Komnas Perempuan Highlights Human Rights Violations by State and Non-State Actors

Urging to Stop the Mandalika Evictions 

“Komnas Perempuan Highlights Human Rights Violations by State and Non-State Actors” 

Jakarta, July 14, 2025 

The National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) expressed serious concern over the latest developments in the Tanjung Aan area, Pujut District, Central Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara. On July 11, 2025, residents received their third warning letter (SP), delivered by Vanguard, a private security company, along with officers from the Village Security Agency (BKD) and the local police. The letter stated that residents had until July 15, 2025 (only three days) to disassemble their food stalls before they would be forcibly dismantled by officers. 

The initial concept for the Mandalika Special Economic Zone (KEK) was an environmentally conscious development that would boost the regional economy. This program was expected to create jobs, increase community incomes, and develop Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by actively and meaningfully involving the local community in the development and expansion of the Mandalika Special Economic Zone. 

The complaint received by Komnas Perempuan on May 23, 2025, and updated on June 16, 2025 and June 19, 2025, recorded  a number of fundamental issues related to the implementation of the Mandalika Special Economic Zone development program. They had a serious impact on the rights of women and local communities, specifically as follows: 

• The failure to fulfill the initial development commitment of the Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation (PT ITDC) as the implementer of the Mandalika Special Economic Zone project: 
  • The promised 100 m² of housing per household (KK) was only realized in the form of a two-family house. 
  • Basic infrastructure such as clean water, electricity, health services, schools, and market access were not available at the relocation site. 
  • The promised job opportunities were not realized; residents lost their livelihoods, especially women who depended on micro-enterprises for their families’ livelihoods. 
• Reduction of the community’s living space and livelihoods, with significant impacts on women: 
  • The loss of food stalls as women's primary source of income and the closure of access to the sea, agricultural land, and livestock. 
  • Access to coastal areas, including places where cultural traditions such as the Bau Nyale festival are performed, is blocked due to the physical construction of the project. 
  • Demolition or threats of forced demolition of homes and businesses without dialogue or fair compensation. 
  • Relocation to remote areas (such as Bukit Silla) without access to clean water, education, health care, and adequate economic services, increasing women's domestic workload. 
• Environmental damage that has a direct impact on the quality of life of local residents: 
  • Clean water crisis in relocation areas due to damage to springs and natural waterways, forcing residents to purchase water for basic needs. 
  • Damage to coastal and marine ecosystems due to land reclamation, pier construction, and resort projects, destroying the livelihoods of fishermen and coastal women. 
  • Loss of local vegetation and productive land without transparent and participatory environmental assessments. 
  • Increased risk of ecological disasters such as floods and droughts due to changes in spatial planning and the loss of catchment areas. 
• Low legal and Indonesian language literacy among affected women, causing difficulties in understanding eviction documents, administrative procedures, and access to complaint channels or legal services. 
• Indications of long-term impacts on the protection of vulnerable groups: 
  • Increasing rates of child marriage (ages 13–15). 
  • Dropping out of school at an early age. 
  • Children engaging in informal work as scavengers or street vendors. 
  • Forced migration of adult women due to loss of livelihood. 
• The use of a repressive security approach, including the involvement of the private security company Vanguard in the land clearing process without public oversight mechanisms and without guarantees of protection for civilians, especially women. 
• This situation encourages residents, especially women, to remain on the land they own, not merely as a form of resistance, but as the only option to maintain life, safe space, and dignity in the absence of restoration of rights from the state and project implementers. 

Based on these findings, Komnas Perempuan hereby calls on the Central and Regional Governments to immediately stop the planned evictions on July 15, 2025, and guarantee the safety and protection of the basic rights of local residents, especially women and children. 

For the next step, Komnas Perempuan recommends that all parties follow up on the official recommendation letter from Komnas Perempuan that was submitted on June 30, 2025 to various stakeholders, including the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, the Ministry of Investment/Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board, the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing, the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, the Governor of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), and the Regional People's Representative Council (DPRD) of West Nusa Tenggara Province, as follows: 

1. End all forms of intimidation and forced evictions by state and non-state forces; 
2. Restoration of the rights of affected women, including psychosocial services, economic assistance, and access to information; 
3. Administrative recognition of affected hamlets and meaningful involvement of women in public policy planning processes; 
4. Review the role of PT ITDC and Vanguard in this project based on the principle of human rights accountability. Previously, on June 26, 2025, Komnas Perempuan has also sent a letter of clarification to PT ITDC and Vanguard regarding the first eviction notification letter received by the community, which stated that the eviction would be carried out within 14 calendar days. This clarification letter was sent to request an explanation regarding the legal basis, procedures, and mitigation of the risk of violence against women and vulnerable groups. However, to date, there has been no response or meaningful follow-up from either party, and there has been no significant change in the approach or policies implemented in the field. 

Komnas Perempuan emphasizes that the practice of forced evictions that do not comply with the principles of caution, accountability, participation, and protection of vulnerable groups, constitutes a violation of the Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia and is contrary to various international human rights instruments that have been ratified by the state, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. 

Contact Person:  

Elsa Faturahmah (081389371400)