DILEMMA LAW ENFORCEMENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION : ANALYSIS CRITICAL ON VULNERABILITY POSITION APPARATUS INDONESIAN NATIONAL POLICE IN FACE GROUP CRIMINAL ARMED

Abstract

Law enforcement in the conflict-prone region of Papua faces a paradoxical challenge that places police personnel in a vulnerable position. On one hand, the Indonesian National Police ( Polri ) holds a constitutional mandate to maintain sovereignty and public order against disturbances caused by Armed Criminal Groups (KKB). On the other hand, every decisive action taken often intersects with the stringent oversight of Human Rights Instruments, which tends to be asymmetrical. This research aims to critically analyze the legal and sociological vulnerability of Polri Personnel when facing the KKB, highlighting the perception that human rights protection is more dominantly afforded to insurgent groups than to state apparatuses performing their duties. Utilizing a normative legal research method with a conceptual approach, the results indicate that this asymmetry is rooted in the traditional paradigm of International Human Rights law, which positions the state as the sole duty bearer and potential human rights violator. Conversely, non-state actors like the KKB often evade the “human rights violator” label despite committing systematic atrocities. Consequently, this leads to a phenomenon of operational hesitation in the field due to the threat of criminalization and ethical sanctions, which directly threatens the right to life and personal security of police members themselves. This study concludes that there is an urgent need for a balanced redefinition of human rights protection and the strengthening of legal safeguards for law enforcement officers in conflict zones to ensure legal certainty and manifest the principle of universal justice for every individual, including those in state uniform.