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), organized a roundtable event titled “2-Day Roundtable Program on Indonesian Customary Laws of War – East Indonesian Update.” The event was held at the Meeting Room, 2nd Floor, Building H, Faculty of Law, Universitas Trisakti, Jakarta, on 14–15 April 2025.

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 welcoming remarks. The speakers participating in this event included Dr. Samuel Camden Duckett White and Johan Pahlepi from the Centre for International Law, NUS; Tamalin Bolus and Ursula N. Langouran from the ICRC; as well as 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

The first day also featured a session on “Methodologies for Researching Customary Laws of War,” which explored how to conduct field research and qualitative interviews, ethical and cultural considerations in such research, as well as challenges in integrating oral history sources into legal scholarship.

In the first quarter of 2025, the event’s international partner, the Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore (NUS), is ranked 8th globally according to the QS World University Rankings and 3rd in Asia according to the QS Asia University Rankings. Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) remains the sole organization mandated to operate in all types of armed conflicts under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which Indonesia ratified through Law No. 59 of 1958.