Papua Quarterly Report Q3 2025: Violence and Impunity: Killings and arrests as security forces expand across West Papua
This 12-page document outlines cases and developments, including human rights violations and their patterns, the escalation of armed conflict and its impact on civilians, significant political shifts in Indonesia affecting West Papua, and international responses and initiatives. It covers the period from 1 July to 30 September 2025.
Summary
Human rights
The human rights situation in West Papua between July and September 2025 was overshadowed by a notable increase in military deployments and operations in West Papua’s highland regions since August 2025. The rapidly expanding presence of military personnel, even in remote districts across the central highlands, has caused further internal displacements and accelerated the escalation of armed conflict between Indonesian security forces and the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB). Human rights statistics neither indicate improvements nor significant deterioration of the human rights situation throughout the reporting period. However, ongoing documentation of abuses such as killings, torture, ill-treatment, arbitrary detentions, and violations of the freedom of peaceful assembly shows that the government continues to pursue a security-based conflict approach in West Papua.
Political tensions have escalated, with security forces cracking down on protesters and arbitrarily detaining activists. In Sorong, Southwest Papua province, police arrested over a dozen people in August 2025 for their participation in protests against the transfer of four political detainees. Security forces cracked down on the protest, with one bystander being shot. The lack of capability among security forces in West Papua to handle conflict situations without using excessive force has repeatedly caused cases where minor incidents escalate into civil unrest with extensive damage and civilian victims. On 27 September 2025, members of the 123/Rajawali military Task Force opened fire on civilians in the town of Agats, Asmat Regency, South Papua Province, killing one person and injuring four with bullets. The incident unfolded as the military personnel were handling a report of public disturbance involving an intoxicated man.
Civil unrest in Yalimo Regency, Highland Papua province, in response to an escalating conflict between Papuans and non-Papuan students on 16 September, and outbreaks of horizontal violence between Papuans and non-Papuans in the Deiyai Regency on 18 August 2025, illustrate a historically growing horizontal social tension. The social injustice is fuelled by the racial discrimination and marginalisation of indigenous Papuans, which the government has failed to address over the past decades. Patterns of racial discrimination have also become evident in an escalating intimidation campaign against Papuan students across Indonesia between April and July 2025.
The widespread impunity among security forces is a major driver of human rights violations in West Papua. There are only a few examples where the internal investigation and prosecution mechanisms have succeeded. On 3 July 2025, the Military Court III-19 Jayapura found Navy Officer Agung Suyono guilty of murdering Mrs Kesya Irene Yola Lestaluhu at the Saoka Beach in Sorong on 12 January 2025. In contrast to this case, the majority of human rights violations involving police or military have resulted in lenient sentences or are stuck in legal limbo. No progress has been made in arresting suspects in the Molotov bomb attack against Papuan Media outlet Jubi after one year of investigation, despite CCTV recordings and witness testimonies. Likewise, the Papua Legal Aid Institute (LBH Papua) branch office in Sorong expressed concerns regarding the legal process into allegations of arbitrary detention and torture committed by officers of the Sorong City Police against Papuan civilian, Mr Ortizan F. Tarage on 15 May 2025. Despite being officially reported to police authorities, the case remains stagnant as of September 2025, with no suspects named and no transparent investigative progress.
The aggravating healthcare crisis in West Papua has come under scrutiny following revelations of alleged corruption amounting to IDR 10 billion at the Nabire Regional General Hospital (RSUD Nabire) and a series of deaths reportedly caused by medical malpractice and neglect at the Yowari Hospital in Sentani, the General Hospital in Serui, and the Maybrat hospitals. The reports raise human rights concerns relating to the right to health, accountability, and equal access to public services in Indonesia’s easternmost provinces.
New satellite data analysis and interactive mapping tools have revealed the unprecedented scale of deforestation and ecosystem destruction across West Papua, with the National Strategic Projects driving 24% of the forest loss in 2024. A new study published by Nusantara Atlas provides a detailed analysis of land clearing trends across West Papua, revealing an alarming acceleration in environmental destruction driven by government mega-projects and corporate interests, particularly in the Merauke area.
