The Association of Indonesian Legal Aid Institutes (HuMa) together with partners in West Papua Province (Panah Papua, OASE Association, and Mongka Association) held a workshop to provide input on the draft regional regulations in Manokwari Regency. The background of this activity is the initiation by the Manokwari Regency Government and the Regional Regulation Forming Agency (Bapemperda) of the Manokwari Regency DPRD, which has established the Regional Regulation Formation Program (Propemperda) 2022. One of the draft regional regulations to be discussed in 2022 is the Draft Regional Regulation on the Recognition and Protection of Indigenous Peoples, which is an initiative of the Manokwari DPRD.

During the workshop held for 2 (two) days on June 25 – 26, 2022, an identification was conducted regarding the policy urgency on the recognition and protection of indigenous peoples in Manokwari Regency, as the capital of West Papua Province. There are several challenges faced by indigenous peoples both inland and coastal areas in Manokwari currently, including issues of access and control over their customary lands, economic problems, efforts to preserve traditions, local knowledge, and ecosystems, as well as involving minority groups (women, youth, and disabled groups) in managing and making decisions in their indigenous communities.

The output of this workshop is a policy paper and a List of Inventory of Issues (DIM) that will be submitted and discussed with policymakers in Manokwari Regency. Furthermore, this document needs to be consolidated with civil society in Manokwari concerned with indigenous peoples’ issues, and certainly with the indigenous peoples of Manokwari as the main actors affected by the emergence of this policy.