PRESS RELEASE

HuMa Association of Indonesia Releases Outlook HuMa 2022 entitled “Customary Law Communities and Their Promises: HuMa’s Review during 2022”

Friday, January 20, 2022 – HuMa Indonesia released Outlook HuMa 2022 entitled “Customary Law Communities and Their Promises.” In contrast to previous outlooks that presented updates on agrarian conflicts in Indonesia, this time, Outlook HuMa is based on the promises made by rulers to customary law communities that are diverse and interconnected with broader dimensions related to legislation, the environment, livelihoods, and the rights of customary law communities.

CONFLICT IS RELATIVE
At the beginning of his administration, President Joko Widodo introduced the concept of the “maritime axis” and aimed to restore the glory of ancestors as sailors: Jalesveva Jayamahe. At the same time, in his promise, he planned for agrarian reform covering an area of 9 million hectares and expanding community access to forest areas through social forestry with a target area of 12.7 million hectares. Over time, these targets only remained in documents labeled as “Written Documents Issued by the State,” whether Ministerial Decrees or Land Rights Certificates. However, there is one thing he has never resolved: Agrarian Conflict.

“During the 9 (nine) years of the Jokowi Regime, there has been minimal resolution of Agrarian Conflict. The accumulation of data on conflicts on websites like ‘humawin.huma.or.id’ or ‘tanahkita.id’ or other conflict data portals continues to grow and remains unresolved. Meanwhile, faces that we may not know are displaced from their living spaces. That is the phenomenon and reality that has happened in the majority of customary law communities until now,” said Agung Wibowo, as the Executive Coordinator of HuMa.

SWEET PROMISES THAT REMAIN MERE PROMISES
Nine years ago, various agendas for recognizing the rights of customary law communities consisting of promises such as the enactment of the Indigenous Peoples Bill, the formation of an Indigenous Peoples task force, a review of various sectoral regulations, the establishment of a national mechanism for resolving disputes, the implementation of Constitutional Court Decision 35/2012, and the restoration of victims of criminalization were made. However, on December 30, 2022, it was a surprising moment for many. The government issued Government Regulation in Lieu of Law (PERPPU) No. 2 of 2022 concerning the Omnibus Law on Job Creation.

Erasmus Cahyadi, a representative of the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN), stated, “Apart from the issue of the Indigenous Peoples and Customary Forest Bill. In the past, when we were drafting the Nawacita Document, we were invited to monitor the implementation of the Village Law through Customary Villages. However, the implementation is very low. Only 9 Villages in Jayapura, and that was not long ago.”

“Populism will certainly be carried out by politicians to gain as much support as possible from the public. This will not have an impact if indigenous communities are strong and mature. Can politicians’ promises be transformed into potential? Can they become a force for strategic partnerships? It depends on Indigenous Communities and their advocates,” said Sandra Moniaga, a Member of HuMa Indonesia.

COMBINED SOLUTIONS
As a way out, a combined approach with various regulations is used. For example, Minister of Environment and Forestry Regulation No. 34 of 2017 for the Recognition of Local Wisdom and Management Rights for Customary Forest Area Communities regulated in Article 2 paragraph (4) and Article 3 serves as a way out for the recognition of Management Rights over Customary Land.

Rikardo added, “Article 2 paragraph (4) can be utilized and this is encouraged towards the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs. This is a necessity for the management of Customary Land, thus encouraging the issuance of Management Rights Certificates over Customary Land. With this opportunity, Management Rights Certificates are one form of state recognition for customary law communities.”

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“Outlook HuMa 2022”
“Presentation of HuMa – Outlook 2022”

and can be watched live on the HuMa YouTube channel.

For further information:
Bimantara Adjie (082136386740 – bima@huma.or.id)