Banda Aceh, Indonesia, August 2025 – From 10 to 17 August 2025, Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR) Indonesia program, KontraS Aceh, and LBH Banda Aceh, with the support of the Tifa Foundation, hosted a commemoration of the 20th anniversary of peace in Aceh. This event, comprised discussions, workshops, and a gathering of survivors, was held concurrently with a week-long regional event, “Nurturing Peace, Preserving Memory, and Strengthening the Future,” organised by the AJAR, KontraS Aceh, and Transitional Justice Asia Network (TJAN). The commemoration convened over 40 survivors representing 13 districts in Aceh, alongside civil society organisations (CSOs) from Aceh and Jakarta, women’s groups, youth activists, peacemakers, and international participants.
Reflection on the Aceh Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Aceh TRC)
The commemoration commenced with a civil society reflection on the implementation of the Aceh TRC, hosted at LBH Banda Aceh. The session brought human rights defenders, academics, and activists involved in the Aceh TRC process since its inception. Participants reflected the historical and procedural complexities underlying the establishment of the Aceh TRC, from the early post-conflict period to current challenges of sustaining its mandate. The discussion underscored the Commission’s formal basis in the Helsinki MoU (2005), and Qanun No. 17/2013, which resulted from persistent civil society advocacy and victims’ demands for truth and acknowledgement.
The discussion highlighted two decades of lessons learned. Key points addressed included the essential role of local activism and the challenges encountered from limited governmental support, particularly at the national level. Furthermore, the capacity disparity between the Aceh TRC’s mandate and victims’ expectations was discussed. Despite these challenges, the reflection affirmed the Aceh TRC’s significance as a transitional justice precedent in Indonesia, noting its successful publication of its findings report, Peulara Damee (Nurturing Peace), which comprises over 5,000 victims’ testimonies.
Documentation of Civil Society’s Role
Following the reflection, AJAR, KontraS Aceh, and LBH Banda Aceh launched the research report Separuh Badan di Dalam (Half-bodied Within). This collaborative study details the involvement of civil society in supporting the Aceh TRC. The report documents how CSOs have been integral to every stage of the Aceh TRC’s work, including advocacy, legal drafting, technical assistance, public hearings, and victims’ outreach. It offers reflections on the lessons learned, challenges faced, and partial progress in truth-seeking, documentation, and the provision of reparations.
Survivor Perspectives on Peace and Justice
The event provided a forum for survivors to gather and articulate their perspectives on the peace process and justice. The gathering, represented by various regions and communities in Aceh, served as both a reunion and a collective reflection platform. Survivors shared testimonies and discussed their experiences in accessing government services related to conflict remedy mechanisms, highlighting ongoing access impediments. Participants emphasised that peace in Aceh must incorporate justice and that the process of truth-telling should be sustained.
The participants’ statement outlined key requirements related to truth, justice, and healing:
- Truth and Justice: The state must conduct comprehensive victim statement-takings, and all cases of human rights violations must be adjudicated in court according to the principles of justice.
- Reparations: Victims are entitled to restitution, rehabilitation, and compensation without discrimination. The children of victims must receive appropriate education.
- Memory and Education: The state should adopt annual commemorations of the tragedies initiated by victims’ groups. Support for the establishment of victims-initiated memorials at former torture sites across Aceh, and the systematic dissemination of conflict history documentation for the education of future generations.
- Involvement: The victim community must be included in the formulation of policies and programs concerning reparations.
Intergenerational Dialogue on Peace
The commemoration concluded with a public discussion reflecting on the role of youth in nurturing peace. Youth representatives from Papua, Timor-Leste, and Aceh—regions with a profound history of conflict and struggles for justice and peace—shared their understanding of what “peace” signifies in their respective contexts and its relationship to the two-decade peace process in Aceh following the Helsinki MoU. Through creative presentations and discussions, youth participants connected the legacies of conflict with contemporary challenges. They called for establishing an intergenerational peace dialogue to ensure that historical lessons are transmitted to the young generation. Rian, a family member of a disappeared victim, shared his observation:
I hope the younger generation in Aceh learns more about human rights, so that they can understand root causes underlying the human rights violations that occurred in Aceh… The younger generation can learn a comprehensive understanding of the concept of human rights and understand their own history.
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Reference for media coverage:
- Research report launch Separuh Badan di Dalam (Half-bodied Within): https://dialeksis.com/aceh/aceh-jadi-pusat-pembelajaran-rekonsiliasi-perdamaian-dunia/0
- Youth from Papua, Timor-Leste, and Aceh share about their meaning of peace: https://dialeksis.com/nasional/dua-dekade-damai-aceh-di-mata-aktivis-papua/0
Related resources:
“20 Years After the Peace Agreement: Solidarity for Truth, Justice and Lasting Peace in Aceh.” – AJAR press release, 15 August 2025. – https://asia-ajar.org/press-release/20-years-after-the-peace-agreement-solidarity-for-truth-justice-and-lasting-peace-in-aceh/
Peulara Damèe: A Plain Guide” – The full findings report of the Aceh Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Aceh TRC) (English short version), published by AJAR. – https://asia-ajar.org/resources/books-research/peulara-damee-a-plain-guide/
“The Role of Truth in Strengthening Peace” – A report by AJAR including working groups of the Aceh TRC, detailing truth-seeking, reparations, documentation, etc. – https://asia-ajar.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Report-Truth-Workshop.pdf
“Comparative Research on Gender & Reparations in South-East Asia: Aceh, Indonesia” – AJAR & partners. – https://asia-ajar.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Case-Study-EN_Comparative-Research-on-Gender-Reparations-in-South-East-Asia-Aceh-Indonesia.pdf