Main Award: AJAR, Special Award: DKK Cultural Alliance
Legal and Institutional Support for Indonesian Refugees
Amplifying Victims' Voices through Culture and the Arts
On the 16th, a press conference for the 2025 Gwangju Human Rights Award recipient was held at the May Memory Archive of the May 18 Memorial Foundation in the afternoon. Photo by Min Chanki
The recipients of the 2025 Gwangju Human Rights Award stated, "The biggest reason we were able to stand up against military dictatorship was because of the Gwangju Spirit."
At a press conference for the 2025 Gwangju Human Rights Award held at the May Memory Archive of the May 18 Memorial Foundation in the afternoon of the 16th, attendees included Patrick Burgess, President of Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR), Galuh Sujatmiko, Secretary General, Luis Oliveira, Board Member, as well as Julius Caesar Bayubay Daguitan, Vice President of DKK Cultural Alliance, and Angela Lawson, Public Relations Officer.
AJAR introduced various activities it has carried out in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and Myanmar. These activities include truth-seeking efforts, support for war victims and survivors of sexual violence, and investigations into human rights violations by the military.
AJAR explained, "Since 2010, we have been helping countries in the Global South, such as Myanmar and Timor-Leste, achieve sustainable peace and democracy," adding, "We serve as a bridge connecting grassroots human rights movements with the international justice system."
They said, "We have directly experienced colonialism, state violence, and military dictatorship, and based on these experiences, we continue to carry out community-centered activities." They added, "We are organizing movements for justice and peace, especially among young people, by utilizing films and social media."
AJAR's current main activity is to reunite about 200 children, who were taken to Indonesia during its occupation of Timor-Leste from 1970 to 1975 and are now adults, with their families.
AJAR stated, "There are large refugee camps in Indonesia. We are helping these people access education and are connecting them to the International Criminal Court for assistance against crimes against humanity." The organization added, "Although national human rights commissions have recommended that the Indonesian and Timor-Leste governments help these people find their families, progress has been slow."
They also said, "According to the Timor-Leste Constitution, these individuals have the right to live in Timor-Leste. However, because they were forcibly taken by soldiers as children and used for transporting supplies or as human shields, they did not receive proper education and lack the conditions for a decent life." They appealed, "There are limits to what civil society organizations can do, so active support from both countries is urgently needed."
The DKK Cultural Alliance, recipient of the Special Award, introduced its activities resisting militarization, land dispossession, and cultural erasure faced by indigenous communities in the Cordillera region of northern Philippines through cultural and artistic solidarity and resistance.
The DKK Cultural Alliance stated, "We use music, performances, and culture and the arts to convey the voices of victims in sites of human rights violations and under martial law in various countries." They added, "The 5·18 play we recently saw in Gwangju was deeply impressive in its structure and technique. The example of Gwangju's struggle for democracy and human rights is a driving force for our activities."
They continued, "In the Philippines and elsewhere, we are considering ways to connect culture and the arts, such as K-POP, to encourage young people to take an interest in issues of democracy and the nation." They added, "Looking at Korea and Gwangju, which have endured long periods of dark dictatorship, gives us hope for delivering the message of justice. The experience of Gwangju resonates with the work we do, and the struggle for democracy gives us courage and strength."
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