Indonesia’s human rights situation deteriorated last year, marked by the election of a president with a checkered rights record and a steady erosion of democratic freedoms, according to an international watchdog group’s latest annual report.
In its World Report 2025 released Thursday, Human Rights Watch reviewed human rights practices and trends in more than 100 countries, including Indonesia.
"Civil and political rights declined in Indonesia in the past decade under the Jokowi administration," New York-based HRW said in its report.
“The government’s policies undermined free elections, weakened legislative checks on executive powers, and led to an increase in corruption, including in the management of natural resources,” it said.
In October, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo handed the reins of power to Prabowo Subianto, a former army general who was elected president in a landslide in February. Prabowo’s vice president is Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Jokowi’s eldest son.
One of the most contentious legacies of Jokowi’s presidency (2014-2024) was the passage of a controversial criminal code in 2022, according to HRW.
The report also highlighted concerns about human rights in the troubled Papua region, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, and alleged abuses by security forces.
HRW likewise raised concerns over alleged restrictions on religious freedoms and a decline in women’s rights in Southeast Asia’s most populous country.
The safety of journalists in Indonesia remained precarious, the rights group noted.
The findings in the HRW report echo many of the critical issues that BenarNews tackled over the past year, highlighting the ongoing challenges to democracy, human rights, and civil liberties in Indonesia.
Below is a closer look at some of the key stories that provide context to HRW’s latest findings:
Indonesia’s new president
A former army general dogged by accusations of human rights abuses, Prabowo Subianto’s ascension to the presidency of Southeast Asia’s largest nation is a turning point for Indonesia.
Democratic backsliding in Indonesia
Jokowi’s decade-long administration was admired for its ambitious infrastructure drive, but critics argued that these achievements came at the cost of democratic values, environmental sustainability and the strength of state institutions.
Controversial criminal code
[ “Indonesian parliament passes law banning sex outside marriage, cohabitation”Opens in new window ]
In December 2022, Indonesia’s parliament passed a broad criminal code punishing sex outside marriage and cohabitation between unwed partners, in what critics called a threat to civil liberties in Southeast Asia’s most populous country.
Dire human rights situation in Papua
The Indonesian government has responded to Papuans’ calls for independence with extrajudicial killings, torture, forced displacement and arbitrary arrests, according to human rights groups.
Regressive policies on women’s rights
Human rights advocates said Indonesian women and girls were facing increasing pressure to follow religious dress codes in workplaces and schools amid growing Islamic conservatism in the country.
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