Human Rights Standards in Armed Conflict

In situations of conflict, the state still bears the obligation to protect civilians. The principles of due diligence, proportionality, and accountability serve as guidelines so that security operations do not cause civilian casualties. If civilians die, the state must ensure an independent investigation, compensation for victims' families, and preventive measures to prevent similar incidents from recurring.

On the other hand, non-state armed groups are also not exempt from their moral and humanitarian legal responsibilities not to target civilians or use them as shields. Because the exact cause of the incident has not been ascertained, the investigation must objectively explore all possibilities: from the direction of fire, type of weapon, victim's position, location conditions, to the chronology of the armed contact.

State Credibility Test

The MD case will be a test for the government. If Komnas HAM's access is truly opened and its recommendations are followed up, the public can see the state's commitment to accountability. However, if the investigation proceeds in a closed manner, is prolonged, or does not result in accountability, trust in the handling of the Papua conflict will further decline.

In the short term, the victims' families need recovery, protection, and certainty of information. In the medium term, the authorities need to ensure that civilians in conflict areas are not caught between armed violence. In the long term, the government needs to build a dialogue mechanism that allows for the reduction of violence and respect for the rights of the Papuan people. MD's death should be an alarm that a security approach without strong civilian protection will continue to cause humanitarian tragedies.

In situations like Intan Jaya, rapid and accurate official communication is also part of civilian protection. Closed or conflicting information can deepen the trauma of the victims' families, trigger distrust, and hinder fact-finding efforts by independent institutions.