29 Jun 2016

UN action demanded over rights violations in West Papua

9:35 am on 29 June 2016

An international human rights law firm has submitted a formal legal complaint to the UN Human Rights Council regarding violations by Indonesia against West Papuans.

The Foundation Legal Aids for the People of West Papua and the Amsterdam-based firm Prakken D'Oliveira, filed the complaint, on behalf of the so-called Federal State Republic of West Papua, its president, as well as 19 other citizens.

Downtown Jayapura.

Downtown Jayapura. Photo: RNZ / Koroi Hawkins

The complaint set out an array of alledged human-rights abuses suffered by the West Papuans from the moment of Indonesian annexation of West Papua in 1963 to the present day.

The complainants said after more than 50 years of death and destruction in West Papua, it was time for international legal action.

They urged the UN to formally condemn the Indonesian government for committing systemic human rights violations against the people of West Papua.

The group said it was hoped that the Human Rights Council would undertake a thorough factual and legal inquiry leading to the passage of a UN resolution containing such condemnation.