November 2010 Women at the Indonesian peace table: Enhancing the contributions of women to conflict resolution Report and policy recommendations with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences Women at the Peace Table Indonesia The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD Centre) “Mediation for peace” The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD Centre) is an independent mediation organisation dedicated to helping improve the global response to armed conflict. It attempts to achieve this by mediating between warring parties and providing support to the broader mediation community. The HD Centre is driven by humanitarian values and its ultimate goal to reduce the consequences of violent conflict, improve security, and contribute to the peaceful resolution of conflict. It maintains a neutral stance towards the warring parties that it mediates between and, in order to maintain its impartiality it is funded by a variety of governments, private foundations and philanthropists. Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue 114, rue de Lausanne Geneva 1202 Switzerland t + 41 22 908 11 30 f +41 22 908 11 40 e [email protected] w www.hdcentre.org © Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, 2010 Images (front cover) An activist from West Papua protests against violence in front of the vice presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, 16 October 2000. AP Photo/Dita Alangkara Globe showing Asia Pacific region. © iStockphoto Images (back cover) Internally displaced persons inside a refugee tent, Beto Timur, Timor-Leste, 3 July 2008. © UN Photo/Martine Perret A batik design from Indonesia. © iStockphoto November 2010 Women at the Indonesian peace table: Enhancing the contributions of women to conflict resolution Report and policy recommendations with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences Women at the Peace Table Indonesia Copyright Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue 114, rue de Lausanne Geneva 1202 Switzerland t + 41 22 908 11 30 f +41 22 908 11 40 e [email protected] w www.hdcentre.org © Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, 2010 Reproduction of all or part of this publication may be authorised only with written consent and acknowledgement of the source. Editor: Cate Buchanan ([email protected]) Design and layout: Rick Jones ([email protected]) 2 Women at the Peace Table Indonesia Contents Contributors to this report ............................................................................................................................... 5 Summary .............................................................................................................................................................................. 7 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Challenges to the greater participation of women in Indonesian peace processes 10 The role of Indonesian women during the New Order era ....................................... 13 ‘State Ibuism’ 15 Making and building peace in Indonesia .................................................................................... 17 The roles of women in conflict resolution .................................................................................. 21 Case Study One: Violent Conflict in Maluku 22 Case Study Two: Violent Conflict in Papua 28 Norm building .............................................................................................................................................................. 33 National action 33 International action 34 Recommendations ............................................................................................................................................... 37 Annex 1. Representation of men and women in the 2009 legislative elections, and the percentage of female parliamentarians ...................................................................................................................................................... 42 Report and policy recommendations 3 A report by the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences November 2010 4 Women at the Peace Table Indonesia Contributors to this report Rohaiza Ahmad Asi received a BA from the National University of Singapore where she majored in Political Science and Information and Communications Management. She went on to pursue an MSc in International Relations at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Nanyang Technological University. In 2004 Rohaiza joined RSIS as a research analyst focusing on con- flict and terrorism in Indonesia where she developed extensive practical research experience. Rohaiza joined HD Centre in mid-2007 and is currently holding the position of Project Officer. Cate Buchanan is a Senior Project Manager with the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue with whom she has worked since 2001 when appointed to establish the arms and violence reduction portfolio. Cate leads the work of the HD Centre on gender in Asia. Previously Cate worked in refuges for women escaping vio- lence; as an advocate for Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation; a legal researcher for the Community and Public Sector Union; and as an organiser for the Climate Action Network. In 2000, she was the programme associate for disarmament for the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom in Geneva, and then worked for the International Action Network on Small Arms as the New York liaison officer. In 2005 she was based in Brazil on secondment to Viva Rio as a human security adviser. Cate is a graduate of the Australian National University. Irine Hiraswari Gayatri graduated with an MA in peace and conflict studies, from the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies of Uppsala Universitet, Sweden in August 2005. Prior to getting her MA, she worked as researcher at the Centre for Political Studies, Indonesian Institute of Sciences since 1997. In Report and policy recommendations 5 2006 to 2008 she wrote three chapters in different books on Aceh, namely on post-disaster reconstruction; village governance; and women’s political repre- sentation in Aceh politics. In 2006 and early 2007, she was also with the United Nations Recovery Coordinator (UNORC) as a field officer in West Coast Aceh, Bener Meriah and Central Aceh. In 2008 she supervised a joint survey of the Center for Political Studies, LIPI and Oxford University on Horizontal Inequality in Bireuen, Aceh. Irine’s other public engagement is in a Jakarta based NGO, INTERSEKSI Foundation which focuses on minority issues and multiculturalism. Akiko Horiba graduated in Master of Theological Studies in Weston Jesuit School of Theology, Cambridge, USA. After conducting extensive field research in Indo- nesia, she was awarded a PhD in Area Studies from Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan in 2009. She was the research coordinator at the Institut Titian Perdamaian, joining in 2007. Since 2010, she is a staff member of Current Asia in Indonesia. Verification of information and additional contributions were made by Shienny Angelita, HD Centre and Lidya Christin Sinaga, LIPI. The report was reviewed in August–September 2010 by Shadia Marhaban from Aceh Women’s League (LINA) and Latifah Anum Siregar from Alliance of Democracy for Papua (ALDP). 6 Women at the Peace Table Indonesia Summary Over the last decade, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (the HD Centre) has highlighted the low level of women’s participation in peacemaking, regardless of the region or type of conflict. Through the ‘Women at the Indonesian Peace Table’ project, the HD Centre seeks to contribute to strengthening the contribu- tions of women to conflict management. It is part of the larger project, “Women at the Peace Table – Asia Pacific” which includes a wider regional focus.1 The Indonesian project is undertaken in partnership with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) and with the co-operation of the Indonesian State Ministry for Women Empowerment and Child Protection. It is funded by SERASI, an Indonesian affiliate of the United States Agency for International Development. The HD Centre believes that sustainable peace can only be achieved when there is robust and holistic participation in peace processes. Particularly this means more women need to be included in peace negotiations. ‘Women at the Indonesian Peace Table’ aims to document the experiences of women directly involved in Indonesian conflict resolution from various spheres (including the government, NGOs and rebel groups). It also seeks to identify women who can be considered for facilitation or mediation roles in the future, in Indonesia and elsewhere. While women have played an extensive part in managing violent con- flict at the community level, they have been virtually absent from involvement in conflict resolution and decision-making at higher political levels. Thus, the prin- ciple goal of the project is to elevate women’s involvement in conflict resolution by ensuring that those with experience at the community level are identified and given opportunities to use their skills and develop new ones, as needed, and utilised as resources for peacemaking. 1 For more on this work, see www.hdcentre.org/projects/gender-mediation Report and policy recommendations 7 Introduction In all areas of a peace process — cessation of hostilities, sustainability and credibility of peace on the ground, security and violence reduction dimensions, power-sharing, justice and truth-seeking processes, redressing the impacts of violent conflict — the participation of women is vital for ensuring