The following is based on a communication written by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and another UN expert to the Government of Indonesia on 18 December 2025. The communication remained confidential for 60 days before being made public, giving the Government time to reply. Regrettably, the Government did not reply within this time frame. If a reply is received it will be posted on the UN Special Procedures communications database.
Since the communication was sent, Ms. Selegani has reportedly continued to be under surveillance and her movements monitored.
This is a shorter version of the original communication.
BACKGROUND
Topic: the reported acts of intimidation and physical attack on Ms. Selly Selegani between 1 and 7 October 2025 in Jakarta and Jayapura.
Ms. Selly Selegani is a Papuan human rights defender, known for her advocacy against the Wabu Block gold mining project in Intan Jaya.
Special Procedures Mandate Holders have addressed reported human rights violations in connection with the Wabu Block in Intan Jaya in previous allegation letters IDN 2/2023 and IDN 8/2021. We thank the Government’s reply from 24 December 2021 to the latter, yet we express our deep concern over the ongoing human rights violations in Intan Jaya and the wider region of West Papua, particularly against indigenous people and human rights defenders.
ALLEGATIONS
Indigenous Papuans in Intan Jaya report violence and repression, including extrajudicial killings, beatings, and raids, by Indonesian security forces since October 2019. The presence of the security forces and the alleged human rights violations appear to be connected to the Wabu Block gold mining project in the region.
Ms. Selegani travelled to Jakarta on 1 October 2025 for her advocacy work. On 2 and 3 October 2025 she met with the Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources, members of the Regional Representative Council, and representatives of the National Human Rights Commission. A group of unidentified individuals, allegedly military and intelligence personnel in civilian clothes, barred journalists from covering these meetings and told journalists they should not report on these meetings. Other groups of unidentified individuals, also allegedly military or intelligence personnel, prevented Ms. Selegani from visiting student dormitories and meeting members of the Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat, Indonesia’s House of Representatives on those days. On 5 October 2025 she departed Jakarta for Jayapura.
On 7 October 2025 she held a discussion at a student dormitory in Jayapura. After the discussion Ms. Selegani began to experience intimidation and harassment. She received a call from an unknown number. The caller asked for her location and requested to meet her that same day. Later, the same number sent her a message containing photographs of members of the Indonesian National Armed Forces posing together with Papuans who were holding Indonesian red and white flags, and another message saying, “stop talking.” Ms. Selegani interpreted this message as a direct threat connected to her advocacy work. In the past, she has received over 100 photos of similar content, mostly showing soldiers and killed Papuans.
In the evening of 7 October 2025, she was attacked by three masked men on motorcycles. They tried to snatch her bag and phone. She was pushed into a roadside ditch and sustained a bleeding injury. A passing civilian and military personnel assisted her and took her to Waena Health Centre, where she received medical care. Since then, she has remained at home as she fears further attacks.
CONCERNS
In the communication, we express our concern over the reported intimidation and physical attack against Ms. Selegani. These human rights violations appear to be directly connected to her human rights defense work as they occurred during and after her advocacy work to protect and promote human rights in Intan Jaya. It is also concerning that Ms. Selegani was prevented from meeting certain government representatives to advocate for human rights, and that journalists were prevented from covering meetings in what appears to be a deliberate attempt to undermine her work, the right of the media to report on issues of public interest and the corresponding right of the public to receive this information.
We fear that these incidents will have a chilling effect on the work of human rights defenders in West Papua, where defenders, activists, and civilians have been facing intimidation and violence, and worked in a restrictive environment with heavy police and military presence for several years.
