The Importance of Multisectoral Perspective in Fulfilling Indigenous Peoples’ Rights

JAKARTA – KEMITRAAN since 2022 through the Estungkara Program with 10 local partners are present in seven provinces of Indonesia. This program is carried out thanks to funding support from the INKLUSI Program which is a collaboration with the Ministry of Planning and Development (PPN) or Bappenas and the Department of Foreign Affair and Trade (DFAT) Australia. Estungkara stands for Equality to Eliminate Injustice and Discrimination. This program is here to be a partner in realizing inclusive development for all Indonesian people, especially for those who are often overlooked such as indigenous peoples, women, children, people with disabilities, and other minority groups.

In its journey, the Estungkara Program found many problems in indigenous communities with interrelated issues. For example, the issue of violence against women, governance especially at the village level, education and reproductive health issues, as well as issues related to the recognition of living space for indigenous peoples including those living in company concessions.

In response to this, the Directorate of Family, Women, Children, Youth and Sports (KPAPO) of Bappenas invited KEMITRAAN to conduct an audience regarding the implementation of the Estungkara program for approximately three years. The hearing also involved a number of ministries and institutions such as the Ministry of Education and Culture, Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration (PDTT), Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK), and Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA). This activity was held on July 22, 2024 at the Mercure Sabang Hotel, Jakarta, which was held offline and online. KPAPO Bappenas Director Raden Rara Rita Erawati stated that this event is important to synergize joint work in order to have effective and impactful results for indigenous peoples.

“We hope that this meeting can provide a space for joint coordination to synergize with each other in answering the challenges that are still facing indigenous peoples today, considering that in the data we have, there are still a number of basic problems related to education, health, and access to basic services,” said Laode M. Syarif, Executive Director of KEMITRAAN in his remarks.

In this meeting, the Estungkara Program team represented by Tracy Yoana and Widya Anggraini explained the data and achievements that have been achieved for approximately 3 years of the Estungkara program. Among others, in terms of access to basic services, economic independence, public participation, and protection of women and children.

“Since 2022, we have made a lot of progress in supporting access to basic services, participation, protection from violence through research and involvement of academics, and economic resilience through the utilization of surrounding land,” said Tracy, in her presentation.

However, there are still many things that need the support of many parties. This is because the issue of indigenous peoples is a multi-sectoral issue that is not only the focus of one ministry or institution, but needs the involvement of all parties. Such as the need for KLHK support in encouraging the recognition of customary forests. The goal is to facilitate indigenous peoples in the process of applying for customary forests. In addition, support from the Ministry of PPPA is also needed in providing protection for women and children from violence through socialization of the regulation of the Sexual Violence Crime Law (TPKS). Then there is also a need for capacity building for local governments and village governments related to handling sexual violence. In practice, not all parties, including the police and prosecutors, understand the implementation of the TPKS Law. This of course has an impact on the non-fulfillment of victims’ rights in obtaining justice.

“We also hope for support from the Ministry of Education regarding easy access to education for children in indigenous communities and indigenous faiths with regional policies. The goal is to accommodate indigenous faiths and increase the number of instructors and provide advanced school facilities that can be easily accessed by children,” Widya added.

In the discussion process, issues around women, children, and violence experienced received a lot of attention. Ciput Eka Purwianti, Assistant Deputy for Special Protection of Children from Violence of Bappenas RI stated that efforts are needed to break the chain of violence in the family through recovery mechanisms. The goal is to prevent such cases from recurring. She also noted that the absence of services such as population administration often results in the absence of marriage data, which leads to child marriage. This is a form of sexual violence.

“We are trying to encourage women to be active in organizations and our future commitment in the 2025 Strategic Plan can focus on the development of Women Friendly and Child Care Villages (DRPPA) in indigenous locations. Therefore, in each region there needs to be a children’s forum and women’s groups involved in village organizations,” said Ciput Eka Purwianti.

The discussion lasted for three hours and was two-way. So that each ministry and institution provides a response according to the authority of the institution. Diah Rini from the Directorate of Social Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities of the Ministry of Social Affairs stated that data is a basic thing that can help interventions to be right on target. Especially the segregation of types of disabilities to be able to provide appropriate and targeted assistance.

The Coordinator of Women’s Empowerment and Gender Mainstreaming of Bappenas RI, Qurrota A’yun stated that the input and findings presented by KEMITRAAN are very important for ministries and institutions in preparing the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) which is currently in the process of preparation. It is hoped that all of this can be meaningful input so that the programs and policies made can provide benefits and justice for indigenous peoples throughout Indonesia.