• Indonesia: Drop Charges Against Papuan Activists
    Press release
    Jan 28, 2012

    The Indonesian government should drop charges against five Papuan activists who are being prosecuted for peacefully expressing their political views.

  • An abhorrent trail of abuse
    Commentary
    Jan 24, 2012
    At least nine Cambodian women died last year while performing domestic work in Malaysia. And the grim reality is that, without strong action by the Cambodian and Malaysian governments to rein in exploitative recruitment and employment practices, more lives will be lost in 2012.
  • Indonesia: Surging Sectarian Violence, Papua Crackdown
    Press release
    Jan 23, 2012
    Indonesian authorities throughout 2011 used excessive force against peaceful protesters in easternmost Papua and stood aside while mobs attacked religious minorities in Java and Sumatra.
  • Joint Letter to Minister Rudd on Promoting Respect for Human Rights in Papua
    Letter
    Nov 28, 2011

    We are writing because 1 December 2011 marks the 50th anniversary of the first raising of the West Papuan ‘Morning Star’ flag. This date is considered by many Papuans as their unofficial ‘Independence Day’ and it is almost certain that protests and flag raising ceremonies will be held throughout Papua on this day. 

  • Indonesia: UPR Submission November 2011
    Written statement
    Nov 22, 2011

     

    Although Indonesia has made great strides in consolidating a stable, democratic government with a strong civil society and independent media since the previous UPR in 2008, serious human rights concerns remain. While senior officials pay lip service to protecting human rights, they seem unwilling to take the steps necessary to ensure compliance by the security forces with international human rights and to appropriately punish those responsible for abuses. Violence by various groups continued to rack the provinces of Papua and West Papua, with few effective police investigations to hold the perpetrators accountable.

  • Indonesia: Open or Closed? Why Obama Should Raise Growing Religious Violence
    Commentary
    Nov 21, 2011

    “ Now we are vilified,” an Ahmadiyah imam told me last week at a mosque outside Jakarta that is threatened with closure. This is not the Indonesia that US President Barack Obama described last year on his visit to Jakarta, when he said, “Even as this land of my youth has changed in so many ways, those things that I learned to love about Indonesia — that spirit of tolerance that is written into your Constitution, symbolized in mosques and churches and temples standing alongside each other, that spirit that’s embodied in your people — that still lives on.” 

     

  • Letter to President Barack Obama Regarding his Visit to Indonesia and Human Rights Issues
    Letter
    Nov 15, 2011
    President Obama's administration has placed great emphasis on its deepening relationship with Indonesia. Human Rights Watch believes Obama's trip to Bali for the East Asian Summit on November 19, 2011, is an important opportunity for him to raise human rights issues with the Indonesian government, both publicly and privately, including matters concerning freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and accountability of the military for human rights abuses.
  • Indonesia: Obama Should Press Rights Concerns
    Press release
    Nov 15, 2011
    US President Barack Obama has an important and timely opportunity to raise human rights issues with the Indonesian government when meeting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono this week in Indonesia, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to Obama. He will travel to Bali for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit on November 19, 2011.
  • Cambodia/ Malaysia: Domestic Workers Face Abuse
    Press release
    Oct 31, 2011
    The Cambodian and Malaysian governments’ failure to regulate recruiters and employers leaves Cambodian migrant domestic workers exposed to a wide range of abuses. Tens of thousands of Cambodian women and girls who migrate to Malaysia have little protection against forced confinement in training centers, heavy debt burdens, and exploitative working conditions.
  • Protecting Indonesia’s Vulnerable Migrant Domestic Workers
    Media spotlight
    Oct 31, 2011
    Anis Hidayah was literally going into labor with her second child when she answered her phone, suspecting it would be a migrant worker needing her help. She was right. The woman had recently returned to Indonesia and said she was being extorted before being allowed to return to her hometown.