Human Rights Watch Indonesia

24/03/2026

“The brutal acid attack in downtown Jakarta against a prominent rights activist by alleged military intelligence members raises grave concerns for Indonesia’s entire human rights community,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “President Prabowo should set up an independent fact-finding team to investigate the attack against Andrie Yunus to ensure that all those responsible are brought to justice.”

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto should immediately issue a presidential decree setting up a fact-finding team independent of the military to fully investigate the acid attack against a prominent human rights activist who has criticized the military.

15/03/2026

Indonesia has accepted the offer of a deputy commander role in the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) for Gaza after joining US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace. The Indonesian government should use its position to promote and safeguard the human rights of Palestinians, and to advocate for the leading role of the United Nations in Gaza.

Indonesia has accepted the offer of a deputy commander role in the ISF for Gaza after joining US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace.

06/03/2026

Pacific Island governments on March 4, 2026, launched the world’s first regional guide to address climate-related relocation grounded in human rights principles.

As Pacific leaders gather for a three-day convening in Nadi, Fiji, they have an opportunity to pair this landmark guidance with the financial and technical support needed to implement it. The Pacific Regional Guidance on Planned Relocation adapts global standards on planned relocation to the realities of the Pacific, where rising seas, coastal erosion, and king tides are already forcing entire communities to move.

“This regional guide recognizes that planned relocation to a new site is a measure of last resort for communities that can no longer adapt to climate change impacts in place, and should protect communities’ rights, dignity, and self-determination,” said Erica Bower, climate displacement researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Now, Pacific governments and donors need to ensure communities have the resources to make those principles real.”

The guidance covers key considerations to support planned relocation in the Pacific, including robust assessments, policy frameworks, funding, and mechanisms for communities to have a seat at the table during all stages of decision-making. It tailors global standards on planned relocation to the complexities of the Pacific, including greater focus on the role of customary land tenure systems, cultural heritage in assessments, and Indigenous rights such as self-determination and free, prior, and informed consent to make changes in their living situation.

Pacific Island governments on March 4, 2026 launched the world’s first regional guide to address climate-related relocation grounded in human rights principles.

18/02/2026

Indonesian police unlawfully dispersed, beat, and detained 11 Papuan protesters in Merauke City, South Papua, on January 25, 2026, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should promptly and impartially investigate the incident, appropriately discipline or punish those responsible for abuses, and consult with Indigenous communities to address longstanding grievances.

That morning, members of the Voice of Catholic People of Papua (Suara Kaum Awam Katolik Regio Papua) had gathered at the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Cathedral to call on church officials to protect Indigenous people harmed by the government’s massive Merauke food project. They also expressed opposition to the bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Merauke for backing the government project. The police arrived and forcibly dispersed those gathered inside the church courtyard and arrested 11.

Indonesian police unlawfully dispersed, beat, and detained 11 Papuan protesters in Merauke City, South Papua, on January 25, 2026.

18/02/2026

The United Nations, Human Rights Watch, and others have documented the Myanmar junta’s escalating war crimes and crimes against humanity since the 2021 military coup. The military’s atrocities have been fueled by decades of impunityand insufficient global efforts to end its violations and hold perpetrators to account.

The Timor-Leste case sends a powerful message of regional solidarity for victims of Myanmar military atrocities. Justice efforts underway at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the ICC are vital, but they are limited to crimes committed before the coup. Universal jurisdiction is one of the few avenues to hold the military accountable for post-coup atrocities as well.

On February 13, Myanmar’s military junta ordered the head of Timor-Leste’s embassy in Yangon to leave the country within seven days.

02/10/2025

Tak seorang pun pernah dimintai pertanggungjawaban atas pembunuhan massal 1965-66. Pemerintah Indonesia silih berganti membuat janji samar yang gagal dipenuhi, termasuk mantan Presiden Joko Widodo, yang pada 2023 mengumumkan bahwa “mekanisme non-yudisial” akan memberikan reparasi kepada para korban atau keturunan mereka.

Bedjo Untung dari Yayasan Penelitian Korban Pembunuhan 1965 di Jakarta mengatakan kepada Human Rights Watch bahwa “… tidak ada satu pun korban atau keluarga korban 1965 yang dapat kompensasi. Lembaga Perlindungan Saksi dan Korban mensyaratkan keputusan pengadilan atau lembaga resmi lain. Sementara prosedur untuk mendokumentasikan apa yang telah mereka derita juga tidak ada.”

