Sabela Gayo

“The training was very fruitful for me as a human rights advocate”.

DTP alumni Dr Sabela Gayo is an Indigenous man of the Gayo people in Aceh. He is a lawyer and a human rights defender and is the founding President of the Indonesia Dispute Board (IDB). The IDB specialises in alternated dispute resolution, under the framework of Indonesian law, seeking remedy for victims without recourse to the courts or formal justice system.

Sabela participated in DTP’s 2011 regional training on Indigenous Peoples rights in the Philippines. He says DTP training was pivotal for him, expanding his knowledge on advocacy and his professional networks.

“In that DTP training I learnt about human rights and how to advocate on Indigenous Peoples rights. The training taught me how to make our voices heard internationally by using the UN mechanisms including the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of the Indigenous Peoples. In DTP’s training, I met people from other countries, made new friends and expanded my professional network.”

Sabela was working with Gayo youth and legal advocacy organisations to protect and promote Gayo rights as forest peoples. The Gayo depend on the forest for their livelihoods, and for their cultural and spiritual identity. Their language is different to the dominant Acehnese.

As the government does not recognise their rights to the forests, there are constant disputes and sources of conflict and a lack of economic, social and cultural security for Gayo Indigenous Peoples. Their role as custodians and their spiritual connection to the land is denied. Non-recognition of the Gayo language also affects the educational attainment of Gayo youth, leading to further economic marginalisation and discrimination.

Sabela grew up witnessing this multifaceted discrimination towards his community. From childhood he wanted to contribute change and influence legal reform that will include and recognise Gayo peoples’ rights to forests, their language and culture and elevate the literacy level. He also saw that Gayo advocates and leaders were often the victims in conflicts that arose over the forests, and that the courts offered little hope of justice.

He chose the law as his way to do something for his people, and then specialised in mediation. He worked as a mediator at the Central Jakarta District Court and at the International Federation of Procurement Bar Association (IFPBA).

Sabela sees mediation as peacebuilding in society, expressing hope that through both formal and informal mediation efforts, the rights of the Gayo community will eventually be acknowledged.

The DTP team was pleased to host Sabela and a team of delegates from IDB when they visited the DTP Secretariat during a visit to Australia to develop their networks and relationships.