Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies

Ulayat rights are rights attached to indigenous peoples in West Papua, and are recognized and protected by national and international law. This right refers to the traditional rights held by indigenous peoples to the land, territories and natural resources in the areas they inhabit and manage for generations. This study focuses on identifying the government's recognition and protection of customary rights as the rights of indigenous peoples in West Papua. The research method used is qualitative with a qualitative descriptive approach, aiming to reveal events or facts, circumstances, phenomena, variables and circumstances that occur during the research by presenting what actually happened. Data collection techniques were carried out through observation, interviews and document and literature studies. At the data analysis stage, the inductive reasoning model was carried out. The results of the study show that the government's policy of recognizing and protecting ulayat rights as the rights of indigenous peoples in West Papua is due to the low knowledge, low public awareness, community culture, facilities and facilities that are still limited, so that the carrying capacity of the government's recognition and protection for the community is not yet optimal. The policy of recognizing and protecting customary rights in indigenous communities in the West Papua region requires a collaborative, participatory and sensitive approach to cultural diversity and the aspirations of indigenous peoples.