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  • Confronting Refugee Abuse in Indonesia’s Detention Centers
    Jul 1, 2013
    In February last year, guards at the Pontianak Immigration Detention Center in West Kalimantan beat Taqi Naroye, an Afghan asylum-seeker, so badly that he died.
  • Way to Stem Tide of Human Misery is Help Indonesia
    Jun 24, 2013
    Arif was only 15 when he fled Afghanistan, without his parents, and paid smugglers to take him to Indonesia. There, he was detained for months in sordid, overcrowded immigration detention facilities where the guards beat him. When he got out, he felt he had no options in Indonesia, so he risked the boat journey to Australia.
  • The Lost Boys—Arif’s Story
    Jun 23, 2013
    I have interviewed many boys who, like Arif, are traveling alone. They are often their family’s last hope – their parents sell off their last piece of land or borrow money to help them flee the violence or poverty of their homelands. They are resilient and brave, undertaking these remarkable journeys alone. They also carry a heavy weight on their shoulders – they know the sacrifices their family made to send them into safety, and they are desperate to make good on their opportunities, no matter how slim.
  • Indonesia Neglects and Abuses Some of the World’s Neediest Children
    Jun 22, 2013
    In 2012, Indonesia reached a milestone. For the first time in recent history, the number of unaccompanied children seeking asylum in Indonesia topped 1,000.
  • What award winning President SBY should say
    May 23, 2013
    It’s not every day that a world leader whose country frequently makes the news for sectarian violence wins a religious freedom award.
  • Extractive Industries: A New Accountability Agenda
    May 21, 2013
    The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) was founded in 2003 with the goal of strengthening governance by increasing transparency over revenues from the oil, gas, and mining sectors. EITI has contributed to much greater disclosures of information and helped spur dialogue in many countries. But EITI has not made progress toward its ultimate purpose of enhancing accountability in resource-rich countries. An independent evaluation commissioned by EITI in 2011 concluded, “EITI has not been a significant driver of change. While transparency has improved, accountability does not appear to have changed much.” The evaluation attributed this problem to the absence of a coherent strategic vision, explaining that without clarity on how publicizing credible data on natural resource revenues would lead to better governance, EITI would not be able to direct its efforts to where they would be most likely to deliver results.
  • Leadership deficit fuels intolerance
    Mar 25, 2013
    A new report from Human Rights Watch documents how religious minorities, including several Protestant groups, Shia Muslims and Ahmadiyah, are targets of increasingly routine intimidation, threats and violence.
  • 'Clock ticking' for Indonesia to tackle religious intolerance
    Mar 12, 2013
    As long as its leaders fail to acknowledge or act against the increased violence suffered by religious minorities, Indonesia's reputation as a country that balances diversity and tolerance will be in question, says campaign group
  • Jakarta Condones Religious Violence
    Mar 6, 2013
    The worst fears of the Shia Muslim community in Sampang in Indonesia's East Java came to pass on Aug. 20, 2012. That morning, hundreds of Sunni militants attacked the community, torching some 50 homes, killing one man and seriously injuring another.