Joint Release of PUSAKA, FIAN Indonesia, SKPKC Fransiskan Papua
Last Wednesday, October 24, 2023, Kompas released a heart-wrenching news story entitled “Famine in Papua Repeats”. From the headline, there are two things at once that are heartbreaking; first, the existence of famine in the Land of Papua and second, the famine is not the first time it has occurred.
The recurring famine in Papua is one proof of the violation of the Right to Food and Nutrition (HaPG) of the people by the state. The Right to Food and Nutrition is a human right that protects the right of every individual to obtain adequate and healthy food, and to be free from hunger. This right is guaranteed in Article 25 paragraph (1) of the General Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and Article 11 of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ECOSOB). The government as the duty bearer of human rights fulfillment has the responsibility to ensure the availability and affordability of food for the community.
HaPG cannot be interpreted only as the fulfillment of food sufficiency and availability. The government’s efforts to overcome hunger by distributing food aid to Amuma District, including providing four tons of rice is not the fulfillment of the right to food. The plan to build a national food barn in Papua in the Food Estate program is also not the answer to violations of the HaPG of the Papuan people.
The fulfillment of the right to food should ensure the nutritional quality of the food available and guarantee the freedom of the people to use food systems that are culturally appropriate and the potential of their local resources. For this reason, we urge the government as the duty bearer of human rights fulfillment in Indonesia to respect, protect and fulfill the HaPG of the Papuan people by:
1. Identifying local food systems in Papua, by identifying the types of local food, local food potential, and local food vulnerabilities available.
2. Considering the socio-cultural and geographical characteristics and conditions of the communities and the places where they live in finding solutions to hunger.
3. Immediately provide decent and nutritious food support, local food that is in accordance with local social conditions, and distribute it in collaboration with social and religious institutions trusted by the community.
4. Reject the development of national food barns in the form of food estates or the development of large-scale monoculture agriculture.
Thus we submit this joint press statement so that it can become the attention and consideration of all parties. We also call on all Indonesian people and Civil Society Organizations to be able to see the problem of recurrent hunger in the Land of Papua is not just a Papuan problem, but also our common problem.
Contact Person:
SKPKC Fransisikan Papua, Yuliana Langowuyo: 0821 9966 8664
Yayasan Pusaka Bentala Rakyat, Franky Samperante: 0813 1728 6019
FIAN Indonesia, Betty Nababan, 0816 103 461