Promoting Human Security and Reducing Poverty among Indigenous Peoples in Papua, Indonesia

July 25, 2005

1. On 25 July 2005, the Government of Japan and the United Nations (UN) decided to extend a total of 1,581,142 US dollars (approximately 173,926 million yen) assistance through the Trust Fund for Human Security for the project "Promoting Human Security and Reducing Poverty among Indigenous Peoples" to be implemented by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Papua, Indonesia.
2. Indigenous Papuans have been excluded from employment systems and put in a low socio-economic position over the last 30 years, since the increase of migrants to Papua due to its transmigration policies. This project aims to reduce poverty among indigenous peoples through eliminating discrimination in employment and promoting gender equality, and facilitating a more stable social, economic and political environment through the following activities:
   (1) Providing training and workshops for local government officials and indigenous peoples for effective local governance concerning the relationship with the migrant communities; (2) Training for indigenous peoples in basic skills, including functional literacy, with particular focus on women and girls; (3) Establishing enterprises through empowering entrepreneurship in the community and creating job opportunities; (4) Improving health care facilities and establishing a community health insurance scheme; (5) Conducting gender awareness training, and mainstreaming gender equality concerns in local development planning.
3. The project is expected not only to strengthen indigenous communities' capacities, but also to promote a sustainable and favourable policy environment for human security at the district and the broader national level.

(Note)

The Trust Fund for Human Security was established in the United Nations Secretariat in March 1999 by the initiative of the Government of Japan, with total contributions of 29 billion yen (approximately US$ 256 million) up to the present. The Trust Fund has assisted more than 130 UN agencies' projects and programmes that address various threats to human life, livelihood and dignity, from the perspective of human security.

Related Information (The Trust Fund for Human Security)
Related Information (Japan-Indonesia Relations)