A documentary by the Gecko Project reveals the devastating impact of Indonesia’s National Strategic Project (PSN) in Merauke, Papua Selatan Province, exposing how large-scale agricultural expansion under the guise of national food security results in the systematic violation of indigenous rights and environmental degradation. The project aims to convert at least 1.6 million hectares of indigenous Malind territory into rice and sugarcane plantations, secured and implemented by the military. On 19 August 2025, civil society organisations and victims of PSN filed a judicial review petition at Indonesia’s Constitutional Court challenging key provisions of the Job Creation Law (Law No. 6/ 2023) that legitimise facilitation and acceleration of PSN projects at the expense of constitutional rights and environmental protection.
Conflict
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati announced on 20 August 2025 the creation of 500 new battalions as part of the biggest peacetime military expansion in decades. These are shocking news for more than 102,966 people in West Papua who remain internally displaced as a result of armed conflict between Indonesian security forces and the TPNPB as of October 2025. In August 2025, the total number of IDPs in West Papua had surpassed 100,000. HRM documented 29 armed attacks and clashes throughout the third quarter of 2025, a significantly lower number than in the second quarter of 2025, when 47 such incidents were documented. However, the total number of annual clashes in 2025 will again be higher than in 2024, with 135 armed attacks, indicating a further deterioration of armed violence in West Papua. This is also reflected in the figure of IDPs, which keeps rising as Indonesian security forces intensified operations in the regencies of Puncak, Puncak Jaya, Paniai, and Pegunungan Bintang between July and September 2025, with additional troop deployments to Lanny Jaya, Yahukimo, and Pegunungan Bintang. The military continues expanding its military infrastructure to the district level in conflict regions and the surrounding areas.
Military operations in various locations were accompanied by the destruction of residential houses and the shooting of civilians. On 6 July 2025, a villager was reportedly executed by security force members in Gilini Village, Puncak Regency, during a military operation in Omukia District. Indonesian military (TNI) members reportedly raided the Oholumu Village, Mewoluk District, Puncak Jaya Regency, on 7 August 2025, resulting in the burning of civilian homes, the destruction of church facilities, and the shooting of three civilians. On 10 August 2025, Indonesian security forces opened fire on a group of indigenous Papuans, predominantly children, killing one minor and leaving two other minors injured.
The majority of armed hostilities occurred in the regencies of Intan Jaya, Yahukimo, and Puncak, with a few armed clashes in Puncak Jaya, Pegunungan Bintang, Dogiyai, Lanny Jaya, Mimika, Nabire, and Deiyai. HRM counted nine civilians killed by the TPNPB. Meanwhile, two civilians were killed and seven were wounded by security force members during armed clashes or counter-insurgency operations. Concerning the combatants, six security force members were killed, and five were injured during this period. In contrast, the TPNPB reportedly lost eight combatants, with five guerrilla fighters being injured during armed clashes. Australian authorities arrested two Australian men in mid-September 2025. They were charged with allegedly trafficking guns and ammunition to the TPNPB.
On 17 July 2025, members of the Indonesian security forces, including the Beoga Police Chief and Indonesian military personnel, were captured on video pressuring village leaders in Beoga District, Puncak Regency, to allocate a part of the community funds to security forces. The case illustrates a pattern of corruption, intimidation, and militarisation of public administration in West Papua, exacerbating the vulnerability of conflict-affected communities and undermining lawful governance.
Political developments
In July, Coordinating Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra announced VP Gibran Rakabuming Raka would be assigned a special mandate to accelerate development and address human rights issues in West Papua. As of September 2025, speculations about Gibran moving his office to West Papua have not been confirmed.
President Prabowo Subianto’s decision to grant amnesty to six political prisoners from West Papua and Maluku ahead of Indonesia’s 80th Independence Day on 17 August caused mixed reactions from human rights organisations, with advocates welcoming the releases while questioning the limited scope and timing of the presidential pardons. Human rights lawyers are raising serious questions about whether this constitutes genuine amnesty or simply delayed implementation of existing parole rights, as most of the convicts were already eligible for conditional release under existing regulations, having served more than two-thirds of their sentences.
