Indonesia: Racism, Discrimination Against Indigenous Papuans

(Jakarta, September 19, 2024) – The Indonesian government’s suppression of widespread protests after a 2019 attack on Papuan university students highlighted longstanding racial discrimination against Indigenous Papuans in Indonesia, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The authorities should address Papuans’ historical, economic, and political grievances instead of prosecuting them for treason and other crimes for exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly and release those wrongfully held.The 80-page report, “‘If It’s Not Racism, What Is It?’: Discrimination and Other Abuses Against Papuans in Indonesia,” finds that the protests, built around the Papuan Lives Matter social media campaign, were centered on human rights violations against Papuans, including denial of the rights to health and education, and peaceful calls for sovereignty for West Papua, where most Indigenous Papuans live. The report profiles cases of Papuan activists convicted for their role in the protests and the baseless charges brought against them.