UN experts expressed concern on Tuesday about Indonesia’s continued disregard for the fundamental rights of its Indigenous peoples. They urged the Indonesian government to recognize Indigenous peoples and to work with them to develop an inclusive and sustainable national development strategy.

Despite having voted in favor of adopting the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007, the experts found that Indonesia continues to “deny formal recognition [of] self-identifying indigenous people, undermining their rights to lands, to self-determination and their [culture].”

The experts, who included Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples Albert Barume, stated:

Giving recognition to all groups, respecting their differences and allowing them all to flourish, in a truly democratic spirit, does not lead to conflict—it prevents conflict … The revival of the colonial-era transmigration programme threatens the cultural survival of Indigenous Peoples, particularly in West Papua, accelerating demographic and cultural shifts, as well as forced assimilation.

One specific concern was directed towards the Special Autonomy Law for Papua. The law was implemented in 2001 and subsequently revised in 2021, granting additional autonomy funding and revenue sharing for Indigenous Papuans. Although its mission was to empower the Indigenous people of Indonesia, the law has reportedly faced opposition from the Indigenous population. The law has faced protests in West Papua province. UN experts described the law as one that centralizes authority, worsens poverty, persecution, and the displacement of Papuan Indigenous peoples.

Human rights conflicts between Indonesian authorities and indigenous people date back to at least the controversial 1969 Act of Free Choice. This was a referendum in which a select group of Papuans unanimously voted on behalf of the entire Indigenous population to integrate West Papua into Indonesia. The 1969 referendum remains controversial as an unrepresentative act that violated Papuan civil and political rights, despite having been acknowledged by the UN.