Impossible Justice? Transitional Justice in State of Impunity in West Papua

INDONESIA STUDIES PROGRAMME SEMINAR

About the Seminar

West Papua has been granted special autonomy by the Indonesian government since 2001. Within the Law on Special Autonomy of Papua, there are several transitional justice mechanisms mandated, including a human rights court and the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The inclusion of these mechanisms implied a promise for accountability and acknowledgement of the West Papuan’s dignity. However, these mechanisms were not implemented, or implemented with total failures. In the meantime, human rights violations continue against the West Papuans with the absence of accountability, leading to the state of total impunity. For most of the West Papuans, justice is seen as something distant and impossible as the Indonesian government failed to present accountability and acknowledgement of their dignity. This case highlights the major challenges faced by transitional justice in its ambitions to include the ongoing conflict contexts in its interventions. Justice can be problematic and perverting, as it depends of various factors that I will later elaborate based on the West Papuan case.

About the Speaker

Sri Lestari Wahyuningroem is a lecturer in the Department of Political Science, Universitas Pembangunan Nasional Veteran Jakarta, as well as Universitas Indonesia. She earned her PhD from the Australian National University under Australian Leadership Awards. Her dissertation covers transitional justice in Indonesia. She also served as the Indonesian co-coordinator and research team member of the International People’s Tribunal 1965 (IPT65). She was specially appointed as Associate Professor in Osaka University and associate researcher and consultant in various national and international institutions, including the United Nations.

Registration

For registration, please click here. Registration closes on 3 September 2019.