Joint Press Release: Indigenous peoples and civil society organisations file a UN CERD submission on Indonesia's highly controversial Omnibus Law

24 Indonesian indigenous and human rights organisations, and Forest Peoples Programme, have submitted a report to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UN CERD) requesting its consideration of the situation of indigenous groups in Indonesia under the Committee’s urgent action and early warning procedures.

The submission focuses on the passage of the Omnibus Law on Job Creation, a regressive and substantially discriminatory piece of legislation that was hastily enacted by the President of Indonesia on 3 November 2020. The law represents one of the biggest legislative changes in the country’s history and was passed in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic without proper consultation and participation of the country’s indigenous peoples.

The sweeping amendment - to almost 80 laws - rolls back already limited protections for indigenous peoples’ rights, and further privileges the interests of the business community, specifically plantation companies and extractive industries. All the while, the Bill on the Recognition and Protection of Indigenous Peoples Rights has lingered in the legislature for almost a decade, indicating the deliberate preferencing of business interests over indigenous rights.

The most notable amendments proposed in the Omnibus Law include:

1. The reintroduction of the colonial concept of terra nullius (‘nobody’s land’) where the State is able to deny the land rights of the country’s indigenous peoples through its own arbitrary definition of ‘abandoned lands’, and compulsorily acquire their lands without any free, prior or informed consent and without fair and just compensation.
2. The further criminalisation of indigenous traditional practices while reducing penalties for corporate actors to mere administrative sanctions for environmental and forestry offences.
3. The abolishment of already weak existing requirements, including the conduct of environmental impact assessments, that must be met before companies can obtain the necessary permits and proceed with business activities on indigenous peoples’ lands.

The coalition of Indonesian and international NGOs calls on UN CERD to urge the State of Indonesia to repeal the newly-enacted Omnibus Law, and ensure respect for indigenous peoples’ participation right in the process of considering and adopting any further legislation affecting their rights, ensuring that new any laws protects their substantive rights, fully and equally.

Key spokespersons

“This Law is about investment, it does nothing to protect Indigenous people’s customary lands. It [the Omnibus Law] will make it easier for companies to grab land.” - Rukka Sombolinggi, the chairwoman of Indigenous Peoples’ Alliance of the Archipelago [1]

“Seeing the potential catastrophe [of the Omnibus Law], we ask the President of Indonesia and the House of Representatives to revoke and repeal the Law, not only because of the flawed manner in which it was formulated but the highly problematic articles it contains.” - Linda Rosalina, a campaigner at TuK Indonesia [2]

“We ask the government to repeal the Omnibus Law and instead prioritise its’ handling of the COVID-19 pandemic." - Inda Fatinaware, Executive Director of Sawit Watch [3]

For more information, please contact:

Indonesia

• Norman Jiwan: +62 813 1561 3536
• Rukka Sombolinggi: +62 812 1060 7942 
• Nikodemus Ale: +62 812 5686 5454

UK

• Angus MacInnes: +44 752 681 9460

Submitting organisations:

1. Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara (AMAN)
2. Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara Pengurus Wilayah Kalimantan Barat (PW AMAN Kalbar)
3. Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara Pengurus Daerah Bengkayang, Singkawang dan Sambas (AMAN BENGSIBAS)
4. Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara Pengurus Wilayah Tano Batak (PW AMAN Tano Batak)
5. Institut Dayakologi (ID)
6. Lembaga Bela Banua Talino (LBBT)
7. Lembaga Bentang Alam Hijau (LemBAH)
8. Lembaga Studi dan Advokasi Masyarakat (ELSAM)
9. Perkumpulan Nurani Perempuan (Women’s Conscience)
10. Hutan Kita Institute (HaKI)
11. Perkumpulan Sawit Watch
12. Perkumpulan Untuk Pembaharuan Hukum Berbasis Masyarakat dan Ekologis (HuMA)
13. Transformasi untuk Keadilan Indonesia (TuK INDONESIA)
14. Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia (WALHI Eksekutif Nasional/Friends of the Earth Indonesia)
15. Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia Kalimantan Barat (WALHI Kalbar)
16. Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia Daerah Jambi (WALHI Jambi)
17. Yayasan Padi Indonesia
18. Bahatera Alam
19. Akar Foundation
20. Nagari Institute
21. Link-AR Borneo
22. Perkumpulan Pegiat JPIC (Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation)
23. Yayasan Pusaka Bentala Rakyat 
24. The Palangkaraya Ecological and Human Rights Studies (PROGRESS)
25. Forest Peoples Programme

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[1] Human Rights Watch

[2] TuK Indonesia

[3] Sawit Watch

Photo: Nanang Sujana