Indonesia experienced its most significant political unrest since President Prabowo Subianto took office in October 2024, with deadly nationwide protests erupting in late August 2025 that killed at least eight to ten people and resulted in over 3,000 arrests in a nationwide crackdown. The protests, which spread across Jakarta and 38 provinces, were triggered by public anger over parliamentary perks, including monthly housing allowances for all 580 lawmakers, demands for higher wages, and lower taxes. The protests escalated after an armoured police vehicle ran over a civilian in Jakarta on 28 August 2025. Demonstrators adopted the black flag from the Japanese TV series “One Piece” as their protest symbol, prompting Minister of Human Rights, Natalius Pigai, to suggest the government could ban the flag on national security grounds. Violence included arson attacks on regional parliament buildings in South Sulawesi, West Nusa Tenggara, Central Java, and West Java provinces. Under public pressure, President Prabowo reduced lawmakers’ perks, fired five cabinet ministers, and announced plans to establish an independent investigation into alleged disproportionate force by security forces.
On 18 September 2025, the Constitutional Court rejected a legal petition challenging Law No. 3/2025 on the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), ruling that the legislative process did not violate the 1945 Constitution despite procedural controversies and widespread criticism from civil society organisations, academics, and students. The decision allows the amended TNI Law to remain legally binding, with four of nine judges issuing dissenting opinions. CSOs warned of serious implications for Indonesian democracy and civilian oversight of the military.
International developments
The World Council of Churches and Franciscans International, together with several partner organisations, convened a side event during the 60th Session of the UN Human Rights Council on 22 September 2025, examining the human rights situation in West Papua one year into Indonesia’s current administration. The event revealed a rapid increase in deforestation and growing human rights violations affecting indigenous communities across the country. Only two days after the side event, Christian Solidarity International (CSI) delivered an oral statement at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 24 September, calling upon the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to address the growing threats and marginalisation of Indigenous Papuana. CSI particularly pointed out that the Government’s National Strategic Projects pose a threat to the way of life of the Indigenous Peoples of West Papua.
The 54th Pacific Islands Forum, held 8-12 September 2025 in Honiara, Solomon Islands, concluded with leaders celebrating achievements on climate resilience and regional security. Similar to previous PIF communiques, Pacific leaders devoted one paragraph to West Papua in their final communiqué. The statement reaffirmed “the Forum’s ongoing recognition of Indonesia’s sovereignty over West Papua (Papua)” while recalling “Indonesia’s 2018 invitation for a mission led by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights” and tasking “the Secretariat to work constructively with Indonesia on a proposed visit by Forum Leaders Envoys in 2026, in consultation with the Melanesian Spearhead Group Secretariat”. The forum’s reserved engagement with West Papua was underscored by the reported ban on raising the Morning Star flag in Honiara due to Indonesian pressure, revealing the extent of external influence on Pacific decision-making processes. Before the summit, NGOs in the Pacific region published an open letter, calling upon Pacific leaders to uphold humanitarian values in West Papua.
The international human rights organisation CIVICUS added Indonesia to the CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist amid widespread state intimidation, legal manipulation, and violent crackdowns on dissent, pushing civic space to a precarious point. The CIVICUS Monitor currently rates Indonesia as “obstructed”, indicating serious challenges to the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association. CIVICUS observations are in line with a report published by Amnesty International Indonesia (AII) in July 2025. AII documented attacks against at least 104 human rights defenders across 54 cases during the first six months of the year.
The shrinking civic space is accompanied by growing militarisation and the strengthening of Indonesia’s defence structure, while urgent social justice issues such as the growing gap between the rich and poor remain widely unaddressed. On 25 August 2025, Indonesia commenced joint military drills with the U.S., UK, Australia, Japan, Singapore, and other states. The exercise, named “Talisman Sabre”, was held in Australian waters beginning on 14 July. U.S. Navy Secretary described the joint exercise as demonstrating to China that participants were prepared to “operate together in defence of core values.”
