Indonesia

West Papua, Indonesia lacks an adequate judiciary system, allowing human rights violations to proceed unchecked and perpetrators to continue with impunity.

Franciscans International remains gravely preoccupied for the human rights situation in West Papua, Indonesia. In particular, we are alarmed by the lack of an adequate judiciary system of which the high level of impunity is the clearest indicator (Abepura, Theys Hiyo Eluay, Willem Onde, Ilaga and Manokwari cases). Also, we deplore the recent issue of a Presidential Decree on the division of the Papua Province into three separate provinces, which directly contradicts the Special Autonomy Law ratified by the Indonesian government last year.

We will call upon the Commission to urge the government of Indonesia:

1. to open up a political dialogue on the history of the integration of Papua into the Republic of Indonesia ;
2. to restore the practice of national and international legal standards, especially ending the practice of impunity for certain groups and individuals;
3. to stop all the efforts – covert or overt – to create paramilitary groups in Papua that are manipulated to serve political purposes and to fuel horizontal conflicts in the Papua community;
4. to safeguard freedom of expression, including the peaceful expression of political aspirations and rights, as well as the work of people who serve to uphold human rights and dignity, such as community leaders and human rights defenders;
5. to constructively join with the parties in Papua who make sincere efforts to create a peaceful situation and who try to safeguard the Papuan people from living in fear.

Our organization will also urge the international community to refrain from military support to Indonesia, as long as the actual role of the armed forces does not meet the standards of a healthy civil society and international norms and standards.