House Legislation Body Accelerates Drafting of Indigenous Peoples Bill

The Legislation Body of the Indonesian House of Representatives is accelerating the drafting of the Indigenous Peoples Bill by absorbing aspirations from various customary communities, including those in West Kalimantan, to strengthen legal protection and certainty for indigenous peoples in Indonesia. “We are conducting a meaningful public participation process in the context of receiving input and knowledge related to the indigenous peoples bill we are drafting,” said Bob Hasan, Chairman of the House Legislation Body, during a working visit to the Petitih Hall of the West Kalimantan Governor’s Office in Pontianak on Thursday. Bob Hasan stated that West Kalimantan was chosen as a destination for the working visit because it possesses a diversity of ethnic groups and customary communities that can provide important perspectives in formulating the regulation. He explained that the Indigenous Peoples Bill is currently a national legislative priority as it has been included in the National Legislation Programme as a House initiative, with its deliberation being handled directly by the Legislation Body. According to Bob, the drafting of the regulation aims not only to recognise the existence of indigenous peoples but also to provide legal certainty regarding various traditional rights that have lived and developed within communities. As part of the bill drafting process, the Legislation Body is simultaneously gathering aspirations in several areas of Kalimantan, including Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, and the Nusantara region. The move is intended to ensure the bill’s substance can accommodate the needs of indigenous peoples who have different characteristics in each region. Bob assessed that the diversity of customary communities in Indonesia poses a distinct challenge in formulating regulations that can be applied nationally. Therefore, input from the regions becomes an important foundation in drafting the norms and substance of the law. According to him, various issues faced by indigenous peoples, ranging from recognition of customary territories, preservation of cultural values to the protection of traditional rights, require stronger legal certainty through national-level regulation. On that occasion, Bob also explained that the nomenclature change from the Customary Law Communities Bill to the Indigenous Peoples Bill is part of the dynamics of the discussion. He said various academics, legal practitioners, and customary leaders provided the view that customary law has essentially lived and developed for generations within communities and is not created by the state. The House Legislation Body is targeting the process of gathering aspirations and refining the substance of the Indigenous Peoples Bill to continue throughout 2026 before entering the advanced deliberation stage in the House together with the government. Indigenous communities and local stakeholders are expected to utilise the public participation process to convey various aspirations, so that the resulting regulation can truly address the needs for protection, recognition, and empowerment of indigenous peoples throughout Indonesia.