Photo series: Early September, the NHRF travelled to Indonesia. Scroll down to find some visual impressions from the visit.
Photo: SKP-HAM
In September 2024, the NHRF visited our priority country Indonesia to meet with our grantee partners, the communities they work with as well as other human rights organisations, experts and local networks. We also took the opportunity of this visit to host a joint capacity sharing seminar for our grantee partners in Indonesia and Thailand.
The trip was filled with numerous learnings, inspiring stories, fruitful discussions and sharing of experiences!
We especially thank the Norwegian Embassy, Jakarta for their strong support for our work and engagement during the visit. The Norwegian Embassy hosted us and our grantee partners at a reception along with several other civil society organisation and representatives from other embassies. It was a great opportunity to link grantee partners with other networks and actors for visibility, increased protection and to enhance their work and a great symbol of solidarity and support of Norway for the human rights organisations in Indonesia.
Picture credit: Adrian Mulya
We are also grateful for the participation of representatives of the Norwegian Embassy in a roundtable discussion with all our grantee partners in Indonesia on their work furthering human rights as local grassroots organisation and for joining us to visit two of our grantee partners in Palu, Central Sulawesi.
Grantee Partner Seminar and Capacity Sharing
One of the primary focuses of the NHRF is to facilitate sharing and building of capacity for our grantee partners. This year, apart from a day of capacity building for our grantee partners in Indonesia, for the first time, we also invited our grantee partners from Thailand and hosted a day of joint capacity sharing.
The seminar saw interactive workshops and sessions on thematic topics grantee partners work on
as well as sessions on finance and administrative capacity building, fundraising, safeguarding and organisational capacity strengthening.
This was also a great opportunity to learn from partners about their experiences with the NHRF’s support and how the NHRF can continue to support their work furthering human rights.
In a sharing session between grantee partners from Indonesia and Thailand, they shared stories of success, common challenges they face in the two countries as well as learnings of successful strategies for navigating challenges and ensuring protection and sustainability for their work.
The discussion also gave a strong sense of solidarity and togetherness to grantee partners working on similar issues across the two countries from furthering land, environment and indigenous peoples’ rights to protection of human rights defenders and the right to defend.
At the end of the seminar, participants from Indonesia and Thailand met victims, families, and survivors of the past atrocities in Indonesia. The survivors shared their emotional stories of resilience and their fight for access to justice
We hope to continue to foster these connections between the grantee partners of the two countries through more exchanges and sharing of learnings.
Visit to Grantee Partners in Indonesia
In Jakarta, NHRF visited our grantee partner Indonesian Association of the Families of the Disappeared (IKOHI) and who shared more about their work fighting for justice and reparation for victims and survivors of past atrocities in Indonesia. IKOHI also spoke to us about how they have been able to support non judicial reparations for many survivors and victims’ families since the apology of President Jokowi and setting up of the non-judicial reparation mechanism while continuing to push for Indonesia’s ratification of the International Convention that Protects all Persons from Enforced Disappearances (ICCPED).
Picture credit: NHRF
After our visit to Jakarta, the NHRF along with representatives from the Norwegian Embassy in Jakarta travelled to Palu, Central Sulawesi, to visit two of our grantee partners working there.
Video credit: KOMIU
We first visited Solidaritas Korban Pelanggaran HAM (SKP-HAM), a victims/survivor-based organisation working on access to justice and reparation for victims of past atrocities, especially in the context of the 1965-1966 atrocities. SKP-HAM shared with us their story of decade long resilience building a strong movement working together with the victim community along with local authorities, education institutions as well the people of Palu. Their work resulted in the monumental apology and decree for reparation by the Mayor of Palu –which today has become a role model for truth-seeking initiatives in Indonesia. Learn more about SKP-HAMs work here.
Picture credit: SKP-HAM
Just a few kilometres away from SKP-HAM, is located Yayasan Kompas Peduli Hutan (KOMIU), another grantee partner of NHRF’s working on protection forest areas and land rights of indigenous communities affected by the expansion of the extractive industry in the region. Interestingly, KOMIU also works on documenting and researching changes in the local biodiversity due to environmental degradation including bird and plant species facing extinction – with grave impact on the traditional and spiritual life of the indigenous communities living in harmony with the biodiversity. KOMIUs work on this issue is also featured in our recent article on mining.
On our second day in Palu, we visited a community that both SKP-HAM
and KOMIU support on issues of access to justice for past atrocities and
on land and environment rights. We met with survivors and victims of
the 1965-1966 atrocities whose resilience in the search for truth and
justice was truly inspirational for us.
Picture credit: SKP-HAM
We also visited a community-based learning centre run by SKP-HAM in a local indigenous communities’ village. Through the community learning centres, such asthis one, SKP-HAM have been able to reach out to and bring together a new generation of young, and especially women human rights defenders, and strengthen their capacities to be at the forefrontof providing assistance to victims and survivors and working on human rights issues in the specific area. The community learning centres are also a space for intergenerational exchange and solidarity building between survivors and the younger generation and build strong resilience.
Picture credit: SKP-HAM
Moreover, we met with paralegals and local networks of KOMIU who are working to advocate for the rights of the indigenous communities and to protect the forest cover in the region. They shared with us their experiences working on this issue including the challenges the face while appreciating the strong networks as well as the support from certain local authorities that have helped them in their work.
On the last day of our visit to Indonesia, we travelled to Bengkulu, to meet with our grantee partner, Genesis Bengkulu as well as some human rights defenders from the communities they work in.
Genesis Bengkulu work to strengthen local communities document, research and strengthen their capacities to be resilient in the face of environmental destruction and exploitation in their regions.
The human rights defenders, especially women human rights defenders at the forefront of the efforts, shared their experiences including the criminalisation and harassment they face, despite which they continue to work tirelessly to protect land and forest cover.
After a two-week long trip to Indonesia, we returned to Oslo, bringing with us the stories and strength of local organisations and human rights defenders working with resilience and persistence on human rights issues while faced with numerous challenges. – Thank you for inspiring us and motivating us to continue taking these learnings in our efforts to be a flexible and courageous donor acting in solidarity!
