Jakarta, 27 July 2026 – The Society of Indonesian Environmental Journalists (SIEJ) together with the Alliance of Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago (AMAN) and the Indigenous Peoples Bill Coalition held a Green Editor Forum: Reading the Indigenous Peoples Bill in Mass Media Reporting. This forum brought together media editors, civil society organizations, members of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia, academics, and representatives of indigenous peoples to strengthen the media’s perspective in reporting on the process of discussing the Indigenous Peoples Bill.

Through this forum, SIEJ encourages reflection on the practice of reporting on indigenous issues while discussing the importance of presenting indigenous peoples as the main subject in news related to their rights and lives. On this occasion, SIEJ presented the results of monitoring the news coverage of the Indigenous Peoples Bill and discussed the challenges of the media in presenting more balanced, in-depth, and human rights perspective.

In line with efforts to strengthen public understanding of the legislation process, Member of the Legislation Body (Baleg) of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia as well as the Working Committee (Panja) of the Indigenous Peoples Bill, Muhammad Nasir Djamil, said that the discussion of the Indigenous Peoples Bill continues to run through the Panja by involving aspirations from various regions.

“The Committee on the Indigenous Peoples Bill has visited a number of regions, both in the western and eastern regions of Indonesia. I myself had the opportunity to visit West Kalimantan and see how indigenous peoples were able to articulately explain the urgency of the Indigenous Peoples Bill. In the near future, Panja will also visit Papua to hear directly input from the indigenous people there,” said Nasir.

He added that input from indigenous peoples, academics, civil society organizations, and the media is an important part in refining the discussion of the bill. According to him, this regulation is needed to provide legal certainty for the recognition and protection of indigenous peoples’ rights, especially in the midst of still high agrarian conflicts, criminalization, and pressure on customary territories due to the expansion of investment and development.

In the forum, SIEJ presented the results of media monitoring of the news of the Indigenous Peoples Bill in six national media during January – June 2026. The results of the research show that indigenous peoples are still minimally the main subject in the news regarding regulations that directly concern their rights.

Of the 27 news reports with 48 quotes from sources, only seven were from indigenous peoples. Meanwhile, members of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia and civil society organizations became the most cited group, each with 15 appearances as speakers. These findings show that the voices of the groups most affected by the unenacted Indigenous Peoples Bill still do not get a proportionate space in the news.

SIEJ researcher, Fachri Hamzah, said the results of the research showed the need for a change in the media’s approach in reporting on indigenous issues.

“Indigenous peoples are still not the main subject in the news about the Indigenous Peoples Bill. In fact, they are the most affected parties as well as have first-hand knowledge and experience of the issues discussed in the bill. The media has an important role to present the voices of indigenous peoples in a more proportionate manner so that the news not only reflects political dynamics, but also the realities faced by indigenous peoples on the ground,” said Fahri.

In addition to the lack of representation of indigenous peoples, SIEJ’s research also found that the majority of news is still in the form of informative news (hard news). The in-depth coverage amounted to only eight articles, with six articles published by Mongabay and two articles by Kompas.

From a gender perspective, 59.3 percent of the news did not represent gender diversity or raise specific issues faced by indigenous women, including their experiences in maintaining living spaces, cultures, and customary territories.

Based on the results of the monitoring, SIEJ encourages the media to:

• Providing greater space to indigenous peoples, including indigenous women, as the main resource persons in the news of the Indigenous Peoples Bill.
• Develop a news perspective that raises the substance of the bill, its impact on the lives of indigenous peoples, the protection of customary territories, and conflict resolution.
• Overseeing the process of discussing the Indigenous Peoples Bill in an ongoing manner, including factors that cause the long ratification process.
• Increase in-depth coverage and investigation on the urgency of the ratification of the Indigenous Peoples Bill and its impact on indigenous peoples.
• Strengthening alternative media and maintaining media independence in reporting indigenous issues.

Through the Green Editor Forum, SIEJ, AMAN, and the Indigenous Peoples Bill Coalition hope that collaboration between the media, indigenous peoples, civil society organizations, and policymakers can strengthen a more inclusive and human rights-based news ecosystem.

More in-depth and balanced reporting is expected to expand public understanding of the importance of recognition and protection of indigenous peoples, as well as strengthen support for the acceleration of the ratification of the Indigenous Peoples Bill.

Contact Person: 

SIEJ Secretariat 085924581462

Indigenous Peoples Bill Coalition: 0858-9140-9336 (Agetha Lestari)

Disclaimer: This article was written in Indonesia and has been translated by Google Translate. In case of dispute or discrepancy, the original language of the article should prevail.