People who defend the land are being killed at an alarming rate. According to human rights group Global Witness, 2024 was the deadliest year on record, with a total of 324 land and environmental defenders killed or disappeared.1 Indigenous peoples, who protect much of the world’s remaining biodiversity, are disproportionately targeted.

This is particularly true in West Papua, which has been under occupation by Indonesia since the 1960s. Since then up to a quarter of West Papuans have been killed. The exceptionally biodiverse region is home to the world’s second largest expanse of rainforest – land that is increasingly under threat from palm oil cultivation, mining and industrial agriculture. In the regency of Merauke, near the border with Papua New Guinea, Indonesia is rapidly clearing three million hectares of land in the world’s largest ever deforestation project. Political tensions are escalating, with Indonesian security forces cracking down on protesters and arbitrarily detaining activists. The situation is enabled by British-linked military training, defence co-operation and financial flows.

Lia Yewen is an Indigenous Miyah woman working to protect her ancestral land. Through her work with the Jakarta-based NGO Pusaka and Peace Brigades International, Yewen is involved in community organizing to help Indigenous people gain legal recognition, strengthen their rights to the land and restore local authority.


What are the risks for land defenders in West Papua?

Every West Papuan is a human rights defender and every one of them experiences different things. As women we face intimidation, including on social media. When I post something about West Papua on my personal account, I get a lot of racist messages, people calling us monkeys… that’s something most West Papuans experience. I work and live in Jakarta, but it is worse for a Papuan that is working in the field. They face threats and intimidation from the military and the government when they talk about their land and forest being taken. It’s increasing every year but a lot of it is undocumented.

What are the other impacts on women land defenders in particular?

In Papua, women have a very important role in the community. When the men go to the city, women stay in the village and live close to the forest. Indonesia’s National Strategic Project [a series of major infrastructure projects] in Merauke is threatening Indigenous women because they will lose access to the forest [and their livelihoods]. But there are a lot more women activists in West Papua now. As women, we have a reason to do this. We will have children. I have a daughter and a responsibility to do something… I don’t want [her] to experience what I did. I also don’t want to separate the political issues from the environmental issues in West Papua. For me, the racism, human rights violations, marginalization, land disposition… all of these are connected.

In West Papua, we have a very strong connection with each other. The forest is our mother. All that we have right now is the land and forests. I choose to talk about this because I need to – we don’t have money, we don’t have powers. We need to protect this.

What is the personal toll of doing this work?

I can’t separate myself from the community that I work with because I’m part of it. This is my responsibility as a Papuan. We are tired, but we don’t have choices. Our lives don’t matter to the Indonesian government.

I grew up with racism. Even simple things… I don’t feel confident because I’m Black and I have curly hair. I never felt like I was beautiful. We women grew up watching Indonesian movies and TV telling us to use [lightening] body lotions or straighten our hair. There is this joke that we should get married to a Westerner or an Indonesian to change our identity as Papuans so our children will be better off. That’s racism. When I was in university, I didn’t realize that. There’s also stigma about West Papuans, that we are backwards and uneducated… this is something that I think is systematically shaped by the Indonesian government. In Papua we have a comedy culture called mop. We can laugh with our situation… that’s our coping mechanism.


What should be the role of Britain and the international community in protecting West Papuan land defenders?

It is very important to bring this issue outside Papua in order to get international attention and support so they can put pressure on Indonesia. The UK cannot claim to support climate action while enabling the destruction of one of the world’s most important ecosystems.

Recently we have seen places in Southeast Asia like Thailand, the Philippines, Sumatra face disasters like floods… it’s because there is already a lot of industrial extraction and they are now facing the impact of that. So we should learn from them.

What makes you proud to be West Papuan?

I don’t have any reason not to be proud to be Papuan. We are very rich. We have everything there. I didn’t realize that before, but right now, I’m really proud to be Papuan. I will do whatever I can to continue working in this field and staying in this life. Papua is a very, very beautiful place with beautiful people, the kindest in the world. But because we are rich, we are vulnerable.

All of us are human beings and we share the same planet. We need to stand with each other and help each other. We need to keep our moral compass. When you see what’s happening to West Papuans, you should support us because this could also impact your life.


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2) LP3BH urges police to protect civilians following shootout in Maybrat

IN PACNEWS READING TIME: 2 MINS READ 
MARCH 25, 2026  0 Author : News Desk 
Editor : Nuevaterra Mambor

Jayapura, Jubi – The Manokwari-based Institute for Research, Assessment and Development of Legal Aid (LP3BH) has called on police to ensure the protection of civilians following a recent exchange of gunfire in Maybrat, Southwest Papua.

The appeal came after LP3BH received information about a shootout that occurred in Kampung Sori, Aifat Selatan District, Maybrat Regency, on Sunday (March 22, 2026).
The incident also suggested that one member of the Indonesian Military (TNI) Task Force stationed at Sori Post in Maybrat was killed, while two others were injured and are currently receiving treatment at the Maybrat Pratama Regional General Hospital (RSUD).
The incident has also raised concerns over potential threats of violence facing residents of Kampung Sori, Aifat Selatan District, Maybrat Regency, Southwest Papua.

“As Executive Director of LP3BH Manokwari, I urge local security authorities (Maybrat Police) to immediately provide legal protection and security for residents of Sori in the short term,” said LP3BH’s Yan C. Warinussy in a press release received by Jubi today.
“Security measures and investigative steps must ensure that residents of Kampung Sori and surrounding areas are protected from any form of violence, in the interest of humanity, in accordance with Indonesia’s Law No. 39 of 1999 on Human Rights,” he added.
Previously, more than a dozen individuals were arrested by joint police and military personnel in Tambrauw Regency, Southwest Papua, on Tuesday (March 17, 2026).

The arrests were carried out a day after an attack by unidentified individuals on four healthcare workers in Kampung Jokbu, Bamusbama District, Tambrauw Regency, Southwest Papua, which left two people dead on Monday (March 16, 2026) afternoon.


Those detained were identified by their initials as TY (28), LY (57), SY (19), AY (44), who is the head of Banfot village, MY (29), head of Bamusbama village, along with BY, AY, TY, WY (49), a civil servant, PY (49), and YJ.
At the time, Warinussy called on police and military personnel to prioritize peaceful approaches in handling incidents that may constitute legal violations, while upholding universally recognized human rights principles. (*)