The Center for the Study of Humanitarian Law and Human Rights (terAs), Faculty of Law, Universitas Trisakti, in collaboration with the Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore (NUS), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), held a program titled “2-Day Roundtable Program on Indonesian Customary Laws of War – East Indonesian Update” on April 14–15, 2025, at the 2nd Floor Meeting Room, Building H, Faculty of Law, Universitas Trisakti, Jakarta.

The first day of the event was officially opened by the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Universitas Trisakti, Prof. Dr. Dra. Siti Nurbaiti, S.H., M.Hum., who delivered the opening remarks. The event featured speakers including Dr. Samuel Camden Duckett White and Johan Pahlepi from the Centre for International Law, NUS; Tamalin Bolus and Ursula N. Langouran from the ICRC; and Dr. Arlina Permanasari, S.H., M.Hum., and Dr. Andrey Sujatmoko, S.H., M.H. from terAs, Faculty of Law, Universitas Trisakti.

Topics discussed on the first day included:

• “Customary Laws of War: Their Relevance to Modern International Humanitarian Law (IHL)” by Dr. Samuel White;
• “Historical Perspectives on Javanese and East Indonesian War Traditions” by Dr. Arlina Permanasari;
• “Traditional Laws of War in Makassar, Manado, and Papua” by Dr. Andrey Sujatmoko;
• “Traditions in Indonesia: A Reflection” by Ursula N. Langouran;
• “Oral Histories as Legal Sources: Methods and Challenges” and “Application in Humanitarian Law and Peacebuilding”, both presented by Dr. Samuel White;
• “Lessons for Modern Conflict Resolution” by Johan Pahlepi.

In addition, the first day also featured a discussion on “Methodologies for Researching Customary Laws of War”, which explored the implementation of qualitative field research and interviews, ethical and cultural considerations in conducting such studies, and the challenges and integration of oral histories into legal-based scholarship.

In the first quarter of 2025, the Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore (NUS), a partner in this initiative, ranked 8th in the QS World University Rankings and 3rd in the QS Asia University Rankings. Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is the only organization mandated to operate in all types of armed conflicts under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which have been ratified by Indonesia through Law No. 59 of 1958.