Letter to UN by two senior members of the Committee of Foreign
Affairs on West Papua
CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WASHINGTON, DC 20515
February 14, 2008
The Honorable Ban Ki-Moon
Secretary-General, United Nations
799 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017
Dear Mr. Secretary-General:
We are writing to express our deep and growing concern regarding
rising reports of human rights violations in West Papua. These
reports come against a backdrop of decades of abuse by Indonesian
security forces targeting the Papuan people.
The upsurge in violence has come on the heels of the June 5 -12,
2007 visit to West Papua by Special Representative of the
Secretary-General, Ms. Hina Jilani. These threats and harassment
appear to be specifically focused on Papuans who met with Special
Representative Jilani. In her report to you, Ms. Jilani noted
"harassment and intimidation" of human rights defenders. Moreover,
as noted by Ms. Jilani, security forces in West Papua enjoy impunity
from prosecution for human rights abuse and corruption. Juan Mendez,
UN Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide, described, in
2006, West Papua as being among those countries whose populations
were 'at risk of extinction'.
We are also concerned about the tight restrictions placed upon
journalists, human rights activists and diplomats trying to obtain
access to West Papua. As you know, nongovernmental organizations,
the media and foreign officials can act as witnesses to and bulwarks
against human rights abuses as well as agents of change. So, the
failure of these individuals to gain unobstructed access to the
country hinders Papuans' stories of human rights abuse, quashing of
civil liberties and inability to express their right to
self-determination from coming to the fore.
On June 24, 2004, twenty US Senators urged former Secretary-General
Kofi Annan and the General Assembly to appoint a United Nations
Special Representative to Indonesia to monitor and report on the
situation in West Papua. The letter also urged that the Special
Representative also "make recommendations regarding steps the UN
Security Council and General Assembly might undertake to end the
troubling and deadly conflicts" there. Events in West Papua have
reached such a dangerous level that it is important for the UN
Security Council to take action. The deteriorating human rights
conditions in West Papua have led directly to a significant flow of
Papuans across international borders, notably to Papua New Guinea
and Australia. Papuans have also sought and received political
asylum in the United States and in Europe.
It is critical that the UN
Security Council address the security concerns posed by human rights
abuse in West Papua.
United Nations involvement in West Papua extends back to 1962. The
UN was charged with helping implement the 1962 "New York Agreement"
which guaranteed Papuans the right to participate in an "act of
self-determination" to decide whether they wish to remain or sever
ties with Indonesia. A referendum that clearly presented this choice
never took place. In fact, thirty-seven Members of the US Congress
wrote a letter, in 2006, to Mr. Annan requesting that the UN review
its action accepting the "Act of Free Choice."
We are also concerned that notwithstanding assurances by Indonesian
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that his administration would
address long standing Papuan grievances and implement Law No.
21/2001 on Special Autonomy, security and other Indonesian central
government officials in West Papua have failed to carry out reforms.
Understandably, Papuan officials, civil society leaders and Papuans
overwhelmingly have rejected the failed Special Autonomy policy of
the central government. They have instead rightly called for an
internationally mediated dialogue between Papuan officials and civil
society and senior Indonesian government officials to discuss such
concerns as the demilitarization of West Papua, Papuan
self-determination and transmigration of Javanese into Papua.
We welcome the recent adoption of the United Nations' Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which calls for the elimination of
human rights violations and for combating discrimination and
marginalization against indigenous peoples. In that spirit, we urge
that the Security Council appoint a senior official with
responsibility to pursue the creation of a senior level dialogue
between the government of President Yudhoyono and Papuan government
and civil society leaders to be mediated by a UN Security Council
representative.
Sincerely,
Donald M. Payne
Member of Congress
Eni F.H. Faleomavaega
Member of Congress
PDF version of
the letter
see also
Rep.
Faleomavaega Disappointed With His Visit To Biak And Manokwari
Papua, Indonesia
Read the
West Papua
Report (monthly news and analysis)
