustrate the shortcomings in Indonesia's legal system. Many court decisions in West Papua often appear to be politically motivated rather than being based on criminal procedure, evidence and facts at court. Moreover, high impunity for state agents has caused the loss of trust in the law enforcement system among many Indonesians. This trust is even lower in the Papuan Provinces, as a recent incident illustrates. On 2 February 2026, Second Brigadier Fernando Alexander Aufa, one of the convicted officers involved in the killing of Tobis Silak in August 2024, was seen walking freely in Wamena. The incident raised serious concerns that Officer Aufa may have been released despite a five-year imprisonment sentence. Despite constant setbacks, NGOs pursued efforts to push for an accountability process for cases of human rights violations through lobby meetings with political stakeholders such as the Regional Representative Council in Jakarta in February 2026.
Various documented cases between January and March 2026 highlight the systemic failures in the healthcare system in West Papua. Issues of concern reportedly includ the misuse of public health infrastructure, the absence of basic services in geographically isolated communities, the prioritisation of administrative procedures over emergency care, and the compounding impact of armed conflict on health services. In this regard, Southwest Papua Senator Paul Finsen Mayor interrupted a Regional Representatives Council (DPD) plenary meeting in Jakarta on 14 January 2026 to deliver a pointed message from the Papuan people. Senator Mayor spoke out against the Indonesian government's plans to establish new territorial development battalions in West Papua, emphasising that basic services rather than military infrastructure should be the priority for the special autonomous region.
Conflict
There is no sign of de-escalation in sight. The Indonesian government kept deploying additional military personnel to remote areas across West Papua, fueling armed conflict and triggering more internal displacements. An unknown number of indigenous Papuans were internally displaced due to armed conflict incidents and subsequent raids in the Boven Digoel Regency in February 2026.
The military operations in the central highlands reportedly involved the use of battle drones, mortars and air raids in civilian populated areas, violating principles of distinction between combatants and non-combatants. Recurring armed violence and heavy military presence have resulted in the cessation of daily activities and paralysation of health and education services across conflict-affected regencies. Such patterns cause fear among local communities and encourage the civilian population to flee to safer areas. As of 27 March 2026, armed conflict and military operations in West Papua have resulted in the internal displacement of more than 107,039 civilians across multiple regencies.
In response to escalating militarisation, civil society groups across West Papua have mobilised in peaceful protests, demanding an end to military operations and the withdrawal of non-organic troops. Between late October and early November 2025, demonstrations had already taken place in Nabire, Enarotali, Sugapa, and Jayapura. Further protests against the rising militarisation in West Papua occurred in the regencies Pegunungan Bintang, Intan Jaya and Yahukimo in January 2026. Another protest took place in the Nabire Regency in February 2026. While civil society groups, church leaders, and human rights organisations are united in calling for an immediate halt to military operations, demilitarisation, and meaningful engagement in a peaceful dialogue, the central government shows no signs of refraining from a security-based approach in West Papua.
HRM documented 35 armed attacks and clashes throughout the first quarter of 2026, a smaller number than that of the fourth quarter of 2025, counting 41 clashes. The majority of armed hostilities during the reporting period occurred in Yahukimo, with 10 armed clashes and attacks, followed by the Puncak Regency with 6 armed clashes. Armed hostilities were also documented from the regencies of Intan Jaya, Nabire, Puncak, and Mimika. Isolated incidents of armed violence occurred in the regencies Tambrauw, Maybrat, Paniai, Nduga, Boven Digoel, Tolikara, and Dogiyai.
HRM counted 13 civilians killed and 4 injured by the TPNPB. Meanwhile, 5 civilians were killed, and 4 were wounded by security force members during armed clashes or counter-insurgency operations. Concerning the combatants, 9 security force members were killed, and 2 were injured during this period. In contrast, the TPNPB reportedly lost 5 combatants, with 4 guerrilla fighters being injured during armed clashes.
Comprehensive data on armed conflict violence in West Papua is available in the HRM Annual Report 2025, published in March 2026.
Political developments
On 2 January 2026, Indonesia enacted its new Criminal Code (KUHP) and Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP), prompting a coalition of civil society organisations to declare an "Indonesian legal emergency." The new law has drawn sharp criticism from legal experts, human rights defenders, and historians. Among the most troubling provisions in the new KUHP are restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly. The code also increases the maximum punishment for treason from life imprisonment to the death penalty. Perhaps most alarming, Article 622 explicitly repeals key provisions of Law Number 26/2000 on Human Rights Courts, effectively eliminating criminal accountability for gross human rights violations.
On 13 and 14 January 2026, Indonesian Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka visited West Papua to review development projects, beginning in Biak Numfor before travelling to Wamena, where he played in a friendly football match, met with regional leaders and community figures, and engaged with local coffee farmers and creative economy practitioners. His planned second-day visit to Yahukimo Regency was cancelled following intelligence assessments that identified armed group movements in the area. The TPNPB had fired shots at an aircraft in the region and issued a threat to kill the VP if he travelled to Yahukimo.
On 6 February 2026, President Prabowo and Australian PM Anthony Albanese signed a bilateral defence treaty, first announced in Nov 2025, signalling deepening security cooperation. The Prime Minister announced several new initiatives to further enhance the bilateral security relationship, including supporting the development of joint defence training facilities in Indonesia, establishing a new embedded position for a senior Indonesian military officer in the Australian Defence Force, and building ties between future military leaders through the expansion of the Junior Leaders' Forum Military Education Exchange. On 12 March 2026, Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin announced plans, alongside Australia, to pursue separate trilateral security arrangements with Japan and Papua New Guinea.
In February 2026, the Indonesian government and Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to extend the mining permit for the Grasberg complex in the Mimika Regency, Central Papua Province, beyond 2041. The agreement secured a 12% additional stake for Indonesia by 2041 and includes a ~$20 billion investment to sustain long-term operations.
International developments
On 20 February 2026, various Special Rapporteurs oft he UN Human Rights Council issued a formal communication to the Indonesian Government concerning the draft Presidential Regulation ("Regulation") on the Duties of the Indonesian National Army in Combating Terrorist Acts. The UN experts represent the view that the manner in which the Regulation would expand the role of the military in countering terrorism in peacetime would bring serious risks to human rights, the rule of law, and Indonesian civil society.
Christian Solidarity International (CSI) called on the Indonesian government to grant international observers access to West Papua, warning that ongoing military operations in the region are driving a mounting humanitarian crisis. Speaking in an oral statement at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 25 March 2026, CSI expressed concerns over the increasing number of indigenous Papuans who have been internally displaced by the armed conflict. According to CSI, the military operations are closely linked to large-scale resource extraction projects involving nickel, gold, and industrial plantations. CSI is calling on the government to facilitate a visit by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and to extend invitations to relevant UN special procedures.
CSI's statement echoed calls made at a UN Human Rights Council side event on 4 March 2026, hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC), which was also attended by a representative of the Indonesian government. The WCC urged the Indonesian government to "extend invitations to the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council and to facilitate a visit by the High Commissioner for Human Rights."
A new documentary, Pesta Babi (Pig Feast), premiered at the West Papua Forum in Auckland on 7 March 2026. The documentary highlights the devastating impact of Indonesian development projects on indigenous Papuan communities.
– Download Quarterly Report PDF: https://humanrightsmonitor.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/HRM-PMR-2026-02-Q1-2026-Papua-Monitor.pdf