Sejak Presiden Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo menjabat pada Oktober 2024, pemerintahannya berupaya menulis ulang sejarah, termasuk kekerasan massal anti-komunis. Impunitas atas kejahatan tersebut masih memicu pelanggaran hak asasi manusia di seluruh negeri.

Tari Lang dalam memoar terbarunya mengenang pagi 1 Oktober 1965, ketika berusia 14 tahun, ia menyaksikan tank dan tentara Indonesia mendatangan Kawasan elite Menteng, Jakarta, tempat ia tinggal bersama ayahnya, orang Jawa, dan ibunya, orang Inggris. Ketika membangunkan orang tuanya, “Mereka terdia...

04/09/2025

“Pihak berwenang Indonesia seharusnya tidak menanggapi protes atas kebijakan pemerintah dengan menggunakan kekuatan berlebihan dan menahan pengunjuk rasa secara sewenang-wenang,” kata Meenakshi Ganguly, wakil direktur Asia di Human Rights Watch. “Presiden Prabowo seharusnya menyadari dengan mengecam motivasi para demonstran justru akan mendorong aparat keamanan melakukan pelanggaran.”

Pihak berwenang Indonesia telah menangkap lebih dari 3.000 orang dalam penindakan keras berskala nasional selama protes anti-pemerintah sejak akhir Agustus 2025.

29/05/2025

An escalation in fighting between Indonesian security forces and Papuan separatist armed groups in West Papua has seriously threatened the security of the largely Indigenous population, Human Rights Watch said today. All parties to the conflict are obligated to abide by international humanitarian law, also called the laws of war.

The security forces’ military operations in the densely forested Central Highlands areas have allegedly killed and injured dozens of civilians with drone strikes and the indiscriminate use of explosive munitions, and displaced thousands of Indigenous Papuans. The National Liberation Army of West Papua, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, has claimed responsibility in the killing of 17 alleged miners between April 6 and April 9, 2025.

“The Indonesian military has a long history of abuses in West Papua that poses a particular risk to the Indigenous communities,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Concerned governments need to press the Prabowo administration and Papuan separatist armed groups to abide by the laws of war.”

An escalation in fighting between Indonesian security forces and Papuan separatist armed groups in West Papua has seriously threatened the security of the largely Indigenous population.

23/04/2025

“President Prabowo should recognize that further attacks on journalists and media figures will undercut press freedoms crucial to the government’s plans for economic growth and social justice in Indonesia,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The government should ensure that Indonesians are able to freely express their views without fear of retaliation, and that independent media can create an environment for open discussion without harassment or intimidation.”

The media outlet Tempo, which has a long history of public criticism in Indonesia has been especially targeted, apparently because of its critical coverage of the Prabowo administration. On March 20, 2025, Francisca Christy Rosana, a Christian journalist at Tempo who hosts its popular podcast “Bocor Alus Politik” (fine political leaks), received a package containing a pig’s head without its ears, menacingly symbolic in a Muslim-majority nation. She was doxed (her personal information was posted with malicious intent), her mother’s phone was hacked, and a relative received threatening anonymous phone calls.

On March 22, cleaners at Tempo’s office in Jakarta found a box of six rats with their heads cut off. This appeared to be an act of intimidation against the podcast’s six hosts, who discuss sensitive political issues and have criticized the Prabowo administration.

Recent threats and attacks on journalists and news outlets in Indonesia are having a chilling effect on the country’s media.

22/03/2025

The Indonesian armed forces law will enable officials to fill more civilian posts with active-duty military personnel, including in the justice system and state-owned companies. It was made without proper public consultation. It will revive the Indonesian military’s “dual function” that was central to the authoritarian military rule of President Soeharto from 1965 to 1998.

27/02/2025

Nongovernmental organizations operate rescue ships in the central Mediterranean in response to the European Union’s deadly migration policies. They patrol in international waters

(Milan) –The European Union, its member states, and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex should make saving lives at sea the priority, Human Rights Watch said in a multimedia feature essay published today. More than 400 people have died or been reported missing in the Mediterranean S...

25/02/2025

In Indonesia, Islamist groups have long misused the country’s blasphemy law as a political weapon to target perceived critics of Islam, discriminate against religious minorities, and carry out personal vendettas.

Now some members of the Catholic community on Flores Island are using the law against opponents of a church-linked palm plantation. Many affected villagers from the Soge Natarmage and Goban Runut-Tana Ai Indigenous groups opposed the plans proposed by PT Kristus Raja Maumere, a company owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Maumere.

In Indonesia, Islamist groups have long misused the country’s blasphemy law as a political weapon to target perceived critics of Islam, discriminate against religious minorities, and carry out personal vendettas.