Consider the Meaningful Participation of Women Citizens as a Form of Human Rights Responsibility

Urging to Stop the Mandalika Evictions 

“Consider the Meaningful Participation of Women Citizens as a Form of Human Rights Responsibility” 

Jakarta, July 15, 2025 

The National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) expresses serious concern over the latest developments in the Tanjung Aan area, Pujut District, Central Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara. On July 11, 2025, based on residents’ reports to Komnas Perempuan, they received a 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 themselves, before they would be forcibly dismantled by officers. 

Komnas Perempuan Commissioner Sundari Waris stated, “The initial concept for the Mandalika Special Economic Zone (KEK) was aimed to foster an environmentally conscious development that would boost the regional economy. This program is 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.” 

However, in the complaints received by Komnas Perempuan from May to June 2025, Sundari explains that Komnas Perempuan recorded seven findings that had serious impacts on residents. These findings included the failure to fulfill PT Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation's (PT ITDC) initial commitment to residents; the shrinking of living space and the reduction of community livelihoods, which have a direct impact on changes in women’s lives; environmental damage that disrupts the ecosystem; inadequate access to basic services; and the unequal position of residents as legal subjects in dealing with legal documents that are not accompanied by adequate explanations or efforts to strengthen empowerment. 

Komnas Perempuan Commissioner Dahlia Madanih asserted, “Komnas Perempuan calls on the central and regional governments to immediately halt the planned evictions scheduled for July 15, 2025, and to guarantee the safety and protection of the basic rights of residents, especially women and children. The government also needs to create spaces for meaningful dialogue and participation, especially for women, most of whom own small food stalls in the area.” 

Komnas Perempuan assesses that 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), the Regional People's Representative Council (DPRD) of West Nusa Tenggara Province, and the Regent of Central Lombok need to ensure that a thorough due diligence process is carried out before starting the development program. 

This due diligence is a form of state accountability in minimizing the negative impacts of a development project and ensuring the fulfillment of the rights of affected communities, especially vulnerable groups. Dahlia also reminds that the practice of forced evictions that do not comply with the principles of caution, accountability, participation, and protection of vulnerable groups, constitute 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. 

Narahubung: Elsa Faturahmah (081389371400)

Fact Sheet 

Based on the complaint report and field findings, Komnas Perempuan notes a number of fundamental problems related to the implementation of the Mandalika Special Economic Zone development program which have had a serious impacts on the rights of women and local communities, as follows: 

1. 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. 
2. 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. 
3. 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. 
4. 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. 
5. 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. 
6. 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. 
7. 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 the restoration of rights from the state and project implementers. 

Based on these findings, Komnas Perempuan has sent a letter to the relevant stakeholders requesting, among other things: 

• End all forms of intimidation and forced evictions by state and non-state forces; 
• Restoration of the rights of affected women, including psychosocial services, economic assistance, and access to information; 
• Administrative recognition of affected hamlets and meaningful involvement of women in public policy planning processes; 
• 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.