Marginalization in Indigenous Communities: Limited Recognition and Realization of Rights Based on Transitional Justice Perspective

Sukirno Sukirno; Sri Wahyu Ananingsih; Dzaky Mufrih Aimaluddin Siregar

doi:10.26623/julr.v9i4.14344

Authors

Sukirno Sukirno Faculty of Law, Universitas Diponegoro https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8357-8580 (unauthenticated)
Sri Wahyu Ananingsih Faculty of Law, Universitas Diponegoro https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4545-7185 (unauthenticated)
Dzaky Mufrih Aimaluddin Siregar Faculty of Law, Universitas Diponegoro https://orcid.org/0009-0008-9686-6779 (unauthenticated)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26623/julr.v9i4.14344

Keywords:

Customary Rights, Indigenous Communities, Rule of Law, Transitional Justice

Abstract

This study aims to examine the structural barriers to the recognition and realization of indigenous communities’ customary rights in Indonesia and to develop a transitional justice framework for addressing their marginalization. Using a doctrinal legal research method, the study applies statutory and conceptual approaches to analyze constitutional and statutory provisions governing indigenous communities, customary land rights, equality before the law, and transitional justice. The findings demonstrate that constitutional recognition has not translated into effective rights protection because recognition remains conditional and procedurally dependent on state determination. Regulatory fragmentation and sectoral legalism further create inconsistencies between formal legal norms and their implementation, particularly in the protection of customary land and the exercise of indigenous autonomy. These conditions reveal a structural tension between formal equality and substantive equality: treating indigenous communities through uniform legal procedures may reproduce rather than eliminate historical disadvantage. The study’s novelty lies in conceptualizing transitional justice as a normative framework for reconstructing indigenous rights protection beyond conventional recognition-based approaches. It argues that transitional justice requires affirmative and corrective measures that address historical exclusion, recognize customary law as living law, and strengthen indigenous communities’ substantive equality. Accordingly, Indonesia requires an integrated and non-sectoral legal framework that shifts recognition from a conditional administrative process toward an enforceable rights-based mechanism, supported by affirmative protection, meaningful participation, and effective institutional guarantees for the realization of customary rights.

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