Not long ago, HuMa received news that Sorbatua Siallagan, the head of the Ompu Umbak Siallagan Indigenous Community in Simalungun Regency, North Sumatra, was arrested on Friday, March 22, 2024. PT Toba Pulp Lestari reported Sorbatua for allegations of damaging, logging, and burning the concession forest overlapping with indigenous territories (see: bbc.com).

Similarly, a case of indigenous community members being arrested occurred on January 17, 2020. Farida, a woman from the Malalo Tigo Jurai Indigenous Community, Tanah Datar Regency, West Sumatra. Farida occupied customary land with the approval of the elders and her community. However, she was reported to the police by a company claiming ownership of the land (see: huma.or.id).

The aforementioned criminalization incidents add to the long list of conflicts affecting indigenous communities. Previously, based on Humawin data, there have been a total of 360 conflicts (see: humawin.or.id). Also, data from tanahkita.id shows that from 1988 to 2024, there have been 562 cases affecting indigenous communities (see: tanahkita.id).

The control and management of indigenous territories by indigenous communities are often confronted with legal certainty issues. This situation illustrates how vulnerable the fate of indigenous communities is in controlling and managing their territories. This is exacerbated by the lack of specific regulations regarding indigenous communities. The result? Persistent violations of indigenous communities’ rights.

Currently, a hot topic of discussion is one of the issues affecting indigenous communities, namely the legal certainty of Customary Land. So far, there are only two locations in Indonesia that have been designated as Customary Land: Kampung Baduy in Banten and Kampung Naga in Tasikmalaya.

The process of designating Customary Land is not easy. Iskandar Syah, the Director of Communal Land Regulation, Institutional Relations, and PPAT at the Ministry of ATR/BPN, revealed:

“Regulations regarding Customary Land are far from optimal because there is no comprehensive data on the existence of Customary Land and no procedures for determining Customary Land,” he said during the GTRA Summit 2023 Webinar “Realizing Legal Certainty and Fulfilling the Rights of Indigenous Communities” on August 7, 2023, organized by HuMa and other organizations together with the Ministry of ATR/BPN.
After the GTRA Summit 2023 webinar, HuMa consistently oversees the emergence of specific regulations regarding Customary Land. Agung Wibowo, as the Executive Coordinator of HuMa, mentioned in his address that HuMa was invited by the Vice Minister of Agrarian and Spatial Planning on Wednesday, June 7, 2023. The meeting also involved the Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA) and the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN). The meeting discussed regulations on the administration of Customary Land to revise Ministerial Regulation No. 18 of 2019.

“We actually requested or waited for the final draft. Or a draft that we could circulate to our friends in the indigenous community and People’s Legal Aid. But until today, we have not received the draft. Only a few weeks ago, Ministerial Regulation ATR/BPN No. 14 of 2024 was issued,” said Agung during the HuMaVoice session on March 15, 2024.

Eight months after the meeting with the Vice Minister of ATR/BPN, precisely on February 27, 2024, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono as the Minister of ATR/BPN issued Ministerial Regulation on Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of the National Land Agency number 14 of 2024 concerning the Implementation of Land Administration and Registration of Customary Land Rights of Indigenous Communities. This regulation is considered to accommodate the rights of indigenous communities over the control and management of their customary territories.

HuMa responded to the emergence of