Bambang Widjojanto (Indonesia, 1993)

Co-founder and former director of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, Bambang Widjojanto has been a leading advocate for the rights of the indigenous peoples of West Papua. Directing over 100 lawyers, Bambang has defended victims of torture, labor organizations, and women’s rights. As the government has restricted access to the region of West Papua and increased the amount of military present there, the risk of exploitation and abuse has heightened. This is exacerbated by the tragic environmental degradation, desecration of indigenous lands, and social upheaval occurring as a result of Freeport McMoRan’s massive mining operation. To protect the human rights of West Papuans, Bambang strives for constitutional and judicial reform.

The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights (CHR) has established an Advocacy Team comprised of legal and human rights experts to assist in Bambang’s cause. The team releases a monthly news update called the West Papua Report to inform and educate Congressional offices, the State Department, the National Security Council, academics, international media, and civil society about the human rights situation in West Papua. The CHR is also seeking justice for the victims and families of the 2002 ambush in the Freeport mining area that resulted in the deaths of two American schoolteachers and one Indonesian. In 2004, the CHR successfully lobbied the House and Senate to ban Indonesia’s funding for International Military Education and Training (IMET) and Foreign Military Financing (FMF). The CHR is working to maintain these bans until significant reforms are made and troops are held accountable for human rights abuses.

Documents and Resouces

• Letter to Sec. Rice: RFK Center on the violence in Abepura, West Papua
• Press Release: Members of U.S. Congress Expresses Concern About Papuan Refugees
• Letter to Sec. of State Rice: CHR writes on Sec. Rice's Trip to Indonesia
• Letter to Sec. of State Rice: CHR writes on US-Indonesian Relations and West Papua
• February 2006 Papua Report
• February 2006 Papua Report
• January 2006 Papua Report
• December 2005 Papua Report
• November 2005 Papua Report
• October 2005 Papua Report
• September 2005 Papua Report
• August 2005 Papua Report
• July 2005 Papua Report
• June 2005 Papua Report
• May 2005 Papua Report
• April 2005 Papua Report
• March 2005 Papua Report
• February 2005 Papua Report
• January 2005 Papua Report
• November/December 2004 Papua Report
• October 2004 Papua Report
• September 2004 Papua Report
• August 2004 Papua Report
• June/July 2004 Papua Report
• May 2004 Papua Report
• April 2004 Papua Report
• March 2004 Papua Report
• February 2004 Papua Report
• January 2004 Papua Report
• RFK Press release December 5, 2003: Appointment of Indicted Human Rights Abuser
• RFK Press release April 18, 2003: Deteriorating Human Rights Situation in Papua
• "Development Aggression: Observations on Human Rights Conditions in the PT Freeport Indonesia Contract of Work Areas with Recommendations" (July 2002)
• "U.S. Human Rights Policy Toward China," By Margaret Huang, Program Director for Asia and the Middle East, RFK Memorial Center for Human Rights. Foreign Policy In Focus, Vol. 6, No. 8 ï March 2001.
• Rape and Other Human Rights Abuses by the Indonesian Military in Irian Jaya (West Papua), Indonesia (May 1999)
• "In Focus: Indonesia After Suharto" (Foreign Policy In Focus, November 1998)
• Freeport McMoRan Resolution - May 2005
• Groups Call on ExxonMobil to be Transparent About its Relationship - East Timor Action Network - May 4th, 2005.
• Open letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia (May 2005)
• Testimony for Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific Hearing: Implications of Recent Indonesia Reform (March 2005)
• U.S. Groups Oppose U.S. Military Assistance to Indonesia (September 2004)
• RFK Press release June 26, 2004: Question Dept. of Justice Announcement on West Papua Ambush

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