The United Nations put the Merauke food estate, one of Indonesia's National Strategic Projects (PSNs), under scrutiny for alleged violations of Indigenous Peoples' rights and environmental abuses linked to its sugar farm operated by PT Global Papua Abadi on the island of Papua.

The allegations include land grabbing by displacing indigenous communities without free, prior & informed consent (FPIC), clearing forests with military forces' presence to suppress dissent; and deforestation of more than 269,000 acres of forest area without proper environmental impact assessment.

The Indonesian government responded by denying all the allegations and claiming that food estate project complies with national laws and regulations.

Civil society criticized the government’s response by saying it did not address the substance of the concerns raised by the UN and only reiterated general principles of upholding civil liberties and nondiscrimination.

UN calls for the Indonesian government to take measures to halt the alleged violations and ensure the accountability of any subject(s) responsible for the alleged violations.

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited PT Global Papua Abadi to respond to the allegation. PT Global Papua Abadi did not respond.