Beka Ulung Hapsara, a commissioner at the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), emphasized the urgency of the initiative as he called on President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to address past rights abuses in Papua and West Papua through a truth and reconciliation commission (KKR) in accordance with Article 47 of the 2000 law on human rights courts.

“Considering the urgency of resolving gross violations of human rights and the absence of any legal umbrella for the formation of a KKR, the President may issue a regulation in lieu of law [Perppu] on a KKR,” he said during the Papua Strategic Policy Forum online discussion held on Monday by Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University’s Papua Task Force and the School of Social and Political Sciences’ Capacity Building and Networking Center.

He added that Komnas HAM had recommended the establishment of a KKR to Jokowi and several of his aides in 2018.

Beka said it was also crucial for the central government to consider a reparations mechanism designed to compensate Papuans who had been impacted by past human rights violations.

Democratic Alliance for Papua director Latifah Anum Siregar echoed Beka’s sentiments, saying that a KKR and a human rights court were crucial to impunity eradication efforts so that all victims of past rights abuses could get justice.

However, Latifah pointed out a number of roadblocks that had made it difficult for the government to accomplish said ideals, including the state’s own efforts to “protect perpetrators of rights abuses”.

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