26 Apr 2016

West Papuan backs woman for UN top job

9:25 am on 26 April 2016

A member of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua says the appointment of a woman as the head of the United Nations would be helpful to the plight of West Papuans.

The United Liberation Movement for West Papua's ambassador for Australia and Pacific countries, Amatus Douw.

The United Liberation Movement for West Papua's ambassador for Australia and Pacific countries, Amatus Douw. Photo: RNZI

The comment from the Movement's ambassador for Oceania and the Pacific Islands region, Amatus Douw, comes as the UN interviews candidates to be the new secretary-general.

Mr Douw says West Papuans are facing critical problems in the areas of human rights, climate change and decolonisation but there has been a lack of UN leaderhip, engagement and attention to this.

"The central victims of Indonesian militarism, colonialism, is women and children. And from that perspective, women more care about such situation."

Amatus Douw said one of the candidates, New Zealand's former prime minister Helen Clark, looms as a good choice for the wider Pacific region.